Hello! I'm WaveTheory. I've been writing reviews of audio gear - mostly headphones, headphone amps, and DACs - at HiFiGuides Forum and Head-Fi and have now moved into the video side. On this channel I hope to continue to do equipment reviews, branch out into speakers and 2 channel systems, and shed some light on some of the science behind sound, audio, and how the human brain understands these patterns of sound we call music. Please join me on the journey!
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CS chips need burn in. All dacs do. Just a fact. They are devices based on quantum uncertainty. Takes time to average out to the designed spec. It's not a lawn mower. I don't see why this is so hard for some people to understand.
For someone who mixes, the reason the mids are emphasized is because when mixing most of the track is happening there. If an engineer can get the midrange right it is more likely to sound good on consumer grade playback systems. Also, 3k is where a lot of harseness is located, especially with vocals.. So if its heightened when mixing, the mixer will naturally tone it down which again sounds good on other systems.
Know you mention that the background is black. Have you tried any of the Violectrics with IEMs? Wondering if any of them work well with highly sensitive IEMs
There is a tile view option in the Mango software player on the DX180. On the music list there is a gray bar on the left side of the screen that takes up about the middle third of the screen's height. Swipe that to the right and select whether you want it organized by artist, album, etc., and it gives a tiled view. However, the player does not default to this and you have to switch to it every time.
Both this headphone and the HD600 are the same price right now ($289) and I'm not sure which to go with. I've only ever had speakers and tube amps, but now I'm looking for a nice entry pair of headphones. Listening to your review of this at $500 is making me lean towards the Hifiman.
Great review sir!! I just got one at first I was not impressed, after 80 hours of continuous play it came alive!!! What a unit, ibasso is a great company! Had a few other daps from them It sounds amazing with my Thea audio prestige ltd
Honestly the fact you can remove the battery without destroying the screen makes it the only dap I would ever consider. Lithium batteries can deteriorate even with very conservative charging and use.
Exacly right. You must never keep them fully charged for longer periods, but you must also never allow them to be fully discharged. This means you need to ping pong between 20 and 80% without being able to use it! And even then, if it gets too hot, it can destroy itself. It's like a baby you can't get rid of.
The internet is better because of people like you Sir! The chance of someone needing an explanation for this stuff is 1/1 million but it happens this video is god sent!
Do you know what you are talking about? This entire "review" was a waist of time. Thanks for your attempt but next time read the user manual before sharing your opinion. Best of luck in your future endeavors
Excellent review, i've been interested in these for a while. I'm also interested in the more expensive ATH-AWAS (that's the ones with the red wood). Any chance of trying to get hold of these for review? Oh BTW your my favourite reviewer, and also a rock/metal fan.
The midrange issue you mention in the sound section is pretty spot on. For midrange focused music it made instruments sound almost harsh and unnatural; but this seems to be a thing for audiotechnica headphones at this pricepoint and for their cheaper studio headphones as well. Brain burn in can smooth that out, as you say, but the issue with using something like this as a daily driver is it will make a lot of other headphones sound muddy in comparison.
Love these as they have been my all rounder and go to for 4 years. This headphone struggles to persuede when only listening through phone and stock cable, but this headphone turns into a beast with upgraded cable and quality solid state amp. Also it scales shockingly well with high end sources and totl gear. Detail, resolution, and soundstage is very very refined and high quality. Nice density in the stage and awesome for modern music.
A rare case where I enjoyed a smaller pair more than Ath's full size w series, also imho z7 is a lot more of an enjoyable listening experience while z7m2 is an office setup when open backs are not an option
Professor WaveTheory, I want to thank you for taking the time to audition and review these Audio Technica headphones! I own a couple of closed-backs, but not this one. My favourite by far, is the ZMF Bokeh. Reverend Dr. Thomas, ✝️ The Vegan Vicar 🌱
ChatGPT: 10,000 to 30,000 different headphone models actively on sale worldwide. A rough estimate for distinct headphone amplifier models currently on sale worldwide would likely fall between 1,000 to 5,000 models. DAC models currently on sale worldwide would likely range between 2,000 to 6,000 models. You have work to do.
I have owned this DAC for 6 months now and just added a Zero-Zone AC power supple. The difference to my ears, less grainy high frequencies, better separation, but most noticeably sound stage depth whereas before there was none (or very little). Much more 3D. Would love for wave theory try this combo vs Bifrost to see if it bridges the gap slightly.
I quiet like it but my problem whit it is drops the wifi network connection off after 1hr 1 and half hr ish so . And I have to switch it off and on again to connect it to the wifi. witch is quiet annoying after a while . But the most annoying is I have to configure the sound output device in sound settings on the I mac every time it drops out and I getting fed up with it . Unfortunately the rooter and the set up in different places but not far at all so I cant use weird connection. Probably Ill return it . Otherwise I like it but this thing just kills it for me . Oh I forgot to say I only bought it because the usb connection from my i mac to dac is so noisy it's even seeps trough to other inputs . High energy frequency I think . Terrible . The sr11 bypass it and the unit is dead quiet . I only using it for AirPlay connection and only for yt casual background listening and it' would be perfect for that . Wish I can just connect it up with the network cable straight to the I mac and use it like that , playing local files as a sound card . If that would be available even in the future I would keep it . But probably ill return it . So time to find the spdif cable for the i mac I know i have it somewhere . Bloody cables I have so many f@#£$ing cables 😂😂😂😂
