Whatever difference you may hear, is it really worth the price difference? I don't think so. Save your dollars, learn to enjoy what you have. Or spend that money on a vacation somewhere.
I like the way you think. The people that keep chasing the "perfect" sound or the "perfect" system can never enjoy what they have because there is always something better coming out.
Finally the kind of video i wanted to see/listen since so much time in order to evaluate the gap btw 2 contemporary dacs at 2 different budget levels. Thank you very, very….Very much.
This proves a couple of things: 1. Always buy a DAC after auditioning and see what I/O interfaces you need. 2. Enjoy music 🎶, focus less on equipments.
Food for thought, is that we aost think now that 200 dollar/euro is cheap, but for many people that is still a lot of money for a DAC! - 200 is in fact a reasonable price for a very good product. But that aside it is a great comparison and a great video. Thanks!
I am not sure if my headphone is not good enough or what. Despite all these comments down below saying about the difference, I am having a very hard time finding the difference. Thing is, it is much easier for me to tell if the speaker is different in other blind test videos. Conclusion: DAC is just a transparent converter to me, nothing more, nothing less, don't spend sxxpid money on it.
The idsd is clearly superior. The idsd captures the venue so much better with an Im there feeling. The tone2 sounds flat and narrow but smoother in the high frequencies.
I was definitely able to pick out that Blind Demo 1 and Blind Demo 4 sounded more shrill in the high end. I think this is largely due to the downstream chain costing nearly $10k, which is more in line with a $2k DAC. If you're playing these DACs through $1000 speakers with a $1000 amp you're very unlikely to notice the difference. If you suddenly found yourself with this mismatched system consisting of $6k speakers, $3k amp, and $200 DAC (plus a host of other components in the system), then a 20% increase in cost to the overall system is a worthwhile upgrade IMO.
Very nice comparison ,definitely iDSD gives much richer sound ,Tone pro seems to be smoother on ears, very narrow difference in performance, But huge difference in price. Amazing Tone pro...
thanks again Tharbamar, for another interesting idea for some content. While listening to your KEFs', I began to think of my pair of used Spendor S3/5 speakers that are arriving on Tuesday. This got me thinking of why such interest in this video. I realized that it's simply not another Benchmark vs Brooklyn DAC comparison. Put another way, it's not a typical "$8k vs $12k or $2k vs $3k DAC shootout". This has real interest for me. I mentioned my newly purchased Spendors', but I was also considering a new Pre-amp or Class A SS amp. The reason was to add some sound differences to my 300B and 2a3 SET/Single driver 'high efficient' speaker 'typical' setup. The only reason I went with the speakers is due to the shape they're in and that I don't see them on the market often. To get to my point, I simply wanted a device to add new 'shape', new 'energy', new 'identity' to my music. The important thing, is that I was looking at 3 different types of equipment to accomplish this. This brings me back to the idea behind your video. You gave us a chance to compare two radically different DACs. Personally, I listened to 1 for a travel system, and the other for my main system, however, I think that's besides the point. The point here, for me, is that I would enjoy seeing/hearing more of these 'very different' device comparisons. I could imagine a video made to get more 'detail/resolution' out of a system. Within this video, you could compare an entire silver based cable system, to a high resolution DAC, to high resolution bookshelf speakers. The viewer may certainly walk away with many more ideas to achieve more resolution, and perhaps more importantly, more ways in which to combine devices to get various degrees of resolution (as opposed to warmth in my examples here). Anyway, I hope you can visualize the point i'm trying to get at. With an approach like this, and like this DAC video, it has the opportunity to open many more doors to viewers looking to make a specific decision (more resolution in my example). For me, anyway, it would certainly open more doors in considering my entire system as opposed to focusing on one piece of gear to achieve more resolution. Geesh, I didn't mean to type this much. Thanks for reading!
Interesting! I thought the first demo was with the cheaper one! It sounded like it was in a hurry, stressed a little bit. The second demo sounded more at ease, no problem with keeping up. For me, via RU-vid compression and cheap items, the cheaper one was the clear winner. :-)
For most people unaffected by audiophilia that would be the case :o) - I think that it is mostly caused by the tubes - probably a similar effect can be achieved with slotting a little tube pre-amp in the chain.
juz within a few seconds each demo i knew 2&3 is the same DAC and should be the more expensive one since the bass texture was obviously better. But boy I was wrong!
Dacs seem to be the worst price to improvement ratio of almost any component. IDSI is superior. More open, transparent highs, bottom seems slightly more detailed, with slightly elevated highs. How does your Loxjie compare? Awesome comparison! I believe this is what most people want to see/hear
Your first statement seems a bit too deterministic. Yes, the differences may be slight, but then again, if you consider walking a mile with a small pebble or grain of sand in your shoe versus walking that same mile with no sand or pebble, the difference becomes almost insufferable. Also, related circuitry can make a huge difference. For example, when I connect my M1 MacBook Pro via USB directly to my Peachtree Nova 300, I get clicks/pops on playback. When instead I connect in the same manner to my RME ADI-2 FS DAC, the clicks/pops go away. I think this is a digital timing issue (reclocking) that is fixed by the RME DAC, but which is not done by the Peachtree. So that’s just one example when more money buys you more performance.
