The Audio-gd Compass (Was: Designing an alternative to the Zero DAC/amp) - Page 277

if only I didn't have it shipped to my office

Congrat on the arrival of your Compass .. Hope to see a short review soon. Say, you must be the second person in SG to receive the Compass. I'm still waiting ...

Congrats to the new compass owners

something quick I guess - sounded like some kind of veil was present out of the box. There was probably some head burn-in, since 4 hours in it's beginning to sound beautifully better... and my d5k is probably fully burned in by now.

Then I thought about it - that's right, I'm burning in at soft2 mode... So I'll let it burn in more before I finally make a decision... soft mode is probably not meant for me.

Definitely, you don't get a sense of its proportions or build quality from the pictures. And the original panel looks better in person than you'd expect from the pictures.

based on my casual listening in soft 2 mode thus far, i really doubt i will ever feel the need to use this mode. there is just too much attenuation of the treble for me. i will probably use neutral the most, and maybe soft 1 once in a blue moon, but that's it. this is with akg k701s. i believe that perhaps only grado users will use the soft modes with any sort of regularity at all.

also, although the lower gain option is now 9db, i still find that there's more gain than i will probably ever need. i never feel the need to go past 10 o'clock on the volume knob. in fact, the knob almost always stays at 9 o'clock.

just prior to receiving my upgraded compass, i did have doubts about whether i should have waited for the final version, but when i saw the actual thing for myself, the only sentiment i had was "this looks like a really solid piece of equipment". though the front and rear are relatively untidy/less slick when compared to the final version, they also give the compass a certain humble charm. ok, so maybe these are just the ramblings of an infatuated new owner

Dang, that new compass looks fresh...good job to its faceplate design team here + Kingwa

I see you use NAPA brand Tube Dampers also

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I liked the soft modes after burn-in increased the dynamics, it is less fatiguing.

My Compass arrived this morning, and sat under my desk for a full 15 minutes before I realized that I’d never make it to lunch before opening it up. I’m quite pleased with its appearance and build quality.

Immediate impressions of sq are very favorable. In comparison to my iBasso D1 (my only reference) there is a dramatic improvement in clarity, detail, depth of soundstage, prat, and bass impact. The improvement over the D1 is similar to the D1’s improvement over integrated pc audio, imo. The Compass has so far been enough to alleviate my boredom with the DT-250 I’ve been using at work. The only problem is that tomorrow I’ll have to go back to the D1; I expect that its days are numbered.

I can’t wait to get this thing home, and try it out with the DT-880 and HD650. As good as it sounds now, the idea that it’s going to improve with use is quite exciting.

OK - I'm done reading this thread until I get my Compass gets here, currently on hold in LA.

The suspense is killing me and I don't do well with delayed gratification, well there was that little redhead in Dallas that did this thing...

Congratulations on everyone getting theirs, and I will try to not get any resentments in the meantime.

I have some questions to people of the first batch:

How much time to end burn-in of Soft settings?
How much time to end burn-in of Compass?

I would like to read some personal toughts about this.

I'm considering getting the OPA-Moon and OPA-Sun while getting the Compass at the same time. Where can I find a mini review of them with their sound caracteristics?

I'm on vacation and my DHL came today... How many days will they try before giving up? How do I tell them to leave it without signature or schedule a delivery?

Dale