FiiO E17 or MF V-Can II

[rab9090]

Just wondering which of these options would be better as I'm using headphones quite often now;

The FiiO E17 via USB from the laptop; or the Musical Fidelity V-Can II headphone amp connected to the Pre-out on the amplifier, which has the Arcam rDac connected to it.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[dalethorn]

I have 3 mini-DAC's with headphone output that all sound better than the E17, so I would expect the rdac and V-Can to be much better.

 

[rab9090]

Thanks dalethorn,

Should this still work with the V-Can connected to the pre out on my amp rather than straight from the rDac?

 

[dalethorn]

Normally that would not give as good of sound. The DAC makes a big difference. But the DAC in the E17 is not nearly as good as the bigger DACs or dedicated DACs.

 

[rab9090]

Perhaps then the rPAC would be a better option. I'd asked about it on the DAC section the other day but wondered if a seperate headphone amp could work from the main amp.

 

[dalethorn]

A good DAC is an obvious choice, but you still need to listen and compare with high resolution tracks. Sometimes the most high end system doesn't sound like it should, and you need to track down the problem, if that's possible.

 

[rab9090]

Thanks again dalethorn,

I think rather than start looking at different DACs, I'll just get some RCA splitters so that I have two outputs from the rDAC and can add a headphone amp too.

Are there any other headphone amps around £120 I could look at?

 

[dalethorn]

The best sound in headphone amps that I know of below £500 or so is the Objective2, normally a kit but also available fully assembled. There is also a version now with a built in DAC called ODAC I think. I don't know about availability world wide.

 

[quadpatch]

The best sound in headphone amps that I know of below £500 or so is the Objective2, normally a kit but also available fully assembled. There is also a version now with a built in DAC called ODAC I think. I don't know about availability world wide.

You can get those two in a combo from Epiphany Acoustics in the UK. The model is called EHP-O2D (£187), I did a review of this one recently...

http://noblehifi.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/epiphany-acoustics-ehp-02d-review.html

I really liked it, it's got a warm signature though and if you are looking for something similarly interesting but more neutral then I also recommend looking at the Yulong U100. With a £500 budget the Yulong D100 mkII also easily fits and that is even more impressive. I'm working on reviews for the two Yulongs and the Arcam rPAC at the moment.

 

[dalethorn]

Good review of the EHP-O2D. Most of my headphones are lean in the bass and play well with the O2, although I haven't heard the DAC in that box. Do either of the Yulongs have a DAC?

 

[quadpatch]

Thanks Dale . I'm the other way around actually. Most of my headphones are strong in the bass so I am leaning towards things like the Yulong, Audinst and Arcam units (although the Arcam is a little bit warm). I really liked the Epiphany with things like the Sennheiser HD700/80, I still haven't tried it with the AKG Q701 but I think that would be the same.

Both Yulong units are primarily DACs but with high quality headphone amps built in. The Yulong U100 uses a Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC and, like the EHP-O2D can use it's amplifier independantly. The D100 mkII uses the Analog Devices AD1955 DAC and has a S/PDIF and coax digital input, dual headphone outputs as well as RCA and balanced XLR outputs . If you can't quite stretch to something like the Audiolab M-DAC (£600) then the D100 mkII (£320) makes a great choice as it's not too far off in terms of quality and connections.

 

[dalethorn]

After having 3 mini-DACs that drive headphones, and all 3 sound alike (and excellent) I would sure want to know how a DAC that costs twice as much as the Dragonfly and 3.5 times as much as the Headstreamer is going to be better.

 

[quadpatch]

Im curious to know what you think of these DAC/amps now. I really love the D100 mkII!

The price isn't quite so different to the others in this country (if it was the D100 mkII that you're comparing the price of others to). Here it's less than 50% more than the Dragonfly and a bit more than twice the Headstreamer so it's not quite that bad. I have heard the original D100 compares favoureably to other DACs in the $1000 teritory and the mkII is supposed to be even better. I can well believe it after hearing the M-DAC which is supposed to be insanely good.

 

[dalethorn]

I see the Yulong is a fairly large item for desktop use, so I'll skip that one and wait for the improved DAC/amp in a size more like the Headstreamer, or at worst for size, the Audioengine D1. The Headstreamer and Dragonfly I carry everywhere, but the D1 is too bulky with knobs and other projections for carry in a shoulder bag. But the D1 works well on my desk because I have so many small items that it isn't practical to have a 10" by 7" DAC there.

 

[quadpatch]

Yeah the D100 is a proper desktop sized one, none of the Yulong DACs are small actually. I tried to take the D100 to work a while ago and it wouldn't fit on that desk properly so I know where you are coming from. The Arcam is a very decent size, I love the convinience of USB powered DAC/amps too but mains powered ones like the Epiphany, Yulong and Audiolab do seem to manage another level of audio quality. The most expensive one I heard was the Resonessence Invicta and wow that was good but talk about heavy! It wasn't quite as big as the Yulong but it felt like it was filled with lead!

Oh I just took this for a future review, I thought it might be useful for anyone reading this to see some scale...

In order they are:

● Fiio E17

● Audinst HUD-Mini

● Yulong U100

● Yulong D100

 

[dalethorn]

A Dragonfly sitting on top of that stack would greatly add to the perspective.

 

[quadpatch]

Ha, yeah that would have been perfect. I should have put a USB stick there as a stand-in, that Dragonfly is tiny!