Review of the Audio-GD FUN - A modular Dac / Headphone amp / Preamp - Page 2

I didn't try the Denon d5000 in the FUN, but if I had to guess, I would say that it should work fine with the default setting and Earth HDAM. I don't think it would be necessary to use the soft settings unless you are using some very bright headphones.

On another subject, I asked Kingwa if they were planning to add new modules and he said that he might add in the future the PCM1704UK dac module if there is enough demand for the FUN. The only weakness I found in the DAC is the slight "digitis" that is common to all delta sigma dac chips I have listened to (cd players and dacs costing to up to $5000). If he can provide the PCM1704UK chip in an entry level it would be very very interesting.

Agreed, high quality power is what gets you real smoothness. In my testing of the FUN, I found out that using power filtration can definitely reduce the harshness.
However, I think it also due to the digital filtering at 16/44.1. When I upsampled to 24/88.2 or played native 24/96 files, that slight harshness was reduced.
I noticed the harshness because I was picky and also because I had a better DAC to compare it with. In more general comparisons, the FUN is a lot smoother and natural sounding than the EMU 0404 usb or some mid level CD/DVD players I have listened to.


Switching power cords changes the sound noticeably. I don't have the Audio-gd power cord so I can't comment on it. During my testing I tried it with two aftermarket power cords : an Olflex (35€) and PowertransPlus (180€/meter). The Olflex brought a slight improvement over the stock cord (it sounded clearer and less fuzzy). The PowertransPlus on the other hand, brought a huge improvement in low level details, naturalness of tone, size and layering of the soundstage and bass depth.
So yes, the power cord will change the sound but I have no idea if the audio-gd power cord is a good value or not and if it is worth buying. But in my experience with audio-gd gear, it is always worth it to spend a little bit on power cords and interconnects. If you use the FUN with regular power cords and interconnects, it will sound very good but it would be only a fraction of what it could sound with a proper power cord and interconnects.

The Olflex I tried in my system was this one : 2m Basic High End Lapp Ölflex Netzkabel Power Cable en vente sur eBay.fr (fin le 22-févr.-10 08:27:46 Paris)
The one you found is a slightly improved version. So I guess it should work as well too.

By the way, I have found that entry level power surge/filters (such as the Belkin PureAV that I have) can in fact degrade the sound quality of hi-fi gear and especially the Audio-gd gear. Before I bought the (filterless) Supra jentech Mains Block and later the BADA filter, I preferred using a €10 mains multiplier (like this one) instead of plugging my gear to the Belkin PureAV.

Foll-up 01/02/10

Follow-up 01/02/10:

AD1852 DAC:
After 300 hours+ of burn-in, some of the harshness I first noticed with the AD1852 is now gone. It still not as “sophisticated” and rich sounding as the dac19mk3 but I am comparing a unit that can work as a DAC/preamp/headphone with a pure DAC that is almost twice its price. Overall, I would say that I am very impressed with the sound of the AD1852 module.
One thing I failed to notice in my initial review it the jumpers in the AD1852 module (Kingwa, who read the review, e-mailed me to tell me I could try the second position of the jumper).
The result was subtle but audible. On the second jumper mode, I noticed that the sound became less processed, more airy and that the soundstage was pushed a little bit deeper. It is not a huge difference but every owner of the FUN should try both modes. Personally, I preferred the second position of the jumper but it is more of a matter of taste than superiority vs. inferiority in the two jumper modes.


The Musical Module:
In my opinion, the musical gain module is much more interesting than the Neutral gain module. As described by Audio-gd, it is warm sounding, with a rich mid-bass and a rolled off upper register. It is probably what people expect from tubes before they listen to them; at least it was what I imagined tubes would sound like before I bought the little dot MKIII.
Overall, the sound is smooth and syrupy whatever music is played with no hint of aggressiveness. It is a little bit too much for my taste but some people could be looking for that sound or it could be a good match with some bright sounding cans.
The sound signature of the Musical module is the same whether the FUN is used as a headphone amp or as a DAC from the preamp output.

The DAC/preamp out mode and the ACSS gain module:
After trying the Musical Module for a while as a DAC/headphone amp, I wanted to try the FUN as DAC (from its preamp output) and use the C2C as a headphone amp. The outcome was very disappointing: the soundstage was bigger than the internal amp but the sound was more diffused and lacked impact and density. Given the additional price of the C2C amp, silver wires, and the extra power cord, I think it is really not worth it to use the FUN with the voltage gain modules with an external amp.
However, it was a totally different story when I put back the ACSS gain modules. The sound improvement was such that I found the FUN in the ACSS mode alone outperformed the FUN+C2C or the FUN alone with the musical mode.
Putting back the ACSS gain modules brought a new level of low level details, extension throughout the frequency extremes and refinement over the voltage gain modules. The sound was smooth not because it rolls the highs like the musical gain module but because it has less distortion.
Those improvements were noticeable with the FUN used as a headphone amp as well as a DAC/preamp. In fact, when I paired the FUN with the C2C headphone amp I thought for a moment that the sound was as good as I had with the dac19mk3. When I did some A/B comparisons it was apparent that the dac19mk3 still had the edge but I was impressed about how good the FUN was sounding. If I didn’t have a better DAC to compare it with, it would be hard to find weaknesses listening to the FUN alone.

Thanks for the explanation. Kingwa told me to try both modes without giving me any precision. I will email him about the digital filtering in both modes and I will report back.