deepak Posted December 4, 2006 Report Posted December 4, 2006 turns out that i'm going to have a chance to shootout the modded dac 60 with the wavelength brick. btw... on review, the brick ran all over the zhaolu. Modded DAC60 is the same as the DAC62 right? It has been getting some good reviews...
hungrych Posted December 4, 2006 Report Posted December 4, 2006 No they're different, the dac-62 is more radically modded http://www.pacificvalve.us/LTDAC62.html
granodemostasa Posted December 4, 2006 Author Report Posted December 4, 2006 the one i'm going to try is one with sonicroft mods
granodemostasa Posted December 6, 2006 Author Report Posted December 6, 2006 Hello the owner of the dac just stopped by and i had a listen of it. He seemed like a very old timer, and he obviously didn't understand much of my "audiophile" talk so i didn't push him so far as opening it up and such. okay: frequency response: this is far more neutral sounding, less bassy and has more treble presence than the Wavelength brick- i obviously think that this is the flattest dac i've heard yet. while the zhaolu (on my system) had a tendency to go towards brightness and leanness, this one does have a tendency towards the midrange. Overall, i didn't hear a flat sound...instead what i got was a gradually lowering treble, not too much, but enough to be noticable. Frequency extension basically, how far it can go up and down- simply put, this was the best i've ever heard. the zhaolu was a cube, the wavelength brick was a pancake and the Dac 60 is an ocean- it just goes that far into the bass and treble. speed- this dac is surprizingly fast and powerful- every hit of the drums was like nothing i've ever heard before. i actually think this is faster than the zhaolu and certainly far faster than the wavelength brick. treble- it's got a very soft, extended and sweet treble. while i normally like this, there is one problem- the clarity and ring of triangles i clearly heard on the benchmark Dac-1 simply isn't there... in fact, triangles melt into the background to the point where they need to be listend for to be heard. soundstage- YES! the best i've ever heard. it was wide, deep, up, and down.. it just was exactly what i'm looking for. resolution and detail- lacking. this thing has less resolution than the brick, and certainly less detail than the benchmark and ori modded zhaolu. yet... somehow listening to this thing, i dont' mind, it just sounds that good. Piano- well, it's not the dry piano of the zhaolu, or the muddiness of the brick, but it does have problems-it seemed a little too sweet sounding compared to all the pianos i usually hear. vocals- not as good as the brick, but certainly better than all the other dac's i've ever heard. Dyanmics-yes, very very very good... i can't understate how amazing the dyanmics were with this thing. Also- the blackness and the abiltiy to differentiate between different insturments was spectacular. Violins- here we have a problem. it sounds like a sennheiser- by that i mean, the string section sounds like one thick organ pipe, much of the naturalness and that beautiful wooden sound just wasn't there.... overall, this is what bothered me the most; that it didnt' sound the way it was suppose to.
granodemostasa Posted December 20, 2006 Author Report Posted December 20, 2006 Hey, i just got a Lavry DA-10 for only 750... not bad eh.... I'll see how this dac goes and report whether i like it or not later...
deepak Posted December 20, 2006 Report Posted December 20, 2006 Thats good, I doubt you'll find the treble roll off like you mentioned in your first post. From what I remember of the Benchmark DAC1 the DA10 is very similar to it, with slightly more emphasis on the bass. The DA10 is pretty much just as bright as the DAC1.
