Yes they are equal. Maybe i would give the sp1k a slight upper hand in bass control/depth and layering. The dx320 will have wider staging. But all these differences will be rather small.
You are right. I will stay with the SP1k.I would have to agree with @RIGATIO here. If you are happy with it, there is no need to upgrade. And also like he said, unless you just want/need to upgrade the bells and whistles TOTL DAPs are all TOTL, even the older ones... I am still using the DX300, and I have no intention of "upgrading" until such time as mine no longer functions. It gives me everything I need, and I am totally happy with it (still)...
I still also have my DX160, and on some stuff, I have to be honest, I can't tell the difference between it and the DX300... Most stuff it is pretty obvious though. But we are talking about $800 difference though.
Oh, they most certainly do play a large part in shaping how they will sound on any piece of head gear. They are not just on paper. If you have a bad DNR, for instance, the sound will be flat (helping to make your staging not sound as good).
You are correct. Which is why I chose to use it as an example. If it can sound pretty close to a top-tier DAP, then another top-tier DAP will be much like another top-tier DAP other than it's flavor, and its limitations in the numbers (if any).
good choice, even better choice if you're happy with your iems/headphones too is to quit the forum, and not be tempted by new models that come out rapidly
Yes, a good todays DAP has a desktop quality sound but with iems and a very efficient headphones. But many high end full sized headphones cant be driven as well as from a desktop rig (less dynamics, more forward midrange, shallower bass response, narrower staging).Oh, they most certainly do play a large part in shaping how they will sound on any piece of head gear. They are not just on paper. If you have a bad DNR, for instance, the sound will be flat (helping to make your staging not sound as good).
You have said that many times, and that is your opinion, which differs from mine vastly. If you are talking about power being the most important factor, then why can't Amp12 (2W) drive any headphones well? Another thing is that actually higher impedance gear is actually easier on the system to drive than low impedance gear. It takes more current to drive the lower ones, and portable devices are very limited on the amount of current they can provide, not to mention that the higher impedance head gear is easier on the battery usage.
Just because it has been your experience that a pair of headphones sounds better from one piece of equipment than a DAP doesn't make it so industry wide... @ Whitigir drives his HD800 with the DX320 and loves it. I drive all of mine from the DX300 and love it also. Though some DO require the Amp12 card to be driven well. You yourself have said that contemporary DAPs are of "desktop" quality and sound...
But like anything in this hobby, opinions vary, and it's all to the good IMO...
Says who? Where are you getting this information? Tell that to the HUGE numbers of people that listen to headphones with a DAP. Have you tried these "many high end full sized headphones" on all DAPs to see that it is true? There are also many that can. And there are many IEMs that can't be driven as well from a desktop rig. That has nothing to do with the form factor. It comes back to those pesky numbers, and synergy.
Forcing more power than that will (most likely) lead to "letting the smoke out of them". That isn't to say that there's no desktop gear that sounds better than DAPs, and vice versa. But you can't simply make the blanket statement that headphones CAN'T be driven as well on DAPs. This just isn't true. I can name a ton that the manufacturers would argue (pretty vehemently) that they can. Let us agree to disagree on this subject. There is a reason that the manufacturers give these numbers, and while some like to conflate or deflate them, they are given for a reason. It isn't just to look perty' on paper.
It seems like i have a bit different experiences with daps and desktop setups but thats ok. All im saying is from my own experiences and basing on my ears judgement. Ive tried many full sized headphones, and even tho some ot them sounded really good with daps, i could hear that a desktop systems did more justice to them in terms of dynamics for example. Especially full sized planars. The hd800s out of the M8 sounded even nicer than from Fiio K9 Pro ESS but i was already on 80/100 on Turbo Gain and i already could hear slight dynamics cut with more volume.Says who? Where are you getting this information? Tell that to the HUGE numbers of people that listen to headphones with a DAP. Have you tried these "many high end full sized headphones" on all DAPs to see that it is true? There are also many that can. And there are many IEMs that can't be driven as well from a desktop rig. That has nothing to do with the form factor. It comes back to those pesky numbers, and synergy.
You don't need 45W, or a device labeled "desktop usage only" to drive high end gear properly. Sure, it's nice to have on tap, but that doesn't (necessarily) make it sound better. There is a point where the term "scales well with power" no longer applies. Most head gear lists input power or rated power. That's it, it doesn't take MORE power...
With good gear, you only need to have enough power to cover voltage swings, impedance spikes, etc... for them to be driven properly. What you might be thinking of is synergy, and the type of device doesn't play as big a role in that. It is all about implementation, tuning, output impedance, etc... Most contemporary DAPs ARE desktop gear in a smaller package, and with a battery rather than a plugin (that and they are AIO).
Let us agree to disagree on this subject. There is a reason that the manufacturers give these numbers, and while some like to conflate or deflate them, they are given for a reason. It isn't just to look perty' on paper.
We could both come back with our version of information that makes sense, and in the end, we would probably say something "not so nice" to each other, and I don't want to do that because I value (and have for a long time) our conversations.
Peace be with you!
No no, I know you didn't. It was just a hypothetical.
Since I don't own them, maybe it IS necessary, but the math says that I could drive them from the DX300 w/Amp12
Sure, the dx312 will drive them and they will sound nice. But from powerful desktop amp they will sound more authoritative and dynamic, with deeper bass response.No no, I know you didn't. It was just a hypothetical.
Since I don't own them, maybe it IS necessary, but the math says that I could drive them from the DX300 w/Amp12
What they need to be driven fully to 110dBSPL:
What the DX w/Amp12 can provide:
- 502mW
- 5.49Vrms
- 91.5mA
And remember that planars operate on capacitance. The voltage stays steady, but the current increases/decreases upon demand over the spectrum. For me, I like to have at least double of what the requirements are, so this actually wouldn't be enough for me, but I don't think they actually need a speaker amp to drive them (they are 60ohms @83dB/1mW). And remember the Amp12 card is capable of providing up to 2A...
- 1121mW
- 8.2Vrms
- 136.7mA
Tell ya' what, someone just send me a pair and I will test....
What are you looking to improve from SP1K? What is important to you?
