Wow! I see both your cups in this thread and got to say that they look amazing!! I’m happy for you!
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Thank you and good luck on yours.
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My beautiful hand-made stands came in today from Borykworkshop on Etsy. If you’ll recall, I had trouble choosing which stand to go with for my Manchurian Ash VC’s and posted a poll earlier in the thread. I ended up buying both! Now I’ve got a stand for my Argons too! Please give Yurii your business. The guy does incredible work for the price!
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Looking for some recommendations. I have a VC being built (WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG), a Feliks Audio Echo amp, and an SMSL SU-9 DAC. Wondering if another DAC would be a better solution? Have read the BiFrost 2 is good. First tube amp and want to try to get the best out of it with a good paired DAC.
Thanks in advance!
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Has anyone tried using ZMF Oval pads on their VC? I have the Ovals on my Mod House Argons (Fostex T50RP mod), and I’m tempted to see how they sound on the VC. They are the deepest and most angled pads Zach sells from what I can tell. It might be an interesting combination.
Would they fit though? I am not sure, maybe someone else can answer this for us.
i dont think they’ll fit. Looking at my VO and oval pads here, it would be really tight, really tight.
Edit: or damn near impossible
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I won’t even try then. I’m pretty happy with the Lambskin Auteur pads. I may try out the hybrid Autuer pads down the road.
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I’ve never heard the SMSL SU-9 before but i have a Denafrips Ares II and I just received ProfFalkin’s Bifrost 2 today. Too early for me to fully note all the differences between the 2 dacs but the differences so far ARE noticeable! Immediately I can say Bifrost seems to bring so much more depth. It’s quite unexpected for me since the Ares is often noted for its expanded soundstage… i guess i’m starting to understand why many own multiple dacs.
I initially thought i lost bass impact but that was due to me missing some configurations to incorporate this new dac.
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I’m trying to choose a DAC to pair with my ZMF Verite Closed and ampsandsound Mogwai SE. I currently have a Schiit Bifrost 2 and Chord Qutest.
With the VC, I’ve found myself preferring more neutral and incisive tubes, pads, and DAC filters. Some might prefer the warmth, tonal weight, dynamics, and slam of the BF2. With this chain, I generally prefer the clarity, detail, natural fluidity, round edges, and depth of the Qutest for most music genres.
I’m setting $2500 as the upper limit for a DAC. I only need and use single ended connections. I play Qobuz via a streamer using optical or coaxial, so USB/MQA/DSD performance isn’t too consequential for me. The DAC will also be used with speakers (also powered by the Mogwai SE).
When paired with the VC and Mogwai SE, how would you rank the following DACs if the goal is more detail retrieval, clarity, air, depth, and imaging using single ended and non-USB connections:
Yggy A2, Matrix XSP, Qutest, Yggy GS, Gumby A2, and Bifrost 2?
The VC and Mogwai SE lean toward engaging and euphonic. While very enjoyable with the Bifrost 2 and Qutest, I am considering whether it would be favorable to pair with a more neutral and incisive DAC for my desired sound signature. I don’t wish to add the complexity of a tube DAC and don’t believe a NOS DAC is the right fit for my desired sound signature.
If I were to step to the next tier from the above, I’d probably compare the Audiobyte Hydra Vox, Rockna Wavelight, and Chord TT2. Interestingly, these all seem to be effective FPGA implementations. I don’t want to spend more than I have to. The Qutest is very enjoyable and may very well be what I select.
Also does anyone have experience with the Audiobyte Black Dragon as a DAC? Audiobyte is run by the same people behind Rockna.
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Matrix XSP > Gumby A2 > Yggy A2 > Yggy GS > BF2.
I haven’t heard the Quest, so I left it off. Ratings based off SE connection performance, and a desire for a leaner sound, if possible, that meets the criteria mentioned. Yggy GS has that sound, but suffers from the pre-A2 single ended performance issue, and I hesitate to rank it higher although it probably deserves it.
I think @MRHifiReviews has the Matrix Element on hand at the moment, and might be able to provide a fresh perspective on it -vs- BF2?
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Well my VC to Holo Audio Spring to mogwai SE+ is what I’d suggest.
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You the man. Thanks for your input. My criteria isn’t really the norm. Some of your rankings are consistent with what I was expecting; others, I wasn’t in a position to say based on not having heard.
I’ve also come across the Soekris 2541 and Burl B2 Bomber.
@Earmuffs thanks, Holo Spring looks great for what it does.
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Out of your picks, I’d go with the Qutest as I’ve heard that one a lot and liked it. Would think it would pair really good with your setup and synergize with the mogwai’s tube sound. The Qutest isn’t super expensive and has an amazing sparkle to it! It added a lot of detail to my 2 channel tube setup last year before switching to the lampi.
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I think I see what you’re after here, and I think it’s smart. Balance out the euphoric stuff with a cleaner DAC. I was doing exactly that with the Gumby A2 for quite a while, and loved the results. Then the matrix XSP came in on loan and I was enthralled by the little bits of emphasis I heard (when compared to Gumby) in several aspects of the sound. I think Gumby gave a slightly wider stage, but Matrix sounded deeper. Small trade-off, and depth is harder to do, so slight win for Matrix in that regard.
I haven’t heard the May, Burl, or 2541 DACs. The soekris is supposed to have a cleaner sound than their previous models, and I’ve heard the 14xx (whatever model number that was) which was kinda warm and a bit NOSsy, so that might be a worthy candidate? Probably a different flavor of side-grade, me thinks. I’d probably rule it out unless I could demo it though.
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The Qutest does sound great and pairs well. I’m just wondering what I’m potentially trading off compared to others in this price range. When I went down this road with the VC and Mogwai SE, I wasn’t intending to change DACs from the BF2.
@ProfFalkin thanks - I’ve informed myself of your chain matching/pairing approach/recommendations. At this stage of fine tuning, the differences are small and you can’t really go wrong, but I do wish to optimize. I find myself valuing depth and imaging precision over larger images over stage width.
I understand that NOS is not as adept at depth and air, so not my first preference.
I think I’ve narrowed it down to the Matrix XSP, Qutest, Gumby A2, and Soekris 2541. Qutest and Gumby A2 seem to be safer choices. I prefer not made in China.
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Have you looked at Okto dac8?
https://www.oktoresearch.com/dac8stereo.htm
I have not heard it myself, but it seems to be an interesting ΔΣ alternative that’s not made in China (Prague I believe).
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I have not. Thanks, I’ll check it out.
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Hi @bpcarb the Matrix Element X that MRphotography had is mine I loaned him to play with. I have it back now and listening to my special Blackwood Eikons through the Ovation. Obviously it is single ended into the tube amp, I use the balanced out into a subwoofer.
You can PM me if you want more info, as I have written earlier, I am not good describing differences in DACs but happy to detail what I know. It is their highest end Sabre DAC that I know of. It’s also nice in that it has a clean headphone amp for when I do not want to heat up my tubes. I think it is a nice input for ZMF and tubes.
Write me if you want more info.
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Got to be careful with Okto DACs because they are balanced out only. I haven’t heard the dac8 stereo but I did get to have the dac8 pro during their tour and it sounded great. Signed up for the dac8 stereo tour but haven’t heard anything on it yet.
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