Hey project86, considering how much you like the Auralic Taurus, are you planning on getting the Vega in for a listen?

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souprknowva said:

Hey project86, considering how much you like the Auralic Taurus, are you planning on getting the Vega in for a listen?

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I actually had a Vega in house recently for a short time. Very very nice DAC. I got a bunch of expensive DACs together for a mini-comparison, and the order was: Resonessence Invicta, Auralic Taurus, Anedio D2 and Calyx Femto (roughly a tie), Esoteric D-05, and lastly dCS Elgar Plus (but don't kid yourself - the dCS is still a really good DAC!). I didn't have time to add the DA8 in there (or the X-Sabre, or the V800 for that matter), but I imagine the DA8 would place in the upper middle of this pack.
 
So yes, I have heard the Vega, but probably won't due a full review on it. I'm backed up with other stuff and frankly there have been a tone of recent reviews on the Vega. Not sure what I have to say that hasn't already been covered by Michael Lavorgna of Audiostream, among several others. 
 
Oh, forgot to mention, the Taurus is getting swapped out for the new Taurus II one of these days. It's not a major change, but a few minor improvements. Most importantly, it was made to be more suitable for lower voltage in countries like the USA. The original was picky and would power down during voltage sags, which could be problematic for users without powerful voltage regulation devices in their systems. 

project86 said:

I actually had a Vega in house recently for a short time. Very very nice DAC. I got a bunch of expensive DACs together for a mini-comparison, and the order was: Resonessence Invicta, Auralic Taurus, Anedio D2 and Calyx Femto (roughly a tie), Esoteric D-05, and lastly dCS Elgar Plus (but don't kid yourself - the dCS is still a really good DAC!). I didn't have time to add the DA8 in there (or the X-Sabre, or the V800 for that matter), but I imagine the DA8 would place in the upper middle of this pack.

So yes, I have heard the Vega, but probably won't due a full review on it. I'm backed up with other stuff and frankly there have been a tone of recent reviews on the Vega. Not sure what I have to say that hasn't already been covered by Michael Lavorgna of Audiostream, among several others. 

Oh, forgot to mention, the Taurus is getting swapped out for the new Taurus II one of these days. It's not a major change, but a few minor improvements. Most importantly, it was made to be more suitable for lower voltage in countries like the USA. The original was picky and would power down during voltage sags, which could be problematic for users without powerful voltage regulation devices in their systems. 

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That's interesting, I was actually just looking at getting an elgar plus after seeing what you can get them for on audiogon, I figured it being a previous generation top of the line dcs dac it would compete against the 4k dacs of today, but it seems I was incorrect in that regard. The D2 continues to look like an amazing value, but I still wonder where the master 7 would slot in on your ranking.

I'm trying to decide on a new dac to use with my kgsshv and sr-009(once I receive it from price Japan). I loved the d2 when I had it, but already had planned on getting a master 7 since I liked it more. But the vega looks like a pretty strong contender as well. Plus the Yggdrasil coming out in like 6 months...what a wonderful/tough time to be in the value dac market segment, so hard to choose one without hearing them all first!

Not sure I want to the spend the money to get a Mirus though, I wonder how it compares to the Invicta, sounds like another comparison that needs to be made. I wouldn't get he invicta though, since for the same money the Mirus should be better and I don't need the headphone amp section.

So many darn choices

Yep, I don't know how these companies keep one upping each other. I'd be intimidated to start a small business based on a "state of the art" design, knowing someone will probably surpass it soon enough. But Anedio and Audio GD and Resonessence and Yulong etc all seem to be doing well, so perhaps there's room for all in this growing market. 
 
Don't get me wrong, Elgar Plus is a very nice DAC, despite "losing" my little shootout. I don't consider the comparison definitive by any means. Wonder how much the Elgar goes for these days? 
 
For some reason I have very little interest in the Schiit statement DAC. Not sure why that is. Maybe it's killer. We'll see. 
 