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 Was reading through this thread because I'm considering buying a DAC with multiple outputs, so I can at some point in the future have two amps running off one source. I currently have the Stello DA100 which I like, any suggestions for a DAC that is a side-grade or upgrade (in your opinion) with the mentioned multiple outputs would be appreciated. So far as the difference between hard drive and CDP transport: I have both my computer connected to my DA100 and my (admittedly cheap) SCD-CE595 connected to it, so I can switch between the two with a flick of the dial. Several times I have started the same song at the same time, or even better, one a few seconds behind the other, and switched back and forth between the CDP and hard drive (flac for the record). I remember one night in particular when I almost maniacally spent way to much time trying to compare the CDP and hard drive listening to Morrissey do "How Soon Is Now" on "Live At Earl's Court". My stunning conclusion was that they sounded different, but I could not pick one that was better then the other. I love the convenience of the foobar library, and EAC makes ripping super easy and fast once it gets setup correctly. But some nights I just don't feel like messing with software, so I throw a few CDs in the sony and listen that way.
humanflyz Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 If you like your DA100, the most logical upgrade would be the DA220.
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 If you like your DA100, the most logical upgrade would be the DA220. First, fastest response ever. Second, that was what I naturally thought, but in a thread at Head-Fi, Iron Dreamer told me he thought the DA100 and DA220 sounded identical. With the 220 I would be getting my multiple outputs (though one is XLR, but I think I can get some adapters for that), and I might still purchase it just for that purpose, but for the price increase I would hope for at least some upgrade in overall SQ, which is why I'm still fishing around for suggestions to research.
grawk Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 Was reading through this thread because I'm considering buying a DAC with multiple outputs, so I can at some point in the future have two amps running off one source. I currently have the Stello DA100 which I like, any suggestions for a DAC that is a side-grade or upgrade (in your opinion) with the mentioned multiple outputs would be appreciated. So far as the difference between hard drive and CDP transport: I have both my computer connected to my DA100 and my (admittedly cheap) SCD-CE595 connected to it, so I can switch between the two with a flick of the dial. Several times I have started the same song at the same time, or even better, one a few seconds behind the other, and switched back and forth between the CDP and hard drive (flac for the record). I remember one night in particular when I almost maniacally spent way to much time trying to compare the CDP and hard drive listening to Morrissey do "How Soon Is Now" on "Live At Earl's Court". My stunning conclusion was that they sounded different, but I could not pick one that was better then the other. I love the convenience of the foobar library, and EAC makes ripping super easy and fast once it gets setup correctly. But some nights I just don't feel like messing with software, so I throw a few CDs in the sony and listen that way. I like my da53, and it fits the bill
deepak Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 First, fastest response ever. Second, that was what I naturally thought, but in a thread at Head-Fi, Iron Dreamer told me he thought the DA100 and DA220 sounded identical. With the 220 I would be getting my multiple outputs (though one is XLR, but I think I can get some adapters for that), and I might still purchase it just for that purpose, but for the price increase I would hope for at least some upgrade in overall SQ, which is why I'm still fishing around for suggestions to research. Emm Labs DCC2, pleeeeenty of outputs
Iron_Dreamer Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 Another nifty feature of the DA220 are the digital outputs, which can output a signal from a digital input other than the one the DAC is playing back at any given time. I really don't think there is any sonic difference between the two, though there might be with the DA220mkII, as it has a slightly different digital filter section than the 100 and 220mkI. Of course a mkII will probably be more expensive at this point in time, but they don't call it an upgrade for nothin' right? And BTW you can get suitable XLR-RCA adapters at Guitar Center for $6.
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 Emm Labs DCC2, pleeeeenty of outputs No, I already have one of those in my bathroom for my shitter rig. I needed the multiple outputs because I have two Maestro ZR's on either side of my toilet, one with some Senn HD600's and the other with Senn HD650's. Others may spend their time while shitting reading US News and World Report: I'm out to find out what is truly the best Senn can on the market today. Hey Iron, the only online US seller for Stello products is Hi-Rez Photo Video, do you know of any others? I ordered my DA100 straight from the hifi page of april music, doesn't look like they offer the da220 or da220 mkii straight from the factory.
humanflyz Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 HiFi500 is a division of April Music, so if you ask, I think they can get you a DA220. The Stello shows up on A'Gon occasionally, but they go pretty fast.
