We got in trouble. 
Yeah, we did… And it was just about discovering L5 and audiophile related stuff… Not even endorsing iFi products.
Before derailing then, someone better lock this thread. Before you know it we might get into testicle frying 5G or Nazi theory debatings which will undoubtedly leads to this thread becoming a round table thread
Yea , I dont use anything that isnt FOSS native linux apps . Linux system can actually be infected by windows virus if wine is installed due to the comparability layer . So I do not use wine ever for anything.
not at all. it’s just that this thread was aimed more at hardware and audio quality theory. messing with the SOFTWARE equalizer is not something a true audiophile would normally do if the goal is to have as much of a high-fidelity experience as the original composer intended.
:). that … was a mistake on my part and you are welcome to skip it entirely. it was inapropriate to post that HERE but it’s still a good example in regards to what can be achieved with proper hardware. if you know some external open-hardware DAC/AMPs (combo or separate) i’d be interested if you could link to those here.
stop bustin’ my 5g fried balls ! 
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Well , on a true HiFi stereo like the system my laptop outs to that would be correct . However alot of mobile phones often sound weak and tin-ny which is where software equalization comes in fairly handy . My experience at least .
Perhaps not so much in my on the ear headphones because they have better speakers with a greater freq response range so equalization might not be so important .
Fully agreed!
Could you please define open-hardware?
Release of xDuoo XD-05 PLUS to be expected next month, no link yet. Awaiting final specs and testing unit, please find below some of the preliminary features:
coaxial in, optical in, USB in (type C), AES in, bluetooth in, aux in, with 6.3mm phone out, 4.4 balanced output, gain and bass adjustment. USB IN (type C) support up to 32bit/384khz, DSD256, the coaxial/ optical/AES in support up to 32bit/384khz, DSD128
Edit 1: USB = USB type C
Edit 2: As per Xduoo PM (21-08-2019), the XD-05 PLUS will be the new DAC/Amp, specs can be found here. Turns out the PLUS edition will not include the AES in and balanced out, those features will be introduced to the XD-05 PRO to be released later.
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A portable DAC/amp will work miracles for you
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thats alot of gear to listen to mp3s though plus wolfson makes a good dac just the speakers lack i think
The Wolfson should be good enough for your mp3, no worries there
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Thats primarily why I got this phone. microSD suport for my 100gig music collection replaceable battery and 3.5mm port .
I was going to get a LG v series cause they have a great DAC too . secondary function I look for in a device nowadays is music player.
I thought there would have been a niche market out there specifically for devices that are primary music players with voice calling support .
I only found one phone that was discontinued long ago . I think it was a blaupunkt or some other high end mp3 player that could also make phone calls.
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Really looking forward to seeing what the native sound quality is like with flacs in Lollipop on this device. If anyone with a dev kit reads this, I’d love to know if they have been able to test how compatible this is with external dacs. Haven’t had any luck getting either of my dacs (Schiit Modi and Cayin N3) to work with my Nexus 5 running Ubuntu Touch.
i mean fully open hardware as in - fully documented (electrical diagrams, exact components used, copyleft firmware/drivers, no binary-blobs and if possible non-patented or extremly reduced) much like how L5 is going to be in 3-5 years once they get their investment back.
@reC
Now that I know what you mean by open-hardware when it comes to DAC/amps this raises another question. Is it because they could collect data or anything else, passed through?
Could be my ignorance but I have never heard of any DAC/amp doing that. Also it is not common practice in that industry to be open about schematics, circuitry components used, just in general terms as you may be aware of. I have seen some detailed information over the years and I do know companies that I would trust giving out the required information you mentioned.
Should we really be concerned when using DAC/amp brand/model X or Y? If so, would that be hypothetical or is there some sort of evidence/suspicion pointing at DAC/amp manufacturers or their suppliers when it comes to security?
it’s not about suspicion i’m just all in for everything to be open-hardware/free-software for the public consumption. as a base rule. not becasue of a potential police state happening or already BEEING.
this link was given above > https://www.henryaudio.com/open-source.php
dedicated DAC/AMPs are allready expensive so they might just as well be open-hardware.
again it’s not about security/privacy directly it’s about software/hardware freedom (the user is in control)
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
A program is free software if the program’s users have the four essential freedoms:
1.The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
2.The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
3.The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
4.The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
A program is free software if it gives users adequately all of these freedoms. Otherwise, it is nonfree. While we can distinguish various nonfree distribution schemes in terms of how far they fall short of being free, we consider them all equally unethical.
it also ties in with sustainability and environment friendliness and in general living a “green(er)” life
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Thanks again for clarifying.
John Seaber (JDS Labs, US) and Martin Young (IMS electronics, NZ) come to mind, this might just be up their alley.
Also could be very interesting for boutique manufacturers like Vorzüge aiming at customers in a niche market like Purism and similar philosophy. Adding a DAC to their line-up and constantly improving with the help of an open source community could make way for them to grow and have their excellent products sell to a broader audience. Being an extremely happy Vorzüge amp owner I’d buy a Vorzüge DAC/amp unseen when they’d decide to make one.
I agree it would be ideal to have more manufacturers making open hardware and have it available at an affordable price. A downside of any open hardware is the relatively large footprint which makes it less attractive stacking such a unit with a phone. Other highly portable (USB-C) solutions, for instance the Audioquest Dragonfly, are made with surgical precision in the Far East to keep it tiny and cheap as possible.
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problem is true Hi-Fidelity Audio gear is a niche market (proprietary or not). quality audo gear is also expensive and the current DRM(ed) digital streaming options don’t make it any less easy on us Audiophiles. you can still get proper CDs or Vinyls and it’s not common enough to see teenagers or young people going out of-their-way to search for these.
it would be awesome if Purism would at some point offer a DRM free music collection in a Hi-Fi format like FLAC as a digital alternative to the online iMusicThing. for me the preferance is Classical, Movie Soundtrack and Original-Game-SoundTrack.
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