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AMB Gamma2 DAC sound impressions?

post #1 of 185
11/7/09 at 10:22pm
Thread Starter 
I know there is a dedicated thread. It is rightfully geared to the building and technical aspects of the dac, and there really isn't much said about the sound, other than Great!

I'm hoping builders and early adopters that have other commercial or DIY dacs might be willing to offer some impressions and opinions on this dac.

I ask, because I do not have the time or space to build one, so I will be paying a small premium to Mister X to build one, should I go this route. Note that I don't begrudge Mister X his profit, on the contrary, his price is extremely fair in my opinion. It just gets into the range of commercial dacs that I would be considering, especially at the used prices for some of these commercial dacs. Thanks all!
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post #2 of 185
11/8/09 at 2:27am
It is a very good DAC, read the specs on it and how it is designed. Not sure how else to tell you it is good?

It has a high-end ASRC combined with the Wolfson 8741 DAC and a simple and well thought out buffer. Unless you need a balanced source not sure what else you could want. Most DIY guys do not get all poetic about the sound of the gear
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post #3 of 185
11/8/09 at 4:39am
aamefford, I too am interested with impressions. By all accounts it looks like you got yourself one hell of a DAC, congrats.

It would be very interesting to find out what commercial DAC’s the Y2 starts to compete with.
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post #4 of 185
11/8/09 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by m1abrams View Post
It is a very good DAC, read the specs on it and how it is designed. Not sure how else to tell you it is good?

It has a high-end ASRC combined with the Wolfson 8741 DAC and a simple and well thought out buffer. Unless you need a balanced source not sure what else you could want. Most DIY guys do not get all poetic about the sound of the gear
This comment made me laugh. I guess it's true that most DIY'ers just don't understand the concept of subjective sound.

I'm quite interested in this thread as I'd like to hear other impressions. My own y2 will be arriving next week most likely so I'll be able to meaningfully contribute to this thread then.
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post #5 of 185
11/8/09 at 3:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shahrose View Post
This comment made me laugh. I guess it's true that most DIY'ers just don't understand the concept of subjective sound.
Perhaps most DIYers consider that a good piece of Solid State kit will not have a sound and merely reproduce or recreate the original signal with low error
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post #6 of 185
11/8/09 at 3:36pm
Hi, the gamma2 has been out for sometime now {im just about to order parts for one}
there must be plenty of people who must have had a go with it
common people share your reviews
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post #7 of 185
11/8/09 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by m1abrams View Post
It is a very good DAC, read the specs on it and how it is designed. Not sure how else to tell you it is good?

It has a high-end ASRC combined with the Wolfson 8741 DAC and a simple and well thought out buffer. Unless you need a balanced source not sure what else you could want. Most DIY guys do not get all poetic about the sound of the gear
m1abrams - I got the email note that this thread had been updated, and found myself rotflmao-ing! I don't mean that disrespectfully, so please don't take offense. I started this thread instead of posting in the gamma2 thread over in DIY because I knew I'd get 10 similar responses. I'm an engineer myself, so I know the mindset! I've looked at the specs, I've read everything AMB and Tangent have written. I own a copy of Electronics for Inventors. I helped send the International Space Station into orbit - I'm a hard core geek, but mechanical systems, not electrical.

I know it is a fine dac, or I wouldn't consider it. If I had the time and space and no darling little 5 year old, I'd build it. That said, I'll take the darling 5 year old over building a dac any time Instead, I'll probably commision Marshall to build it, his price is more than fair, and his reputation is stellar.

Commisioning one of these does get into the price range of some pretty well regarded commercial products, at least in the used market. I decided I'd check and see if there is anyone out there that has compared one to anything yet, and would get all poetic about it hence the thread.
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post #8 of 185
11/8/09 at 8:19pm
No offense taken. Sorry I can not compare the gamma2 to any other comparable DAC because I do not have any I feel are close to the league of it.

I can say I was rather surprised by the improvement in the sound the gamma2 provided over the gamma1 even when connected to my mini3. Personally I did not think I would actually hear that much of an improvement since I have been very happy with the gamma1. I built the gamma2 mainly because well I wanted to

edit: I can tell you that I can not hear ANY difference between the 3 filter modes, so if I were to build another I would just hardwire it to B and forget about it. That switch costs like $7!
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post #9 of 185
11/8/09 at 8:47pm
I'll also say that the gamma-2 is a huge improvement over the gamma-1. The first thing you notice is the gobs of detail in the music. The gamma-1 seems almost masked in comparison. The input and output flexibility is also a plus, along with the small size.

About the 3 filters, I also cannot hear a difference.
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post #10 of 185
11/10/09 at 6:00am
subscribed
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post #11 of 185
11/10/09 at 6:29am
This thread, however limited the responses have been so far make me so excited for my build.
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post #12 of 185
11/10/09 at 8:02am
Indeed. The three filters sound no different to one another.
They do however measure differently and Ti posted the scopes around somewhere.

I terms of core components I'm pretty sure the HeadAmp Pico DAC is the closest commercial equivalent.
That said the Pico does not have optical or coax input.
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post #13 of 185
11/11/09 at 1:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nick_charles View Post
Perhaps most DIYers consider that a good piece of Solid State kit will not have a sound and merely reproduce or recreate the original signal with low error

If only it were so easy. If so then analog circuit designers wouldn't have any choices or philosophies. They would use a text book perfect design every time. If you know what it is let me know.
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post #14 of 185
11/12/09 at 4:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nattonrice View Post
Indeed. The three filters sound no different to one another.
They do however measure differently and Ti posted the scopes around somewhere.

I terms of core components I'm pretty sure the HeadAmp Pico DAC is the closest commercial equivalent.
That said the Pico does not have optical or coax input.
Could you briefly compare the Gamma 2 to the Buffalo? I bet a lot of people would like to see that (me included).
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post #15 of 185
11/16/09 at 10:19pm
Thread Starter 
Well... this thread was headed toward being interesting. I thought I'd bump it up from the dregs and see what happens...
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