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I got my D30 DAC and Liquid Spark AMP today

john5220

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So the big question is it an improvement? and was it worth $208? well $240 with Tax and international shipping

Yes it is an improvement, the only word I can use is Smooth, which I can only assume really means less distortion than the Xonar DG.

It is still amazing how shockingly good Xonar DG is to this considering the huge price difference. I did test the onboard asus crystal sound 2 and the DAC / AMP sounded way better night and day difference. Offcourse the xonar DG being a dedicated sound card is going to sound really good. The good news is I could tell the difference between both in a blind test.

Adele and Lana Del Rey never sounded this good but Adele is the real star of the show. Switching back and forth as quickly as I could with the xonar DG I could tell how the music had less fatigue with the Spark and d30. The xonar dg would sound more harsh and hurt my ear drum quicker. Who knows why..... While you can listen to the spark without ever stopping cause everything is just so incredibly smooth

The difference and improvement over the xonar DG is about 25% or so. Space Electronic music sounds better on the DAC AMP you can tell how the DG sounded more distorted with all the million and 1 instruments playing in those space electronic / Chill Relax music where as the D30 and Spark destroys any song you throw at it, with relative ease also.

Songs with any sort of bass sounds like if the bass is extended on this new amp and dac, not sure how that is even possible.

Probably NOT worth $208 IMO for that little extra sound quality but who knows maybe after a couple weeks when I switch back to have a listen I will find this new setup to sound way better

But I don't think I will bother sending this back cause it looks very sexy on my desk and I finally have a volume knob at my side and this way I will know that I am at the limit of human hearing and nothing will ever sound better than this so my quest in audiophile is over. Already have the best DAC,AMP and Headphones, I found out what I wanted to find out for over 10 years and I have what I always wanted to have even if its not night and day difference, the improvement is still Solid and that is good enough for me.

On a side note this AMP and DAC sounds noticeably better than a SMSL SD II DAC/AMP I once had years ago for $65 USD

3efhz73il4041.jpg
 
Last edited:

Celty

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Congratulations! Glad you are happy with your new equipment, after your tribulations.
 

majingotan

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Realistically, anything outside of transducers won't ever change the sound that much at all (without DSP, without EQ and volume matched). That's why we have objective measurements of DACs, amps, preamps etc. to ensure that what we are not getting ripped off as well as ensuring we're getting a well engineered piece of equipment
 
OP
J

john5220

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Listening to some more of this thing today, yeah I am starting to notice how the new DAC and AMP is indeed cleaner sounding than the Xonar DG. So it really is possible to hear distortion in something as decent as a Xonar DG after all.......

I assume that is why it sounds "smoother" its just 0 audible noise / distortion in scientific terms?

The Liquid Spark Amp gets rather Hot I wonder why? apparently this is how every liquid spark Amp behaves from research I have done. Is this really pushing that much power? is it acting as a heat sink or something?
 

Willem

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Smoothness and clarity were indeed the terms I used for my ADI-2 compared to the combination of the analogue output of a Chromecast Audio and an almost fifty year old (refurbished) Quad 33 pre amplifier. You and I have both reached audio perfection for these components, and it does not and will not ever get better than perfect.
I have no idea about the heat from your Liquid Spark. My ADI-2 is not exactly cool either, so I assume a lot is going on inside.
 

solderdude

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Listening to some more of this thing today, yeah I am starting to notice how the new DAC and AMP is indeed cleaner sounding than the Xonar DG. So it really is possible to hear distortion in something as decent as a Xonar DG after all.......

You can only really tell when level matched blind tests are done, otherwise it is nothing but subjective sighted observations with no comparative value.

The warmth has everything to do with idle currents drawn inside the box and have nothing to do with 'pushing power' which an amplifier does not do.
A headphone amplifier provides a voltage and it draws power from the amplifier.
Consider that when listening you will be using less than 0.01W average, so no power to speak of.
 
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john5220

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Yeah who knows what I am really hearing all I can describe it as is smoother whatever that translates into

It isnt any big upgrade at all but I suppose now I know just how good my xonar dg was and it was actually very good near excellent

The real question for me now is if to keep this or send it back. Aesthetics is indeed nice I will listen to it some more then decide cause I have until Feb first for it to return to Amazon.