I'm probably going with a KGSSHV one of these days, so our systems may end up similar. Except you'll have the SR-009 and I use SR-007mkII. And yes, I'll probably try to get my hands on a Mirus one day, to compare with the original model. 

project86 said:

For some reason I have very little interest in the Schiit statement DAC. Not sure why that is. Maybe it's killer. We'll see. 

I'm probably going with a KGSSHV one of these days, so our systems may end up similar. Except you'll have the SR-009 and I use SR-007mkII. And yes, I'll probably try to get my hands on a Mirus one day, to compare with the original model. 

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As far as the Schitt dacs go, the bifrost and the gungnir never really appealed to me, but for some reason I'm convinced the statement will be something special.

Just got my kgsshv in the other day actually, I still don't have any headphones to plug into it yet, though I'm getting a pair of 307s to use with it till the 009s show up. The 009s and the 007s sure are different in a lot of ways, but I can certainly see how someone would like one over the other with either of them. The 007s just didn't do it for me, whereas I fell in love on first listen with the 009s. And I know plenty of people that don't really like them at all and think they are essentially broken, to each their own.

Bt once you step up to the Mirus price level you can get the empirical audio overdrive se for just a bit more...but I guess that's always how it goes..."for just a bit more money..." And the few people that write impressions for the overdrive all pretty much love it as well.

As I said, too many darn options. But I guess it's easier since I'm hoping I won't spend more than the Vega costs, so it's really down to it, the master 7 and the Yggdrasil which ain't even out yet.

I look forward to reading what you have to say about the Mirus though

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souprknowva said:

As far as the Schitt dacs go, the bifrost and the gungnir never really appealed to me, but for some reason I'm convinced the statement will be something special.

Just got my kgsshv in the other day actually, I still don't have any headphones to plug into it yet, though I'm getting a pair of 307s to use with it till the 009s show up. The 009s and the 007s sure are different in a lot of ways, but I can certainly see how someone would like one over the other with either of them. The 007s just didn't do it for me, whereas I fell in love on first listen with the 009s. And I know plenty of people that don't really like them at all and think they are essentially broken, to each their own.

Bt once you step up to the Mirus price level you can get the empirical audio overdrive se for just a bit more...but I guess that's always how it goes..."for just a bit more money..." And the few people that write impressions for the overdrive all pretty much love it as well.

As I said, too many darn options. But I guess it's easier since I'm hoping I won't spend more than the Vega costs, so it's really down to it, the master 7 and the Yggdrasil which ain't even out yet.

I look forward to reading what you have to say about the Mirus though

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Funny how that works - some love the 009 and find it clearly superior to 007, others actually prefer the older model. I'd love to own an 009 as a sort of review tool, but I suspect in day to day use I'd still reach for the 007 more often than not. 
 
Were did you get your KGSSHV? 
 
I have yet to hear it, but the Empirical Overdrive SE doesn't seem all that special based purely on specs. I mean, it's good, but nothing too spectacular. I know it's considered bad form to say anything remotely bad about Empirical and Steve Nugent, and for all I know it's the best DAC in the world - it sure looks like it could be! I actually know two people with experience - one claims it does indeed live up to the hype, the other was less impressed and ended up selling it for one of the higher end Wavelength DACs... the Crimson I think. I guess that shows how everyone has different impressions about what the "best" really is. 

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project86 said:

 
Funny how that works - some love the 009 and find it clearly superior to 007, others actually prefer the older model. I'd love to own an 009 as a sort of review tool, but I suspect in day to day use I'd still reach for the 007 more often than not. 
 
Were did you get your KGSSHV? 
 
I have yet to hear it, but the Empirical Overdrive SE doesn't seem all that special based purely on specs. I mean, it's good, but nothing too spectacular. I know it's considered bad form to say anything remotely bad about Empirical and Steve Nugent, and for all I know it's the best DAC in the world - it sure looks like it could be! I actually know two people with experience - one claims it does indeed live up to the hype, the other was less impressed and ended up selling it for one of the higher end Wavelength DACs... the Crimson I think. I guess that shows how everyone has different impressions about what the "best" really is. 

