RMAA: NextDrive Spectra X 24-bit

November 6, 2018 ohm

Relevant links:

RMAA: MST Audio Chord Mojo-Kai (balanced) 24-bit
RMAA: Chord Mojo 24-bit
RMAA: nextDrive Spectra 24-bit
RMAA: Onkyo DP-S1 rubato 24-bit
RMAA: iPhone SE 24-bit
RMAA: Apple iPhone 7 24-bit
RMAA: 2012 27" iMac 24-bit

Spectra X is better than is predecessor. It measures better, sends less amp noise to headphones, filters better, and comes in the same slim package. It’s quite the update/upgrade from the same company within a year. The good news is that the original Spectra was so good that if you have it, you’re golden. If you don’t, X is a worthy investment.

RMAA: FiiO BTR3 24-bit

October 25, 2018 ohm

As you know, I love the BTR1 and uBTR, but the BTR3 is a swing and a miss. Great measurements, yes, but physical interface/orientation problems and poor wireless signal catching make the BTR3 practically rubbish to use.

RMAA: Audirect Whistle 24-bit

January 23, 2018 ohm

Audirect's Whistle sounds great. I mean I love the sound of its name. And it sounds good. From an audio perspective, it is more than worth its 99$ price tag. It gets louder than an iPhone (even approaching high-end DAP territory), keeps THD and IMD to inaudible levels, and does so with amazing unloaded performance. Even loaded it does remarkably, again approaching high-end DAP territory.

Below you'll find charts comparing it to both an iPhone SE and other Lightning dongle DACs.

RMAA: GloveAudio A1 24-bit

August 30, 2017 ohm

RMAA data preceding articles which rely on them is logical. Except as regards preparing articles for Headfonia, which always catch me up. Apologies. Please read this article in conjunction with and foundation today's Wayback Wednesday on Glove Audio's A1.

RMAA: nextDrive Spectra 24-bit

May 3, 2017 ohm

129$. 32-bit 384kHz. DSD up to 11,2MHz. All thanks to a plug and play ESS 9018Q2C DAC, or what a smarter man than me hooted and hollered as high quality audio for the masses.

RMAA: Cozoy TAKT 24-bit

January 6, 2017 ohm

Preamble: Cozoy have grown up. Neither TAKT nor REI spit mad Astrapi-like hiss from the headphone output. They are stable, solidly made, and, if you like well-machined metal, beautiful. Both also play to the low volume requirements of sensitive-eared listeners, yours truly included.

RMAA: nuforce uDAC5 24-bit

November 23, 2016 ohm

The uDAC5 goes for peanuts. It is well built, nicely branded, and compact. It converts USB signals to RCA stereo and coaxial SPDIF for outboard DACs and amps. It gets plenty loud, too: posting absolute volume levels roughly in the neighbourhood of an AK380. At those levels, however, IMD, THD, and stereo crosstalk numbers ramp up beyond reason. Its loudest stable volume is about a half decibel louder than an iPhone 6’s maximum, which is enough for me. If your iPhone is behind a EU volume cap, the uDAC5's power will surprise you.

RMAA: Cozoy REI 24-bit

October 7, 2016 ohm

Considering Astrapi’s abortive attempt at audiophilia, I expected little of REI. Instead, COZOY have corrected every one of Astrapi’s egregious faults. They are: REI outputs no more hiss than an iPhone 6; its lowest volume levels jive with sensitive-eared listeners; it outperforms the iPhone 6 in a number of key metrics; it gets loud without turning its signal to mush.

RMAA: Astell&Kern XB10 24-bit

October 4, 2016 ohm

At the top of every every audiophile’s wish list should be the democratisation of headphone output performance. Think Chord Mojo, Theorem 720, ALO Continental. For good reason - hiss, poor output impedance, connection problems, and general shyte performance - Bluetooth DAC/amps rarely make the cut.

RMAA: Audient iD4 24-bit

August 19, 2016 ohm

Adjusting input levels, and volume is easy breezy thanks to fine-tuned DAW and plug-in controls. Its headphone amp being poorly suited to low-resistance earphones, returning anomalies in frequency response, THD, IMD, and stereo crosstalk. Most of the anomalies smooth out by the time portable or monitoring headphones are plugged in. And, iD4 spits perfectly matched volume into both channels at all volume levels, not to mention trace amounts of background noise. I’ve yet to go deep into its microphone amps, but after digitising test signals from Mojo, I am relatively convinced of its recording fidelity - considering its price, and ostensible market. Stereo crosstalk numbers aside, that is.