HLLY DMK-IV (DAC, headphone amp, pre amp) - Page 7

I've tried to clean this thread up. The personal attacks must stop.

I see many ppl are expecting theirs? looking forward to their impressions

if the HP amp is a Lehmann design, and it's got 4 AD797 for preamp...it's gotta sound pretty damn sweet!

apparently, Skylab's model was based on OPA2134 opamps?

leeperry,

This is one of those amps that seem to sound better the longer you let it burnin. I noticed a lot more detail in the sound now, base has loosened up more also. This is just my opinion, I am by no means a sound expert. But I still feel it is a hell of a nice amp loaded with some very cool features for the price.

I think I have well over 300 hours of burnin now.

oh, I prolly overlooked your impression in the past 7 pages...all I read was "OMG they are teh stealers, bad bad chinese manufacturer"

so you got good low end bass percussive response, and a great 3D SS? AD797 is amazing in the SS department

and no ground loop hum? my computer loves to throw this to any audio device I'd plug if they're not shielded as hell.

and you're using the built-in DAC over USB? what's the max over S/PDIF? 24/96?

also, the volume pot is stepless and goes back to the middle when you release it (like a real jog/shuttle control)?

there isn't many reviews available, and apparently Skylab's version had OPA2134?? mine would ship with AD797BR, too good to be true! I'm this close to pull the trigger

I would also need to be damn sure that KS works over USB.

In my case DAC output offers higher volume than the S/PIDF yet i am using onboard audio for S/PDIF so i really don't know if having a dedicated soundcard would do any good to improve the volume levels.

The humming is not noticeable until you crank it beyond ~3/4 of the volume but it also has to do a lot with the source of music you play it is more noticeable on mp3s or lesser quality flacs than proper audio CDs.

The headphone power is good. It powers the HD650 levels that i am satisfied, although i have a tube amp coming so i will be able to make a better assertion late this week.

it's still not clear whether the SPDIF/USB inputs go through the four AD797BR(maybe it's only the analog inputs)...and what's the max over SPDIF? 16/48 as well?

I've asked the manufacturer, but their english is pretty broken and they never answer me..ah well.

Have noticed no humming on mine. I listen to it via USB/PC only about 1/3 of the time so far. Mostly I have listened with a Yamaha 1800 connected to it playing SACD's.

BTW, so far the HLLY unit has connected up to all my PC's with no issue. I can not say the same about the Audio Compass GD. I have two pc's that just will not recognize the Compass for some reason.

hi spartan, can you answer a couple of questions please?

-can you get KS over USB?
-so you got good low end bass percussive response, and a great 3D SS? AD797 is amazing in the SS department! prolly the best opamp money can buy
-the volume pot is stepless and goes back to the middle when you release it (like a real jog/shuttle control)?
-what about reliability and warranty? is it 2 years? they don't say it anywhere from what I read...and if the unit craps out in a few months, the manufacturer could easily not exist anymore...or not?

ah well, I know I'll end up buying it anyway...it seems to meet all my expectations, and the remote is the icing on the cake...it should do wonders w/ 24/96 bit-perfect coax(the M2tech Hiface looks yummy)

At 1/3 the humming is dead silent, only if you push the unit towards it's end, but that makes too loud for me to listen anyways. I have tested it with a silent track.

hehe ok, noone wants to answer my questions I guess...I'll keep nagging the manufacturer for answers

Could I impose upon some one to explain what the  DAC output does and how to use it on the  HLLY HIGH END DMK-IV USB DAC.

thanks

Hello Chimps :0)

 

LINK

 

I found you guys looking for information on this HLLY DAC but it looks like some of you are very good at jumping to conclusion without doing much homework.

 

I'm looking for a cheap DAC with headphone output for my son's room. He's got a borrowed Beresford one at the moment, which sounds pretty ok, and I'm trying to find alternatives. Any advice or opinion would be very welcome.

 

Thank you :0)

Edited by MrPig - 7/20/10 at 3:44pm

Headphonia is suppost to be developing a portable dac that might be practical for a student. this is still in development but under the 200 range.  I did buy the  DMK-IV USB DAC  and I am happy with it as a desktop unit, you can pretty well plung in anything you have.

Hello everyone:

 

Just wanted to ask, has anyone actually gone to the LD website and read what David ZheZhe has to say about all of this? You should check it out, as it probably would have saved me four pages of reading in this thread.

 

As someone that owns both the LD and HLLY versions of the MKII, I can say that HLLY is crap, crap, and crap. Since the HLLY version isn't a phone- or pre-amp, I had to purchase a line-level converter to successfully compare the two products (Although I did try the HLLY strait to speakers). Shortcuts in build quality and shoddy/missing components have convinced me that the HLLY company is just out to make a buck at the expense of the under-informed. There's a reason they don't post pictures of their boards on eBay for most of their products.

 

The incredibly cheap banana plug adapters and grinding volume knob were my first red flags upon setup. Also, the RCA plugs were mounted carelessly to the case. When I finally got past the non-linear volume adjust, I decided to give it a go. I was not surprised. Simply put, it was the flattest thing I'd heard since the last time I was in my friend's 90's Saturn. The entire sound was completely empty, and there was no soundstage. None. Didn't know that was possible. I kept putting hours on it, hoping the burn-in would significantly improve on the 150$ paperweight, but it didn't. I thought about selling it on CL or something, but I really don't want anyone to suffer the way I did, so I think I'll just see if David at LD wants me to send it to him.

 

Why did I buy it? I was ignorant, plain and simple. Just got into hi-fi, didn't go to review sites all too often, and it was the cheapest tubeamp for what I needed it to drive. Now, it's sitting in a box with its partner, the HLLY TAMP-10, which is also garbage.

Edited by onef - 7/21/10 at 8:41pm