Iron_Dreamer Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 I've bought both of mine used off Audiogon. One guy I know told me that he got his MkII for a lot less than the list price by going through Hifi500, but I know someone who got shot down trying it that way. But I guess it's worth a shot.
granodemostasa Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Posted January 19, 2007 well, if i could find a way to get a stello MKII for a more reasonable amount, i might go for it.
KenW Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 I've bought both of mine used off Audiogon. One guy I know told me that he got his MkII for a lot less than the list price by going through Hifi500, but I know someone who got shot down trying it that way. But I guess it's worth a shot. When I heard about his great deal, I tried to see if I could pick up a second unit for a bedroom setup through Hifi500. No go. Guess he just lucked out. I will say that while I paid full price it's worth every penny. I like it so much that I'm considering picking up the matching transport as well. Just not finding a lot of information on it from owners. Still the MKII is just a wonderful piece of gear.
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 When I heard about his great deal, I tried to see if I could pick up a second unit for a bedroom setup through Hifi500. No go. Guess he just lucked out. I will say that while I paid full price it's worth every penny. I like it so much that I'm considering picking up the matching transport as well. Just not finding a lot of information on it from owners. Still the MKII is just a wonderful piece of gear. You sound like a happy MKII owner. I am also curious about the transport, would be nice to know if someone has heard it. In addition to the transport, April Music also has this CDP under the name Aura Note: http://www.aprilmusic.com/products.htm Good looking CDP, imo, but again I haven't talked to anyone who has heard it.
granodemostasa Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Posted January 19, 2007 yea, but at it's current price the stello MKII makes me think that i'd be paying 2X my lavry's cost...without that much of a benefit.
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 yea, but at it's current price the stello MKII makes me think that i'd be paying 2X my lavry's cost...without that much of a benefit. Unless I bought the MKII, then it would be worth every penny. In fact, if I owned the MKII I would say it outperforms any DAC in the $8,000 and under price range. I could just buy an aftermarket balanced senn cable and attach the xlr's directly to the dac and cram the other ends of the chords directly in my temples. dynamic drivers are bullshit anyway they color the sound too much, same with amps. and true I might bleed a little bit but no pain no gain, I'm like Conan the barbarian adventurer searching for the perfect sound y'all respect.
granodemostasa Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Posted January 19, 2007 i think EMM labs and Teac Esoteric might beg to differ.... (btw, the MKII is not a preamp)
grawk Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 Unless I bought the MKII, then it would be worth every penny. In fact, if I owned the MKII I would say it outperforms any DAC in the $8,000 and under price range. I could just buy an aftermarket balanced senn cable and attach the xlr's directly to the dac and cram the other ends of the chords directly in my temples. dynamic drivers are bullshit anyway they color the sound too much, same with amps. and true I might bleed a little bit but no pain no gain, I'm like Conan the barbarian adventurer searching for the perfect sound y'all respect. You don't have to mock headfi with every post...or at least include smileys for the slow children in the audience
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 You don't have to mock headfi with every post...or at least include smileys for the slow children in the audience True, I've been laying it on too thick. I'm honestly still feeling a little hurt and foolish for not taking what I read on Head-Fi with a grain of salt. Just another lesson learned, really. In person my sarcasm is incredibly dry and nearly unreadable as well, which proves how selfish I am: because if nobody can pick up on my sarcasm except me, I must continue to do it purely for my own benefit.
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 Unless I bought the MKII, then it would be worth every penny. In fact, if I owned the MKII I would say it outperforms any DAC in the $8,000 and under price range. I could just buy an aftermarket balanced senn cable and attach the xlr's directly to the dac and cram the other ends of the chords directly in my temples. dynamic drivers are bullshit anyway they color the sound too much, same with amps. and true I might bleed a little bit but no pain no gain, I'm like Conan the barbarian adventurer searching for the perfect sound y'all respect. But to be fair, this isn't totally just a Head-Fi knock. It also contains plenty of general silliness which does not satirize anything at all.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now