If I return it the only thing I would do is invest about $200 in cosmetic skins in Path of Exile
 

solderdude

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Both devices you now have should last many years and can handle all that needs to be handled.
Also you will have the assurance what it is fed is what goes to the headphone.
The amp can handle a wide range of headphone impedances.

Even if the improvements you hear would be made up it is still worth it. It is not that you blew money on something that isn't worth anything.
 

cookiefactory

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Yeah who knows what I am really hearing all I can describe it as is smoother whatever that translates into

It isnt any big upgrade at all but I suppose now I know just how good my xonar dg was and it was actually very good near excellent

The real question for me now is if to keep this or send it back. Aesthetics is indeed nice I will listen to it some more then decide cause I have until Feb first for it to return to Amazon.

If I return it the only thing I would do is invest about $200 in cosmetic skins in Path of Exile

Congrats on finding your endgame gear dude. I’m curious, weren’t you “feeling suicidal” over the possibility of wasting $200 on a DAC and amp, but the alternative is to “invest” said $200 into digital skins? Lol...
 
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john5220

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Alright thanks guys I will keep the amp and dac they really do sound better than the xonar and they look incredibly beautiful and classy on my desk so yeah this seems like the end of my audio journey.

I won't bother with hd6xx cause u guys said it sounds almost the same as my hd58x andi think I could even eq the 58x to sound identical.to the 6xx tho I really like the sub bass on the 58x so I feel I cant even get anything better than a 58x in all honesty

Such a perfect end game setup for such reasonable amount of money
 
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john5220

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Congrats on finding your endgame gear dude. I’m curious, weren’t you “feeling suicidal” over the possibility of wasting $200 on a DAC and amp, but the alternative is to “invest” said $200 into digital skins? Lol...

Lol yeah I have spent a total of $1000 usd in the last 10 years in skins in video games but when the new path of exile 2 launches next year I need to invest $200 in skins for that game. It's one of the best feelings if you ask me

In the grand scheme of things on money I waste on including fast food etc that $208 on the dac and amp really isnt bad plus I get this sexy aluminum setup on my desk you cant get that sense of satisfaction from a sound card hidden in ur pc

Plus I need a volume knob and man does this one in the spark feel satisfying
 

RayDunzl

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Willem

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I don't even know what these skins are ( I can think of other skin) and don't really want to know. My priority is a new custom gravel bicycle.....
 

cookiefactory

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I for one am glad to know “buying digital skins” is still an upcoming pleasure level in this hedonic treadmill we call life.
 

LTig

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So the big question is it an improvement? and was it worth $208? well $240 with Tax and international shipping

Yes it is an improvement, the only word I can use is Smooth, which I can only assume really means less distortion than the Xonar DG.

It is still amazing how shockingly good Xonar DG is to this considering the huge price difference. I did test the onboard asus crystal sound 2 and the DAC / AMP sounded way better night and day difference. Offcourse the xonar DG being a dedicated sound card is going to sound really good. The good news is I could tell the difference between both in a blind test.

Adele and Lana Del Rey never sounded this good but Adele is the real star of the show. Switching back and forth as quickly as I could with the xonar DG I could tell how the music had less fatigue with the Spark and d30. The xonar dg would sound more harsh and hurt my ear drum quicker. Who knows why..... While you can listen to the spark without ever stopping cause everything is just so incredibly smooth

The difference and improvement over the xonar DG is about 25% or so. Space Electronic music sounds better on the DAC AMP you can tell how the DG sounded more distorted with all the million and 1 instruments playing in those space electronic / Chill Relax music where as the D30 and Spark destroys any song you throw at it, with relative ease also.

Songs with any sort of bass sounds like if the bass is extended on this new amp and dac, not sure how that is even possible.

Probably NOT worth $208 IMO for that little extra sound quality but who knows maybe after a couple weeks when I switch back to have a listen I will find this new setup to sound way better

But I don't think I will bother sending this back cause it looks very sexy on my desk and I finally have a volume knob at my side and this way I will know that I am at the limit of human hearing and nothing will ever sound better than this so my quest in audiophile is over. Already have the best DAC,AMP and Headphones, I found out what I wanted to find out for over 10 years and I have what I always wanted to have even if its not night and day difference, the improvement is still Solid and that is good enough for me.

On a side note this AMP and DAC sounds noticeably better than a SMSL SD II DAC/AMP I once had years ago for $65 USD

View attachment 39779
Uh huh ;)
 
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