I just wanted to chime in and offer my impressions on this nice little DAC. First, a thank-you to tubes for starting this thread, and to everyone else who dared give this DAC a try.
I bought the new 2009 version right before Chinese New Year. Kevin shipped it out quickly and luckly for me, it didn't get stuck in customs.
Before buying this DAC, I would either run my PC (with a Creative X-Fi sound card) to my receiver, just use the plain-ol' headphone jack on my laptop, or occasionally let my Xbox 360 play a cd directly to my receiver via optical. My receiver is an older JVC unit, fairly low end, but still works. I also owned a Sony SCD-CD595 for a bit, after reading about how "great" it sounds. Since receiving the DAC, I've burned it in for about 120 hours.
The headphones I've been using are a pair of Sony MDR-V6's that I've had for a few years and know very well, Grado RS-2's, some Denon AH-D1001's, and a friend's Sennheiser HD-600s. I've had the Valab hooked up via USB from my laptop for all comparisons.
So now that you know my basis for comparison, here's what I like about the Valab DAC.
The first thing I noticed was an increase and tightening of bass. In particular,tracks like "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash become a lot more energetic and fun. Even early Metallica songs benefit here, as it brings depth to what I feel are pretty bass-light recordings. I haven't found any bass to get boomy yet, just clear and, well, more.
The next thing I perceived was better timing to the music. Sounds seem to stop and start on a dime where they are supposed to, such as the rapping of a snare drum or fast plucks on a guitar. It took me a while to figure out what I was hearing; at first the only way I could describe the music was "more toe-tapping." I suppose it doesn't need to be described to be enjoyed, but for me, this is the most impressive and unexpected musical quality from this DAC.
Lastly, I can hear much better instrument separation and soundstaging from this DAC compared to my other sources. I never knew what these terms meant until I let the Valab burn in for about 80 hours or so. If you've never experienced it, I take instrument separation to mean being able to easily distinguish all the notes of, say, the two guitars behind the rising synthesizer noise in Coldplay's Life in Technicolor track. On my PC, or even the Sony SCD-CE595, the quieter, higher pitched guitar can get swallowed up and swept away by the powerful synthesizer and drums.
What don't I like about the Valab DAC? Well, it does get a little warm, and the blue light on the front is really bright, so I can't leave it on all night for burn-in. Also, Windows didn't want to initially recognize the DAC unless it was turned off before being connected via USB.
That's all for now. I may update my impressions after a few more weeks of use, but for now, I'm really enjoying it. Well worth the $180 I paid, and I think it's still worth it at $200.
I bought the new 2009 version right before Chinese New Year. Kevin shipped it out quickly and luckly for me, it didn't get stuck in customs.
Before buying this DAC, I would either run my PC (with a Creative X-Fi sound card) to my receiver, just use the plain-ol' headphone jack on my laptop, or occasionally let my Xbox 360 play a cd directly to my receiver via optical. My receiver is an older JVC unit, fairly low end, but still works. I also owned a Sony SCD-CD595 for a bit, after reading about how "great" it sounds. Since receiving the DAC, I've burned it in for about 120 hours.
The headphones I've been using are a pair of Sony MDR-V6's that I've had for a few years and know very well, Grado RS-2's, some Denon AH-D1001's, and a friend's Sennheiser HD-600s. I've had the Valab hooked up via USB from my laptop for all comparisons.
So now that you know my basis for comparison, here's what I like about the Valab DAC.
The first thing I noticed was an increase and tightening of bass. In particular,tracks like "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash become a lot more energetic and fun. Even early Metallica songs benefit here, as it brings depth to what I feel are pretty bass-light recordings. I haven't found any bass to get boomy yet, just clear and, well, more.
The next thing I perceived was better timing to the music. Sounds seem to stop and start on a dime where they are supposed to, such as the rapping of a snare drum or fast plucks on a guitar. It took me a while to figure out what I was hearing; at first the only way I could describe the music was "more toe-tapping." I suppose it doesn't need to be described to be enjoyed, but for me, this is the most impressive and unexpected musical quality from this DAC.
Lastly, I can hear much better instrument separation and soundstaging from this DAC compared to my other sources. I never knew what these terms meant until I let the Valab burn in for about 80 hours or so. If you've never experienced it, I take instrument separation to mean being able to easily distinguish all the notes of, say, the two guitars behind the rising synthesizer noise in Coldplay's Life in Technicolor track. On my PC, or even the Sony SCD-CE595, the quieter, higher pitched guitar can get swallowed up and swept away by the powerful synthesizer and drums.
What don't I like about the Valab DAC? Well, it does get a little warm, and the blue light on the front is really bright, so I can't leave it on all night for burn-in. Also, Windows didn't want to initially recognize the DAC unless it was turned off before being connected via USB.
That's all for now. I may update my impressions after a few more weeks of use, but for now, I'm really enjoying it. Well worth the $180 I paid, and I think it's still worth it at $200.
