Audiophilepure

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“The amp also shined with in-ear headphones like my Audeze iSine 10. The treble was hyper clear, vocal sounded natural and bass definition was remarkable. You get all of that, plus the iSine’s out-of-head imaging that trumps all other in-ear headphones paired with the Jotunheim.”

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“If I sound impressed by Moon’s Dragon Inspire IHA‑1, that’s because I am. What we have here is in essence a handmade, bespoke-quality headphone amplifier that sells for well under $2,000. Most importantly, it consistently does justice to the music in ways large and small and that make you want to listen and keep on listening. Isn’t that precisely what a top-class headphone amplifier should do”

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“The original Hugo was regarded a landmark in portable audio, and I think it’s offspring will follow the footsteps. You get real desktop class sound quality in a transportable package. It sounds really good with all ears and headphones I have used it with, and I am very much looking forward to trying out many more in the future.”

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” Who knows? MQA may disappear in a few years. All I know is that Camille Thurman’s new MQA-encoded CD, Inside the Moment (Chesky JD397), is the most lifelike, 3D-sounding recording I’ve ever heard. Featuring the tenor sax and voice of Thurman—with guitarist Mark Whitfield, bassist Ben Allison, and drummer Billy Drummond—this binaural recording of a concert at Rockwood Music Hall, on New York’s Lower East Side, is outstanding among audiophile recordings because, all the way through, the band, the audience, and the listener at home all sound and feel as if they’re in the same room. Plucked double bass, brushed and struck drums, and audience applause were all so hauntingly real that it was distracting. As I listened through headphones with my eyes closed, the air that vibrated around Chesky’s binaural B&K dummy head as this concert was recorded felt as if it was vibrating around my head. The Rockwood audience was next to and behind me. In front of me, the band was tangibly present. The intensity of this experience of virtual reality compels me to ask: If you were contemplating the purchase of a new DAC, why would you not want it to include MQA processing?”

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“It may lack some of the micro detail prowess of the ESS flavored DACs but if you want something a little punchier then the iDAC-6 will give you that. A good example is the voicing when switching from the Oppo Sonica DAC to the iDAC-6 using the iHA-6 amp. I get a more euphoric but slightly edgier and less refined timbre with the iDAC-6. Technically, the Sonica is thus the more accurate for my money but the iDAC-6 is the more engaging and dynamic of the two for vocals so I tend to get more personal pleasure from the iDAC-6 performance with the right amp pairing.”

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” Using the HD800 from the HDACC with ohm setting to 300-ohms the difference was palatable also. With the Flac recording via USB Katherine’s vocals fell back a bit into the orchestra and lost a little in body. Switching back to the disk via HDMI immediately the vocals sounded more accurate and life like. Instrumental positioning was not as flat allowing for better spacing and generally an airier feel to the recording.”