I do like the iDSD better... mostly because the sibilance gets tamed way down. While I hear other differences, I really am blown away by how good the Tone 2 performs (as I hear it through your microphone, A/D conversion, then RU-vid compression, my D/A conversion, and the rest of my tube-based chain). If I were shopping for the iDSD I would still pick it, as things are. But if the Tone 2 didn't have that sibilance, it would be a no-brainer based on cost savings, even if you were happy to part with more money than it costs. And for anyone not shopping for the iDSD, they should clearly be happy to end up with the Tone 2. I'm sure the differences in real life are much greater, but really, I'm convinced the Tone 2 is an absolute steal. Way to go.
I've been searching for a comparison like this and wondered why more of these shoot-outs aren't on RU-vid. Now, I think I know why. Companies like dCS and the like don't want their secrets out... that you have to sit here and search hard for a difference between products that cost 10x means it's almost entirely placebo and confirmation bias.
The difference was actually bigger than I expected. My preference is the iDSD, it sounds clearer and the difference was most audible by the cymbals in the track. The Tone 2 Pro is not bad by any means and I think preference plays a big role in which of the dac's people want to buy. I am personally buying only Chinese brands because of the value and great performance they offer. I used to own a Topping D50S, A50S and P50 stack which I did use with a Sony MDR Z1R and it did sound excellent. I will get Fiio K9 Pro ESS tomorrow and it seems to be very impressive performance for the money since it is sporting 2x ES Sabre 9038 Pro with a linear power supply built in and 2x THX AAA788+ amplifiers. I will be using this with Focal Elegia since I sold my MDR Z1R and Topping stack a little while ago.
I had the iFi Pro iDSD Signature circling in my mind together with the iCAN Pro Signature but it costs SGD7,200 here in Singapore. Think I’ll just get the Gryphon, buy the Singxer SA-1 (after I sell my topping A90) and an R2R DAC, most likely the Gustard R26 since I’d just sold the Topping D90SE.
DSD seems to have better dynamics and detail. Tone 2 seems brighter but harsher. Big price diff for that little improvement, but I listen to records mostly so the DA conversion is perfect.
Thank you for the “bravery” of actually doing A/B comparisons. I think many audiophile “legends” would be debunked in this way. Hope you are not pressured to cease and desist. HahA.
I really want to see the people selling $2,000 cables to try some blind tests. No one waste money like a brand new audiophile that takes their cues from RU-vid audio influencers. I saw a poor guy comment today that there's no way a $200 dac amp could possibly sound as good as a $600 ifi dac amp. And it's just frustrating that that's how people think.
The idsd pro not very good for listening vocal but the bass is good and the sound is well balanced. The tone 2 is nice for vocal but it lacks some bass. Both not as good as my Denon USB 310 😆.
Spend $200 max on ANYTHING that sounds similar to something that costs $2750. This hobby must be approached with caution if you have money to spare. Getting good speakers and a good amp are one thing but DACs have made such a leap over the past few years that almost any budget $100-$200 DAC will sound excellent. Topping E30 and SMSL Sanskrit MKII 10th come to mind. Save your money and keep your health insurance.
I have the SMSL M100 MK2 and a Topping L30, plus some Dali Oberon 1 speakers and a Sabaj A10a amplifier. I listen to Tidal Master and the SMSL can't decode them, do you think I should go for the Tone 2 Pro as an improvement in performance, MQA compatibility and quality? Also taking into account the possibility of balanced outputs and the future bluetooth. Greetings from Peru
can't hear a lick of a difference. went back and forth listening to the same 4-5 second segments in the blind demos and the unblind ones, focusing on the some critical points like prnounced "s"es in singing, drum licks, bass licks etc... no audible differences through headphones so the differences, if they are there at all (which, if both DACs are good, according to objective science, there shouldn't be. and if you want to subjectively hear your money, more power to you...), aren't worth 50$, let alone 2000$
I’ve updated the MCU and XMOS to the latest. I cannot hear any differences between the filters. I use Balanced cables for the Sundara’s and to my Magnepan speakers
The tone2pro has the wall-of-sound kind of sound that I heard with many Schiit dacs. It is unbearable to my ears. Yeah this type of sound caused by lacking of microdynamic. It feels strong and bold and “detailed” for the first minutes listening, then turns to compressed and claustrophobic later
Ok let’s forget the price. I confess differences in Fr.Response/ slam / etc are low. But : iDSD > less numerical, globally more smooth/liquid and natural so that finally not fatiguing in time personnaly. Tone2Pro > A little bit more agressive and numerical in harmonics, giving the (false) feeling to give more. I would cut music after 15 minutes i think, due to too much « in your face » feeling.
@@samlee2562 huhu ok thanks for the advice 😁. You may know that some (if not most) good songs are not so well mastered unfortunatly. And some dacs may make things more or less slightly easier. But i fully understand that people not sensitive to that are the happier😉
