@project86
 
I spoke to Mark Mallinson about the packaging, he mentioned they needed to change it for European standards. The Concero sits near the top of the new Box, in its little silk bag. Its basically sitting inside some cardboard, with a latch system. Kind of how a pizza box is made. The only protection is the Booklet and outer Box to protect it from a direct hit on the top side. Also, if someone inspects the Concero and doesn't place it back properly, it has very little protection at all. So basically will smash around inside the box. I hope they change it to something more secure for future buyers.

townyj said:

  @project86
 
I spoke to Mark Mallinson about the packaging, he mentioned they needed to change it for European standards. The Concero sits near the top of the new Box, in its little silk bag. Its basically sitting inside some cardboard, with a latch system. Kind of how a pizza box is made. The only protection is the Booklet and outer Box to protect it from a direct hit on the top side. Also, if someone inspects the Concero and doesn't place it back properly, it has very little protection at all. So basically will smash around inside the box. I hope they change it to something more secure for future buyers.

Click to expand...

Wow, that doesn't really inspire confidence. Sure, more often than not nothing will go wrong. But that there's nothing really keeping something from going wrong is worrisome. Is this the packaging for all Concero models or just the HP? I've definitely been leaning toward the Resonessence of late.

@Schopenhauer 
 
From the sound of it, they have changed the packaging for the entire Concero line. Not sure about the higher end gear. If you can find a HP with the older packaging jump at it. The new one i received had heaps of swirl/scratch marks. I returned the one from the new packaging, comparing it to my non HD Concero you could easily see it had been floating around in its box for some time. Once i received the older packaged HP, its easily in "Mint" condition and looks exactly like my normal Concero.

I'm reviewing the ConceroHP now and I've gotta say that I am really impressed with this little wonder. No "Sabre-shout" to my ears (that many high $ Sabre based DACs have suffered from). My PS1000/Z7s/TH900s/SE535s/LCD-X all sound great from this amp/dac!

townyj said:

  @project86
 
I spoke to Mark Mallinson about the packaging, he mentioned they needed to change it for European standards. The Concero sits near the top of the new Box, in its little silk bag. Its basically sitting inside some cardboard, with a latch system. Kind of how a pizza box is made. The only protection is the Booklet and outer Box to protect it from a direct hit on the top side. Also, if someone inspects the Concero and doesn't place it back properly, it has very little protection at all. So basically will smash around inside the box. I hope they change it to something more secure for future buyers.

Click to expand...

 
 
Wow, that's bad news. I would think they could still throw in some foam or packing peanuts or some such material to act as a buffer. The Concero is built like a tank but that doesn't mean you want it to look like a battle-damaged tank by the time it arrives...
 

macedonianhero said:

  I'm reviewing the ConceroHP now and I've gotta say that I am really impressed with this little wonder. No "Sabre-shout" to my ears (that many high $ Sabre based DACs have suffered from). My PS1000/Z7s/TH900s/SE535s/LCD-X all sound great from this amp/dac!

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Yeah, it's shockingly good in my opinion.... not just "good for the size" either, but just good period. I think the biggest challenge is just to get people to take it seriously. 

project86 said:

macedonianhero said:

  I'm reviewing the ConceroHP now and I've gotta say that I am really impressed with this little wonder. No "Sabre-shout" to my ears (that many high $ Sabre based DACs have suffered from). My PS1000/Z7s/TH900s/SE535s/LCD-X all sound great from this amp/dac!

Click to expand...

 
Yeah, it's shockingly good in my opinion.... not just "good for the size" either, but just good period. I think the biggest challenge is just to get people to take it seriously. 

Click to expand...

To both quotes: Any thoughts on how the HP pairs with planars harder to drive that the LCD-X, PM-1 etc.? I saw that the pairing with the Alpha Dog was discussed briefly earlier. I'm especially interested in that pairing since the AD is the most demanding planar I currently have. It's also more or less my reigning champion. A non-ideal pairing, which I assume it is, isn't a dealbreaker since I could use the HP as a preamp to my Dragon IHA-1. Still, it'd be nice if the HP could competently drive the AD (or the LCD-2.2, for that matter).

I feel like Concero HP does a very respectable job across the board, but Mad Dogs/Alpha Dogs tend to scale well with more juice. More so than most of my other planars (HE-6 notwithstanding). 

project86 said:

   
 
 
Yeah I don't even know what all this update encompasses, so it's hard to say what the delay might be caused by.
 
