“Comparing the D1 with the Hifiman HM-101 USB DAC ($39) it was immediately clear that the D1 was more transparent. Carter Burwell’s score for the “Fur” soundtrack is loaded with bells and other percussion instruments and the Hifiman blunted the sound. With my Audio Technica headphones bass definition was drastically improved with the D1. Both DACs played as loud as I could stand, the differences were in the precision of the sound. Switching over to my Hifiman HE-300 headphones the D1′s transparency was even more apparent, the clarity was absolutely superb. Even hard-to-drive, 300 ohm headphones, like my Sennheiser HD 580 sounded great with the D1.” —— cnet.com