swt61 Posted February 8, 2012 Report Posted February 8, 2012 Well OK this one may be tamed, but it is indeed beautiful to behold. Naaman's casework (and all around attention to detail) sets him apart, along with a handful of amazing builders we have in our group. But this one in particular really hit a chord with me. Simple but eye catching at the same time. I've had my sights set on this DAC for some time now, as it seemed a natural progression from the Epic Opus ( Opus DAC w/Zapfilter output stage) I had from the Twisted Pear line. And this DAC had a surprise for me. Naaman built in a Mini³ amp into the case, so that it could be used as a stand alone system if wanted. That would be nice for desktop use, meets and for me a reason to pick up those new Philips Fidelio L1s. Not much to say about the sound yet, as I've only just begun to listen, but first impressions do not disappoint. I really like my Adcom GDA-700, but this is a superior DAC from first initial listen. Detail and soundstage jump out as noticeable improvements immediately. I absolutely love the background Blue LED lighting, with the laser etched plexi. Nice touch Naaman! I also love the volumite handling volume control at chip level. This and the fact that all outputs can be used simultainiously (RCA, XLR and Headphone) make it easy to do a head to head β22 vs. PASS F5 shootout. More impressions to follow at some point, but now I'm going to immerse myself in the beautiful, beautiful music. Note that the blotches of the Blue in the 3rd pic is an anomaly of the camera. And it's hard to tell from the pics, but the faceplate is about 3/8" thick, with about 1/4" of faceplate depth around the cutouts.
cobra_kai Posted February 8, 2012 Report Posted February 8, 2012 Wow that is fantastic casework! Nice touch including the mini3 too.
Grahame Posted February 8, 2012 Report Posted February 8, 2012 (edited) Naamanf gives Steve wood with metal? Edited February 8, 2012 by Grahame
Beefy Posted February 8, 2012 Report Posted February 8, 2012 That's awesome. Love the idea of building a Mini3 right in
cetoole Posted February 8, 2012 Report Posted February 8, 2012 Shirley that doesn't fit into the Tower of Power!
swt61 Posted February 9, 2012 Author Report Posted February 9, 2012 Shirley that doesn't fit into the Tower of Power! It's a little like the angel on top of the tree. And don't call me Shirley. Nice work, but where's the wood? This one really doesn't need any wood, but that said, were I to not be able to stop myself at some future point in time, Gabon Ebony side panels would not look like crap.
HeadphoneAddict Posted February 9, 2012 Report Posted February 9, 2012 Wow, I'm seriously jealous. That's beautiful and functional.
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