iem DAC/AMP options if you don't like DAP's, ieMatch or the 789/ieMagni

Anyone remember the ALO Continental Dual Mono (CDM)? Haven't spent much time with one aside from trade shows but it seems well suited to this purpose and Campfire boothed with these for their IEMs. They appear discontinued but maybe secondhand a reasonably priced unit could be found...

 

I mean to say that the RME doesn't completely kill the Earmen sparrow (with IEMs), but the RU6 doesn't fare so well.. it's just easier to compare it when i have 3 sample points one of which is a high performance desktop DAC that'll point out where the problem is (treble etch, grain etc).. but i'm persisting with the burn in

 

I've discovered that the Liquid Gold X is extremely quiet and has only the very faintest of a whisper sound with my Zen Pro's plugged in balanced, I think less noise than most recordings have And they sound really good. I would like a bit more warmth, so I'm not sure the synergy is perfect with the LauX and Zen Pro, but technically it is really really good. And it's nice to be able to use an amp I already have. Also, it allows me to use the Zen Pro out of my Yggdrasil.

I'll still probably get a dongle of some sort to compare when I have the funds. But for now, I'm going to use the LauX.

 

Just use Unison if you want the added warmth, instead of a pi2AES. I know probably not as good, but I still think Yggdrasil is more than the zen can fully resolve.

 

JVC FDX1 + Cayin RU6 is a very good pairing: the Cayin give it a bit of bloom, naturalness to counteract the JVC's metallic tinge and to tame it's aggression - it makes for a very pleasant, mellowish and organic listen. Treble etch not an issue at all with JVC's slight treble roll off.

I can highly recommend this combination especially if you sometimes find the JVC metallic/aggressive

 

Are you talking about NOS mode or also OS mode?

I also just got the RU6 in and I wonder what treble etch the people are talking about. I can't hear it, but I guess that's a good thing.

EDIT: I also wonder what the EMI/EFI noise sounds like that some people mention when talking about dongle DACs. Haven't heard that so far. As far as I understand it's audible noise and not the electrical noise of dirty power, USB etc.

 

It's the dongle picking up the wireless signals emanating from your device. An expected issue when dealing with small devices kept close to sources like phones. Some dongles like the Sparrow seem more sensitive to it.

 

The noise I hear when the Sparrow is too close to my phone is an intermittent buzzing, the appearance of which correlates with activity of the phone's incoming/outgoing signal indicator.

 

I use it in NOS mode it's a little less bright that way. The etch is more a density and slightly grain in the treble i found, I can mostly hear it with my IERM7 as they extend very high in that area. Burn in seems to help I think as does a good usb source.
I am finding it more and more a non issue however, perhaps it's the burn in, or it's my late listening sessions when my ears are not so sensitive up there. Saying that I will probably think it's like nails on a chalkboard tomorrow, my ears are all over the place these days.