Some VERY VERY early (~50 hours?) observations here:
The power LED is red on the one I got, not the SUPPPPER bright blue that I remembered from the beginning of the thread.
First thing I noticed was how clean the background was compared to my humming monica USB - relatively noise free even with the amp volume pot turned all the way to the loudest. I was expecting something noisier, having read Kevin's disclaimer about the DAC being a vintage gear with inherent hum and all. Pleasantly surprised I was, you might say
To be fair, I am sure hum on the monica is only the byproduct of my pitiful soldering for the RCA out plugs.
At this point I broke down and decided to finally give a proper enclosure the monica so long deserved. Finished drilling some holes on a diecast-aluminum case. Got rid of all the foul half-assed soldering on the RCA connectors and the power adapter I previously had due to bad equipment/workmanship (on my own part
) and gonna have that done right this time. With monica taken to school for enclosure/repairs, I had to rely on my frail memory to establish some kind of a reference point for my new DAC. Same goes for my beloved HD650 as one of the drivers is awaiting its replacement.
Valab's DAC felt a tad bright, not harsh, clean and full sounding with good body to it. Tonality was a bit weird and very colored in comparison. Monica sounded more natural in that regard. For the lack of a better term, I would say it felt like putting on a pair of shades when going from monica usb to valab. The difference is huge and readily noticeable, but not necessarily in favor for of one of the other. I assumed this would have to change with burn-in, especially in the light of all that has been said about the radical changes in sound through the burn-in process. I set it aside and left music on for burn-in. The peculiar bit I already noticed at this point was I somehow liked K701 better on this DAC - still too lean sounding but more fun than before and not harsh.
The secondary computer that I have all my music stored and use for music playback was acking up big time, and I ended up ordering a new mobo
As a byproduct, I have lost some time that otherwise could have gone into burn-in hours.
Earlier today, my newest audio toy - ATH AD2000s have arrived in mail. My patience was wearing thin and I just had to try them for a test drive, though I knew that I would end up confusing myself by adding another dimension of unknowns in the new cans. With AD2000, sibilance is tolerable, sweet and immersive sound overall. Percussion instruments don't seem to have a great detail, and they seem to get buried in the sweet, yet a bit exuberant mids. Bass is not lean, but what I used to hear as lower notes on my HD650s seem to have shifted a bit higher, as in midbass soudning more like mid-high. Subtle but noticeable. I wonder this has more to do with AD2000, its matchup with the amp, or the Valab. As the whole I like it more than the other cans.
K701s need more listen, but like I said earlier I think I like them more than I did with my monica. Not that harsh either.
HD600s were less impressive, surprisingly being the harshest of the three.
I am too new to my Fostrex T20RP, but it suffices to say this one is not quite up there with the other cans albeit the uniquely relaxing and fun sound.
Luckily, the oddness in tonality has vanished with time, as expected (unless my ears have adjusted to it). Overall, I think the Valab a much brighrer sound compared to my monica. I even had to go back to a 6GU7 tube for the PPX3 that I found a bit too rolled off on my monica, and it still sounds brigther than monica. I don't think I mind bright sound, as long as it stays fatigue-free, or relatively so. Brightness was more readily noticeable as time went on, either that or I wasn't testing with the right tracks at the beginning. On certain tracks, this is not a big deal, though cymbals still don't quite sound right to me. Then there are some of my favorite songs with heavy sibilance, making me cringe every time. Would this improve with more burn-in? I have my fingers crossed.
I wish it was a touch less brighter, and definitely want to tame sibilance. If modding is what it takes to get there, I will have to seriously consider getting my hands dirty with that
That is my biggest (and probably the only) gripe with the DAC.
Again, all this is premature observation based on relatively short listen with probably inadequate burn in.
