One more point, the DUT is powered by USB "5V" rail which actually seldom more than 4.2VDC under 100-300mA of the load, hence, 0dfs THD+N will strongly depend on USB port rail current limiter IC(like TPS2061C) setting. We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!

If the FiiO sounded better, then we’d be more than happy with the extra bulk and could easily see the Q1 Mark II carving out a nice little niche for the discerning iPhone user. Right now, however, we can’t quite see its place.Shifting gears more than somewhat with a 16-bit/44.1kHz stream of Melt-Banana’s Candy Gun via Tidal reveals the soundKey to be reasonably, thought not decisively, dynamic – it has all the fevered abandon the tune requires, but doesn’t quite describe the peaks and troughs as explicitly as some rivals.

Set up is pretty straight forward, as all we have here is a 3.5mm headphone output and a micro USB connection. If you use anything other than an Apple product it couldn’t be easier. Plug the mini USB into your phone or tablet and attach the headphones. However if you use iPhone or and iPad, you’re going to need to buy a separate Apple camera kit to make this all work. This does add some additional bulk and wires to the process, but the DACs small stature does aid this a bit. You can also use the soundKey with your laptop via the USB connection so if that’s your thing, you’re more than covered. iFi released two versions of the iFi GO bar, the standard ‘GO’ and the limited-edition ‘Gold’ bar, a premium-priced, limited-edition, gold-plated copper version of the original. Both feature the same internal 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC and 16-core XMOS controller. The Dethonray Pegasus SG1 is unlike any other portable DAC/amp out there. Forgoing USB connectivity entirely, the SG1 is designed from the ground up to be Bluetooth only. Supporting the highest quality aptX HD and LDAC Bluetooth codecs, the SG1 brings the best wireless features to any pair of headphones.Yes, a DAC with the line outputs has to produce the best performances at 0dbfs level but an Amp has to amplify DACs signal up to clipping and more. I believe, every Amp on the market intentionally has some extra gain for that, perhaps excluding FDA/PowerDACs. The sound can be described as neutral, slightly bright, clear, clean, fun, well extended, detailed and slightly analytical.