The Gustard X12

This is a very interesting DAC because of the way it is implemented. At its heart it is a Sabre 9018 DAC with a pretty analog circuit and even prettier components, XMOS USB input just like the big boys, an Altera MAX2 for programmable logic and all the inputs you could possibly want (and some you may never use).

Plus it features all the jargon you can imagine: TXCO? Check. IIS? Check. DOP64? Check. DSD? Check. Sneezy? Check. Grumpy? Check. Dopey? Checkmate.

Massdrop has it at a great price ($440 + shipping) for this once-no-name brand that is making its bid to play in the major leagues. It's relatively futureproof, and may even be the last DAC you buy, until the next tier of teachnology emerges from the vasty deep.

But (as Tom Hnatiw used to say), do you need a DAC like this? Most people won't. As a litmus test, ask yourself these two questions: [1] how many DSD files do you have? and [2] How many devices capable of IIS or AES output do you own?

Do you want a DAC like this? Surprisingly, maybe not. Unless the rest of your chain can keep up (do you have a balanced amp, for a start?) getting an X12 might be like putting Y rated tires on your Yugo.

Equalizing those headphones!

Q: Is it a good idea to use an equalizer to change the way headphones sound?

A: While you can make some tweaks to a headphone's sound profile with EQ, some fundamental characteristics are impossible to alter.

For example, no amount of EQ can make a Grado SR60e sound like a bass monster, similarly no amount of EQ can make a Sony XB500 sound like a Grado.

Neutral headphones are somewhat like tofu -- they can take on a little of the flavor of the amp that drives them, or the DAC that feeds their signal, or EQ in the audio chain, either by using software or hardware. They still taste like tofu, mind you, but flavored.

While you can buy a relatively neutral pair of headphones like the Sennheiser HD600 and tweak the sound with an equalizer, I'm one of those folks who think that if you want a warm fun sound, it's better to get a Philips Fidelio X1 instead of using EQ to tweak a HD600 to make it sound warmer.

And if you want a bright-sounding pair of headphones, check out the Grado SR60e before throwing down money on a HD600 and trying to boost the treble with an equalizer (and you will save a ton of $!)

And while you can use EQ to dial in some of the frequency response you want, you cannot use EQ to dial in your desired level of smoothness, or soundstage, or detail. Plus the more you flog that equalizer, the more the sound gets away from what the artist and recording engineers originally envisaged. That's the main reason why I am so meh to the idea of equalizers.

But to be fair, it's easy to say "I am anti-EQ" if you own a bunch of headphones and can easily pick and choose a pair with the profile you want. But what if you can only afford (or desire) one pair of headphones?

Well in that case, if you are sure you know what kind of sound profile you dig, then the choice is easy (e.g. you want a smooth + forgiving? Then go with the Sennheiser HD650!). But what if you don't know what you want?

Then walk into a B&M store and audition some headphones. But what if you can't?

Then get a relatively neutral pair of headphones like the HD600 or the Beyerdynamic DT880 and experiment with EQ.

Because they are like, you know, tofu.