So I'm not highly familiar with different filters in hardware and what they cause. If it's similar to LP filters in the digital audio engineering domain - then I'd assume some pre ringing could be an issue if it's linear, phasing could be prevalent in others, high frequency rolloff etc... There are many glossaries online, you can take a look at them to understand the articles better. Search for “audio terms glossary”.

Would you recommend the DX3 Pro+ ESS over the K5 Pro ESS, even when one has no use for the Bluetooth? The Cayin RU7 has a tuning which is more to the neutral side, but with its full body and powerful, controlled bass impact, it is a very musical and engaging DAC/AMP dongle. Thank you, @PurpleAngel. That is a product I have not seen before, and a compelling one at that. I'm not sure it's quite what I am looking for though. It doesn't have native function as a bluetooth receiver, so if I were to add one, that would take up one of the two digital inputs, leaving me with only one. I need two (one for my PC and one for my Blu-ray player). Also, I expect that I would be using this 99% of the time as a desktop dac/amp, and not a portable, so unless there is a way to bypass or limit the battery charging, it would sit at a 100% state of charge almost all of the time, thereby degrading the battery over time, even if the battery is not used (LiPO batteries "age" fastest at 100%, and a 50% charge is best to preserve the life of a battery).Hey Amir I suppose you did all tests using USB? No real difference using the coax inputs I presume?

Pair it with a good set of headphones (Meze or Beyer) or some nice IEMs (those yummy GE800) and you’ll be set up for years! A no-brainer, outperforming almost every DAC/Amp available at the time of writing , giving you the perfect setup on a go! It hurts me a little to say this, but since the Hugo TT2 has been installed as my main two-channel DAC I have somewhat questioned my headphone inventory. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to listen to my full-sized headphones at home, but I deeply enjoy listening to my LS50’s a whole lot more now. The Hugo TT2 has given me a perspective on the speaker set-up that I didn’t think I could get in our small living room in the apartment. Chord’s TT2 has transformed my listening experience at home drastically. The Hugo TT2 is by no means a cheap product, but I don’t regret having spent a single Cent. In fact, it made me very curious to hear what Hugo M Scaler would do to the sound. The chase of the white audio rabbit continues… I had issues with the Zen Dac V2 not working when my computer would awake from sleep. Resolved that with a USB2.0 driver and plugging it into a USB2.0 port. I also had to plug-in an external power supply because driven by the USB, my PC would freeze randomly for 5-10 seconds. Headphones: OG AB-1266 Abyss, Abyss Diana V2,Abyss Diana TC,ZMF Verite Cocobolo, ZMF Atrium Cocobolo ,Ether-C, HD-800,HE-500,HE-400,HE-400S,HE-5XX,Sundara,Edition XS,HD-6xx,ESP-950,99 Classics,AKG 872,240 Sextett’s,240 Monitors,Fostex TX-0,TR-X00,Brainwavz Alara,Koss Porta ProIn my opinion, Ivan’s 9038D is an engineering marvel. It is a great achievement to be able to squeeze such a high-performance device into such a small chassis, which not only performs well on paper but also in real life. The topaz is an impressive DAC/Amp that has been a pleasure to explore. If you’re in the market for an excellent transportable solution that drives any headphones under the sun, you have to give the WA11 serious consideration. If you can, go to your closest dealer and try it for yourself and let it convince you. The only downside I can see is the power delivery for full-sized headphones, so do take that into account. ESS really needs to pay attention to this situation and remedy whatever is causing that rise in mid-levels in their OEM designs. At the front of the device is the LED display with vibrant orange lit bottom section used to show most of the information about the unit and a cool-blue lit top portion which shows the active input selected. This is an improvement over the LDAC version’s all orange display but I still would have preferred a less eye-catching color to match the clean look.

The low impedance of 1 ohm means just about every headphone can be driven by the DX3Pro without fear of its frequency response being impacted.The heart of the unit is the AKM AK4493 DAC chip. This is a departure from most of the Topping DACs (and many Chinese manufacturers) which use ESS DACs. DX3 Pro is using XMOS XU208 + 2 x AK4493 + OPA1612 to support up to 32bit768kHz PCM decoding and DSD512 native decoding of USB input. Besides, DX3 Pro has 2 x Coaxial and 1 x Optical input which support up to 24bit192kHz PCM decoding. DX3 Pro also has bluetooth input which support SBC, ACC, APTX, APTX-II, APTX-HD transmission. The HiFiman EF400 is a great addition to the vast world of desktop USB-DAC. It’s not a device I expected, and out of the blue, the brand completely shook me out of my chair. Additionally, I wish I was a “newbie” ! You are at the very start of a beautiful journey, don’t be hasty and try to enjoy it. We hope to see you among us in future, take good care!

Good sound, double outputs, volume control, bass boost and MQA. The EarMen Colibri has it all and as a result it receives our Recommended Buy award. Choose a linear phase filter with a 20kHz passband. That will avoid any potential phase issues. Pre ringing is not a thing for properly bandwidth limited input. Right now i’m thinking if it isn’t worth returning the 990 Pros, to buy better headphones (200E) and a cheaper dac / amp, since the headphone should be more important, right? I don’t have experience with Zen v2 though. I believe nothing has changed except for full MQA support. You get the lovely precision and clarity from the 1-Bit Resistor Ladder DAC, combined with an excellent technical level and great dynamics. The Cayin RU7 delivers a precise and immersive sound, with a wonderful timbre and lovely harmonics. Cayin has managed to deliver a small, well-designed and top-performing DAC/AMP dongle, using the popular 1-Bit tech. As this technology and the advantages it has, is super popular for the moment, I am sure we will see many more 1-Bit and R2R dongles in the near future. The question will be if they can reach the RU7’s performance and quality, as Cayin has certainly set the bar very high.Flapping of the cups was to come though the moment I switched to HiFiman HE-400i. Power was amazing and clarity was superb. As I type this review I have been listening to this setup and it could not be more satisfying. I also think the little warm character of the Zen is because of the burr brown DACs in them. The ESS in DX3 is a little clinical imho. Both can drive 80ohm DT990 and HD6XX just fine. 250ohms should work as well if you just listen at human level but a bad choice to begin with. Element III | miniDSP Flex | Atom/Atom | ODAC/O2 | Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen | C5 | ZO 2 | ZO FS | BTR3 | Qudelix-5K | AP80 Pro | DH80S | V30 If you absolutely need the portability without the cable mess, then it might be the best possible solution from a pure sound quality perspective. For pure sound quality, the SG1 is much better than many other BT DACs I’ve tried. Now does all this mean you need to upgrade to the Cobalt?No, not really as the RED still is really good as well and sells for a very fair price. Yes, as the DragonFly Cobalt is better, more natural. And if you like technicalities, you’ll for sure prefer the latest version. Some on the other hand will prefer the typical tuning of the RED over that of the new Cobalt.