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I bought my KGSSHV from GeorgeP, he built it back in like April/May timeframe. Recently though, he finished a DIY T2, so I messaged him asking if he was going to be selling his HV, which he agreed to do, I think I got pretty lucky. Don't really have the time to do any DIY'ing myself right now. Though I am going to go in and adjust(eg; raise) the output bias current so I can better take advantage of the massive offboard heatsinks
 
Yeah looking at the Overdrive DACs...they never really did anything for me. Looking at the build or the specs or really anything on the Empirical Audio website just never clicked with me, not like when I read the Anedio website, or the Audio-GD website, or the Resonessance website. I feel like there's just too much "voodoo" going on in there. But then there's all the people that say that "you just need to hear it", which maybe I do, but I don't really have the motivation to go out of my way to hear it. I'd certainly check one out if it was at a meet though.
 
One thing I do really like is the digital volume control on the Mirus and the Vega, which the M7 doesnt have.
 
Preproman is pretty local and has a master 7, what I ought to do is see if I can get loaners of the others I'm interested in...but I'm not sure they all have trial periods. Not to mention I'll be waiting till I get the 009s to compare anyways. Alas its fun to talk about till then though

No other DA8 owner? All this waiting... and now?

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esprit said:

No other DA8 owner? All this waiting... and now?

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We are too busy enjoying the music on the DA8 

Da8 owner here.. Bought it long before the review came out..remains a huge fan of yulong after one month of listening

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souprknowva said:

 
I bought my KGSSHV from GeorgeP, he built it back in like April/May timeframe. Recently though, he finished a DIY T2, so I messaged him asking if he was going to be selling his HV, which he agreed to do, I think I got pretty lucky. Don't really have the time to do any DIY'ing myself right now. Though I am going to go in and adjust(eg; raise) the output bias current so I can better take advantage of the massive offboard heatsinks

 
Yeah looking at the Overdrive DACs...they never really did anything for me. Looking at the build or the specs or really anything on the Empirical Audio website just never clicked with me, not like when I read the Anedio website, or the Audio-GD website, or the Resonessance website. I feel like there's just too much "voodoo" going on in there. But then there's all the people that say that "you just need to hear it", which maybe I do, but I don't really have the motivation to go out of my way to hear it. I'd certainly check one out if it was at a meet though.
 
One thing I do really like is the digital volume control on the Mirus and the Vega, which the M7 doesnt have.
 
Preproman is pretty local and has a master 7, what I ought to do is see if I can get loaners of the others I'm interested in...but I'm not sure they all have trial periods. Not to mention I'll be waiting till I get the 009s to compare anyways. Alas its fun to talk about till then though

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Soup - of course you can get the Master 7 when ever you want it.  I still have the Concero from John, waiting on the JK Ciunas to arrive so I can compare.
 
Just came from the CAF in DC this weekend.  I tell you what.  I really like the HEX.  I even think it's a cut above the Master 7 and PWDmk2.  That's the next DAC i'm interested in.  The Octave mk2 really sound good as well.  Not as good as the HEX but it will compete with the Concero and the JK Ciunas.  
 
Metrum is doing some good things..

preproman said:

 
Soup - of course you can get the Master 7 when ever you want it.  I still have the Concero from John, waiting on the JK Ciunas to arrive so I can compare.
 
Just came from the CAF in DC this weekend.  I tell you what.  I really like the HEX.  I even think it's a cut above the Master 7 and PWDmk2.  That's the next DAC i'm interested in.  The Octave mk2 really sound good as well.  Not as good as the HEX but it will compete with the Concero and the JK Ciunas.  
 
Metrum is doing some good things..

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haha thanks prepro,i knew youd let me borrow it for a while, just wasnt ready yet. i really want to wait till the 009s show up to do any comparisons, but maybe I won't. The 307s will be here by wednesday for sure, ill have to see though.  
The Hex does look interesting, another dac at that price im looking at is the Auralic Vega. Id really have to hear the Hex, on a technical level ive got alot against NOS dacs. but the DACs im narrowed down to at this point is the Master 7(leading the pack), the Vega and the Yggdrasil(which i have a hunch will be pretty special) and if i heard it and decided it was worth it, the Mirus.  
You gonna get yourself a Hex now for sure?