 

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My only guess would be that they want to get 100% sure the update won't make any complication especiallly when updating the firmware.

schopenhauer said:

  To both quotes: Any thoughts on how the HP pairs with planars harder to drive that the LCD-X, PM-1 etc.? I saw that the pairing with the Alpha Dog was discussed briefly earlier. I'm especially interested in that pairing since the AD is the most demanding planar I currently have. It's also more or less my reigning champion. A non-ideal pairing, which I assume it is, isn't a dealbreaker since I could use the HP as a preamp to my Dragon IHA-1. Still, it'd be nice if the HP could competently drive the AD (or the LCD-2.2, for that matter).

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Well with the LCD-X a big thumbs up in my books. But I wouldn't bother with the HE-6s.   
 
It was so impressive that I couldn't bare to send it back, so I bought it.  My review is about 60% done now. Should have it in by week's end.

Anyone here tried a Concero HD + Leben C300xs combo? Wonder how that compares with my Concero HP. My speakers are getting less love these days so am considering a concero pairing that can drive both cans and speakers.

Thanks everyone for answering my questions re: the Concero HP. Since I just pulled the trigger on an EF-6, I probably no longer need a preamp for my Dragon IHA-1. I'm thinking the HD might be a better fit in my system as it now it is. Because the EF-6 has a reputation for leaning toward lushness, and because the Dragon has such a smooth signature, I wouldn't worry about pairing them with an overly analytical, etchy Sabre DAC. However, based on what people have had to say here, it seems like the Concero DACs don't have this problem. Of course, then one worries whether the net effect would be too casual.

schopenhauer said:

  Thanks everyone for answering my questions re: the Concero HP. Since I just pulled the trigger on an EF-6, I probably no longer need a preamp for my Dragon IHA-1. I'm thinking the HD might be a better fit in my system as it now it is. Because the EF-6 has a reputation for leaning toward lushness, and because the Dragon has such a smooth signature, I wouldn't worry about pairing them with an overly analytical, etchy Sabre DAC. However, based on what people have had to say here, it seems like the Concero DACs don't have this problem. Of course, then one worries whether the net effect would be too casual.

Click to expand...

 
I find the concero to be on the analytical side.  Maybe not compared to the other sabre dacs but it's still got an edge to my ears.  I might just be sensitive compared to most people.  It sounds perfect with my omega speakers though!  I find the taboo takes most if not all of the edge off.

llloyd said:

   
I find the concero to be on the analytical side.  Maybe not compared to the other sabre dacs but it's still got an edge to my ears.  I might just be sensitive compared to most people.  It sounds perfect with my omega speakers though!  I find the taboo takes most if not all of the edge off.

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Of all the Sabre based DACs, I'm finding the Concero HP the least "digital" sounding that I've heard to date.

macedonianhero said:

   
Of all the Sabre based DACs, I'm finding the Concero HP the least "digital" sounding that I've heard to date.

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Yeah, it sounds very good with my taboo.  It's just unfortunate that my bakoon gives it an edge.  I know that's just a property of sabre and it's a slight edge but the edge is there.  It's a similar edge I used to get with particular tubes with my old havana dac and the bakoon.  Personally I feel that it's a dac that goes really, really well with speakers and I think it brings the best out of my speakers compared to the he-500.  I get my most enjoyment there from this dac Unfortunately I didn't not expect to miss my havana as much as I do when I sold it off, even with its diminished detail vs the concero(with the most analytical tube I had tried, it was nearly as detailed).  I'm likely going to sell my concero eventually.
 
Not sure if you are using the headphone out with the HP but I'm sure they have a nice amplifier that balances the edge out.  At least the edge is managable and if you do pair it well it is a rewarding product with loads of detail.  It just happens to that I prefer a touch of warmth, it sounds more natural to my ears.  When I traded for the concero I didn't know that I preferred a warmer signature as much as I do.  I don't dislike it as a DAC, but it would be nice to have something that works well with all of my gear instead of just some.
 
Glad to see you are getting full enjoyment though  

The Concero is definitely more on the analytical side and still has an slight etch to it, but less than what I experienced with the Audiolab M-DAC and PS Audio NuWave for example. The Rega DAC is more musical and warmer sounding.