Review of the Audio-GD FUN - A modular Dac / Headphone amp / Preamp - Page 7

.

I think this was discussed a while back. Someone recommended the Cryo Sonikleer over the Audio-Gd Power Cable and it was lower in price too. On my part i was using the Audio-Gd on my Compass for sometime and I ask the same question here. So i finally got the Cryo Sonikleer cable recently.

Compared to the Audio-Gd cable this Sonikleer definitely strikes a great balance in sound from my Compass. Everything seems to have gain clarity, details jumped out and soundstage has depth and width. It seems to be a great recommendation for my Compass, and probably may be work great with the FUN. Though this really depends on individual's mileage from power cables.

Sorry I deleted my previous post... I still haven't decided if power cables are placebo or not. That's not up for discussion either. I've seen what power cable discussions degrade into and I want no part in that. Thats why I deleted the previous post. Either way, if I decide to get a power cable I'll definitely consider the Sonikleer or otherwise the pangea cables. Thanks for the recommendation!

thanks for the reply

Yes I read that too but also these 3 posts :

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/ir...1/#post5811629

and the guy is saying the Audio-gd is one of the best he tried between many so I cannot decide.

Is the SoniKLEER that better compared to the Audio-gd one? I may buy the two to make an idea on that...

Hi

is the audio gd fun(DAC) better than the dacmagic?
i am planing on getting one of them for my grado sr325i

Mine will be delivered today! I have a Compass with Earth and Fun with SUN. I am excite.

Most reviewed the Compass better than the Dacmagic and the FUN is a lot better than the Compass.

The mods I performed on the dac/receiver and diamond buffer output modules are starting to bear fruit. A little bit clearer with low level details revealed to almost the same degree as my modified reference system. It still needs more time that much is certain.....I need to spend more time with this amp than my main system but it's tough to tear myself away from the other system.

I have the BG caps (STD series) in hand now so the last mod for now will be swapping out the NoVer caps on the ACSS gain stage for those (100uf x 4, 2 for each module). The 1.0uf/0.1uf WIMA FKP10 bypass caps are still burning in but the results are quite good for a cheap mod (maybe 15 bucks worth of caps including the 4 BGs). I swapped out all of the electrolytic caps in the various stages for Elna Cerafine (same value as the NoVer series but much lower V ratings more appropriate to the module's actual V running through them). The digital modules run at 5V max, with 3.3V and 5V being typical. better to use 10V or even 6.3V rated caps in these crucial locations. The main PSU rails of the amp are + - 15 V so any cap rated at 25V is more than enough.

Pretty pleased with the FUN. It's a good little combo that I could easily live with on a daily basis without feeling I'm missing out on too much compared to the ref system. To be fair my ref system is in another zip code on another planet but the FUN in it's current form is decent chunk of the base sound of the ref system. It certainly has the Audio-gd traits familiar to those who have heard ACSS in earnest.

Peete.

Just can't leave well enough alone can ya!

Well, just thank God you didn't develop a Plastic Surgery Compulsion!

Hopefully it's appropriate to post my thoughts in this thread-

I've had a few days to listen to FUN and make comparisons with the Compass, using Denon D5000's and 2000's. The DAC output opamps are Sun and Earth HDAM's. Version A of the FUN, with the exception of the aforementioned opamp in the DAC output. Since the capabilities of this stuff are more or less well known, I'll try and be succinct.

One thing that may not be obvious from photos or a glance at the specs is that the FUN is smaller than the Compass, and lighter. I preferred the case on the Compass, to be honest, with it's diagram and jumper settings printed under the lid. I mention this now, because it's the first thing you encounter when you get the unit.

My unit shipped with the SUN HDAM. With the D5k's, things were mighty hot in the treble and bass, hiding the Denons already shy mids. I did set the "favor" to Soft1 and this actually helped quite alot in the treble region and brought the mids back, but still a bit bass heavy.

Swapping to the Earth was a bit unnerving because the capacitor on the left side exterior of the HDAM comes in contact with another cap on the main board (looking from the top down, front on). I pried the cap to the left and HDAM to the right to get it seated. Could the resulting pressure cause problems in the long term?

Having said that, I can agree that this certainly is a better match for my headphones and my taste in presentation. As mentioned by everyone else, the FUN really does sound better than the Compass in every area- really. It's just smoother and more natural sounding to me. One interesting thing my wife and I noticed is that the differences between the D2000's and D5000's were greater on the FUN than the Compass. Where there was once a small difference between the phones, there is now a substantial one. Finally, I did go ahead and put that Sun in the Compass and found that it was quite pleasant compared to on the FUN, as the Compass does not seem to respond as dramatically to this change as the FUN did.

So it boils down to me agreeing with what's already been said, though I do wonder if anyone else had the trouble I did with seating their Earth module?

While I'm at it, I am curious if anyone has tried any IC's in the DAC output? I see iBasso has an opamp rolling kit that has 4 varieties for $25.00...would this be at all worthwhile vs the discrete opamps?

Thanx for the Impressions!

I have some IC Opamps and have not got around to playing with them yet.I like Compass box as well.

I like the

I sent an email to kingwa to ask if it's possible to make a PCM1704UK d/a module. He says when he sells enough units then he will. So hopefully that happens!

That's a great idea!

I think his main hesitation is threefold...cost number 1, a module like this will likely be 90-110USD. Number 2 if he spends the time and money to develop the module he needs to sell a fair number of them to recoup those costs which is totally understandable and number 3...he's worried about number 1 and 2 making the offering a losing prospect although initially there will be a number of us that will buy the module. Is that enough ? The other possible line of thinking is how much would such a DAC cut into sales of the DAC19 ? That may seem silly but IMO the FUN already competes well with the older C-2C (amp wise) so it's not a crazy thought by any means to think the DAC section thus equipped with a 2 chip pcm170UK module might give one 75% of the DAC19's resolution. IMO that's a positive for the FUN as it would clearly destroy any combo unit made today (if it hasn't claimed that spot in the under 600USD category already).

Anyway I still hope Kingwa decides to make an effort. He could adopt a group buy methodology for such a module thus guaranteeing a certain amount of money coming his way for his effort. Say lots of 10 units at a time. No discount of course.

Just throwing some thoughts and a suggestion or two out there.

Peete.