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souprknowva said:

 
 
haha thanks prepro,i knew youd let me borrow it for a while, just wasnt ready yet. i really want to wait till the 009s show up to do any comparisons, but maybe I won't. The 307s will be here by wednesday for sure, ill have to see though.  
The Hex does look interesting, another dac at that price im looking at is the Auralic Vega. Id really have to hear the Hex, on a technical level ive got alot against NOS dacs. but the DACs im narrowed down to at this point is the Master 7(leading the pack), the Vega and the Yggdrasil(which i have a hunch will be pretty special) and if i heard it and decided it was worth it, the Mirus.  
You gonna get yourself a Hex now for sure?

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Yes - but it will take a while.  Still paying for my KGSSHV and Dynahi, then 009s - it never stops..

preproman said:

 
Yes - but it will take a while.  Still paying for my KGSSHV and Dynahi, then 009s - it never stops..

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heh, i know that feeling. Part of me really wanted to get the Vega just cause its supposed to be awesome, and it would mean that we could compare it against the rest of them. but i have a pretty strong feeling that it would lose to the Master 7...and I wouldnt want to sell it just to have to buy a master 7 after that. im not even certain that a mirus/invicta could beat it based on what ive read, though i think that would be an interesting comparison.  
having to wait on the Sr-009s is really killing my desire to compare DACs right now lol at least i put in my deposit to get in line several weeks ago, hope to get them by the end of october. though that gives me enough time to mod my KGSSHV for improved performance :>

Hello everybody,
I got the Yulong DA8 this morning (after 45 days waiting for it since ordering!). I let him burning all day and obviously, I tried a few options.
My configuration:
- Macbook Pro late 2011 16GB RAM & Audirvana +
- Chord USB Silver Plus with pins 1 and 4 shunted to force power from the USB circuit by the DAC,
- Yulong DA8 USB therefore,
- SPL 2Control XLR (VOVOX HDG)
- 2 x renovated Threshold SA/6e  XLR (Odeion Omega)
- Magnepan 3.7 (HP Odeion Omega)

Well, after a quarter of an hour, I really wanted to throw it through out the window because it was so bad compared to TE BMC-2. "A piece of ****," as you should say. I hacked it as it got hot, I passed from CD FLAC files to FLAC HD (96Khz, 192Khz and SACD ISO) and I changed the settings. So obviously, I have not finished burning it and that is why you are reading a provisional report.
Settings "Audio filters" of Audirvana all remained without correction (which is not the case of "default") except the buffer size set to max (2,000,000) and the over-sampling of "2x "(ie the software will look for the strongest over-sampling DAC value to be a multiple of the basic sampling. In our case, the 44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 176.4 kHz and 352 8Khz files, are converted directly into 32bits/352,8Khz. Similarly, 48Khz, 96Khz, 192Khz and 384kHz files are converted into 32bits/384Khz thanks to "integer mode".
Go through an analog preamp is still the best solution, even if I did not say my last word ... So I bypassed the volume control of  computer/Audirvana+. The Macbook Pro is on batteries.
On the DAC side:
- Input USB (352.8 kHz or 384kHz therefore, according to the files)
- Phase + (I have not played with this option)
- Filter Mode Slow
- Jitter Eliminator bypass
- Pure DAC Amplifier OFF

The jitter mode ON "eats" a lot of information. As for the filter mode, set "sharp" and musicality disappears!
So why have I over-sampled before attacking the DAC? Well, because I noticed that the DAC oversamples every info you send to him. But the over-sampling DAC is not that of the computer. Actually, if computer does nothing, it does not degrade the info as does the DAC.
Well, you know everything. Oh no, not quite all. So, with these settings, I think we have a very serious DAC to compete, indeed. It outperforms the BMC-2 bringing more precision everywhere, especially on complex messages ... Certainly an excellent DAC... To be continued.