Maverick Audio DAC/Amp - Page 50

I have not interested

I am almost ready to order one of these units...however.

The unbalanced chassis issue concerns me. Is this problem found on all units being shipped or is it just found on random units? I was hoping the build quality would be better. Maybe they can inspect the unit before shipping if it is a random problem.

I will be using this mainly for headphone use and have concerns over the hum mentioned earlier. Can I be sure that this noise is attributed to the ohm of the headphone?

These issues are making me lean back towards the Zero which is considerably less.

I'm not affiliated with Maverick or Ryan in any way, and I'm by no means a fan boy.

However, I consider the wobble of the chassis a non-issue. Anytime you have stamped metal (and the case is nothing other than bent sheet metal, you have the possibility for warp. Pressing is much less exact process than milling or casting. Any time you have pressing, you can have wobble. (Try bending a piece of metal four times to make a square instead of milling a block or forging a square. It's just that many manufacturers (like cars, for example) either re-bend the sheet metal or already shim it for you before you buy it. I have a LaCie external hard drive, and it's case is pressed aluminum. It wobbles. I have another external drive, made by OWC. It's cast aluminum. No wobble. I consider them both excellent hard drives and have no fear on storing data on them.

So, in other words, the wobble has more to do with the technique of metal pressing than with quality control.

DVD players and stand-alone CD players often have plastic cases, or plastic components making up the case. You can mold plastic in exactly 90 angles. The Maverick has an aluminum case. That's the difference.

On the other hand, the headphone hum is something that could be worrisome and needs to be properly addressed here.

Mines is flush on the feeties, the casing is solid and the inside is neat. I couldn't comment on the circuit design/parts, but if there were any major faults someone would of pointed it out already as there are tons of knowledgeable people in this thread.

I think it is just a random design flaw, but one that seems to effect quite a few people. I might of gotten lucky, or a seperate batch altogether. A little wobbliness wouldn't really effect the overal life expectancy of the device other than drive you bat poo insane.

No wobble on mine.

We have to be realistic here. There's a reason the Mav costs $200, and other DACs can cost up into the $1000s. Sure, some have better components. Some have better opamps. Some have better DA chips. But, are the components really $800 better? Probably not. Costs are cut during parts of the manufacturing process. For example, the choice to use bent sheet metal instead of a nice, milled aluminum case. We're also not paying someone to detail the DAC and buff it with a diaper, making sure everything is pretty and flush before it gets sent to us. It's leaving some unknown factory of unknown quality from China. I assume there's little to no qality control. Stamp, solder, box, ship. No offense to Ryan, but that's probably the situation. That's just the whole side effect of economies of scale.

Does the case type affect sound quality? No. It's just aesthetics.

So, just remember, we're buying $200 DACs and not $1000 ones. Don't expect it to look like a $1000 DAC.

However, I still am curious about the headphone hum. I'd like a definitive answer from someone in the know.

I used to have wobble but there was a piece of crud on my desk that latched onto one of the feet... wiped that off and it's flat. Stuck some foam tape to the feet and now it's flat and feels like it's bolted to my desk I will say on mine though that the back end seems to be bent towards the front panel about 1 or 2mm too far so it's a little hard to get the rear screws back in but it's not impossible and certainly doesn't impede my listening experience.

The hum/noise... just caused by a lot of gain to support super high ohm headphones. Ryan apparently changed resistors and those units are shipping now according to another forum member. It's not a loud noise and you won't notice it 95% of the time. It is fixable by a very simple solder job but your warranty is gone. If you already have a unit and don't want to mod, I would e-mail Ryan about the possibility of sending your unit's PCB back for a swap-out.

When it comes down to Zero or Maverick... The Maverick has far less serious issues. Inadequate PCB traces vs a little hum? Ryan has sold BATCHES of the Maverick and I've read this whole thread and only remember 2 people reporting a wobbily case and no publicly reported DOA units. The Maverick has more features and far better customer support. I was in those shoes and the choice was clear to me and I don't regret it one bit.

Ok, aside from the sheet metal and wobbles...let's get back to the main issue at hand.......the sound quality!

I have about 20 hours on my Mav now. I let it run music all night at low volume while I slept. I did turn it off for when I went to work today.

It's burning in very nicely. Bass is coming in nicely. It's more punchy. It's not any deeper than before, because my system only goes down to 28 hz. But, it's more defined, better controlled, and has a more profound shape. It's not just a mud of low frequency. I'm hearing separation between the frequencies. Very nice.

The sound stage is also opening up a lot. It feels a little wider and closer to me. I wouldn't say it's gotten any taller. But I can tell it's a little wider and closer to me.

I'd say it's burning in nicely. Still needs some more, but all in all, I'm glad I bought this. Wobbly case and all.

EDIT. ANOTHER COOL OBSERVATION. We've heard the expression, "If you can hear your subwoofer, you have it improperly set up." In other words, the BOOM BOOM BUMP BUMP some of us love isn't what a sub is truly set up to do. It's supposed to just add the bottom octaves.

Well, no matter how I set up my subwoofer, I always had spatial awareness of it. I tried all crossover and gain combinations I could physically make. It could either hear the woofer very clearly, which made for an uncomfortable listening experience, or it was set so low there was no point of having a sub at all.

So, now, the Mav really integrated my sub into my system. The sub no longer has spatial awareness. I get the bottom octaves in beautiful tones and shapes, but now it's undirectional bass. This is awesome!!!

Random question:

When I flip my Maverick over and look at the vents on the bottom, it looks like a cable is hot glue gunned into the board. What's the reason for that? Extra protection for the solder?

I could think of 2 reasons...
1. Protection
2. Voided Warranty Evidence

I dunno about number 2 but I don't think a person would remove the PCB without wanting to modify it. I know the wires from the power supply go under the PCB so maybe it is just for protection.

FWIW, my unit has no wobble.

Just a quick update on opamp rolling:

- AD823:
120/180mV DC offset. Sounds very nice and kinda "forward / in your face". Probably a good choice for laid back / warmer headphones, but you probably knew that already... DC offset is critical though, at least in my unit.

- LME49720:
120/180mV DC offset (yeah, exact same as with AD823). Very neutral and natural but less kickbass than the AD823, I think.

- LM4562NA: 0/0mV DC offset (!). It's now my opamp of choice although I thought that LME49720NA = LM4562NA... I guess not.

- OPA2132: 0/0mV DC Offset... didn't listen very closely to this one.

best regards.
bearmann

What makes the LM4562NA your opamp of choice out of curiosity.

Im SOLD! Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Hopefully the mav will bring my audioengines to the next level.... its gotta sound better than a xfi titanium.... right?

bear,

I'm assuming those op-amp impressions were for the headphone amp.

Have you tried any different op-amps for the DAC?

Which do you think would yield the best sound quality?

Also, does anyone have a better place than ebay to buy some 5670 Raytheon Windmill Getters?



PS. Mine doesn't wobble at all, it's perfect.