[Sage Encore]

I'm leaning towards the Tubulus Argentus though the Phasure as recommended does look pretty darn good as well. Anyone using the Tubulus? Thank you guys.

 

[smodtactical]

Well my DI20HE is DOA. So waiting for Kingwa for the return. Might consider Gaia now.

 

[BlakeT]

^ No problem, join us on the dark side ^

As a side note, Alvin says they are still having some delays with the Gaia caused by the case supplier.

 

[johnzz4]

I have the Wireworld Platinum HDMI that just arrived, the Argentus that will be here in 2 to 3 weeks, and a budget HDMI that’s certified for the new HDMI 2.1 spec. I know the HDMI 2.1 spec isn’t important for this application, but it may have some bearing on tolerances, noise rejection, etc. The Gaia is about 3-4 weeks out based on what Alvin shared. I’ll report back on the cables once I’ve tested them out.

 

[alvin1118]

Slowly but surely. Thank you guys for your kind patience!

Cheers,
Alvin
www.vinshineaudio.com

 

[johnzz4]

You are in for a treat John Z.

Sage.. Have you noticed any changes in the sound with more hours on the Gaia?

 

[Sage Encore]

Sage.. Have you noticed any changes in the sound with more hours on the Gaia?

Hi John,
Unit is currently with a friend of mine who wanted to give it a shot. Will report back once it's back. Meanwhile I'm also looking at getting a Tellurium Black PC (Loan) to see if it does improve things. I do have a Tellurium Silver with me me too, so I will try that out too when I get it back.

i too am waiting on your report for the HDMI to get the Tubulus. Cheers.

 

[Zachik]

Anyone tried the much cheaper Iris?
@alvin1118 - any news on the in-between Hermes? Can you share comparison info to the Iris and Gaia? Target price?

 

[richardloh]

Hi,

With the Denafrip gaia and especially Terminator owners, do consider the newly released Terminator Plus ... my newly received one is NOT a small improvement over the standard Terminator that I quickly sold.

While usd2k difference seems a lot, no amount of cabling, power supply etc. and other audio voodoos that we often spent on can beat new technology in my opinion, including coveted possibility of synced clock with sources in the likes of esotetic, dCS etc. This is of course only if your sources allows it which gaia does so as part of the Denafrips' new "eco" system which 4 yrs old standard Denafrips is not part of.

Speculative since no information both dual ocxo clocks but do take a look at the enclosed photos of giaa and Terminator Plus with encapsulated and high chances that the associated electronics defers positively with the new flagship Denafrips.

Yes, I am waiting for demo gaia to try out having it primarily for digital output from my bel canto fm1 tuner but for my Nuprime omnia S1 and Avatar with i2s, it goes directly into the Terminator Plus to avoid added cables, connector and going into extra device of gaia.

Cheers.

Richard

1. Gaia

2. Terminator Plus:

Synced clock sources e.g. Gaia to Terminator Plus:

 

[Sage Encore]

I was wondering, who makes cables at those impedance? Are they available readily? Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[BlakeT]

My Gaia arrived a couple days ago, so it is not even close to being fully burned in and sounding its best, but I will just make a few preliminary comments about what I am hearing. First, if there is a better D/D converter on the planet, I'd sure like to hear it. If anyone is thinking this is just a box to convert one digital format to another, that couldn't be further from reality. You need to think of it as a sonic enhancer.

I am floored by the improvements the Gaia is making to a Chord Qutest and I have a decent amount of prior experience with other very top of the line D/D converters, the Gaia improvements are much, much bigger than improvements I experience with these other top D/D converters. The improvements to the sound stage and transparency are huge. Holographic for days. I'm in heaven.

More thoughts after my Gaia burns in and my Terminator Plus arrives.

 

[Roasty]

My Gaia arrived a couple days ago, so it is not even close to being fully burned in and sounding its best, but I will just make a few preliminary comments about what I am hearing. First, if there is a better D/D converter on the planet, I'd sure like to hear it. If anyone is thinking this is just a box to convert one digital format to another, that couldn't be further from reality. You need to think of it as a sonic enhancer.

I am floored by the improvements the Gaia is making to a Chord Qutest and I have a decent amount of prior experience with other very top of the line D/D converters. The improvements to the sound stage and transparency are huge. Holographic for days. I'm in heaven.

More thoughts after my Gaia burns in and my Terminator Plus arrives.

If I missed it, could u share again what other dd converters u have used? Thanks!

 

[Zachik]

Anyone tried the much cheaper Iris?
Any news or info on the in-between Hermes?
Anyone compared either Iris or Gaia to AudioGD's DI-20HE?

 

[BlakeT]

If I missed it, could u share again what other dd converters u have used? Thanks!

See my Post #198 in the "15 USB/SPDIF converters shootout" thread on AS (formerly CA)- can't post links here on Head-Fi. Those are some I've owned.

To be clear, before anyone attacks, I am not declaring this to be the best D/D converter in the world (who could say?), I am just having a hard time believing anything else out there surpasses the Gaia, IMHO. Perhaps something does, but this Gaia is significantly better than any other D/D converter I've owned.

P.S. Further edit- my comments are based on my speaker setup, in a dedicated audio room with lots of acoustic room treatments, ideal speaker positioning, etc. I'm not sure if the sound staging improvements would be adequately revealed with headphones only, but the improvements to transparency sure would.

 

[richardloh]

See my Post #198 in the "15 USB/SPDIF converters shootout" thread on AS (formerly CA)- can't post links here on Head-Fi. Those are some I've owned.

To be clear, before anyone attacks, I am not declaring this to be the best D/D converter in the world (who could say?), I am just having a hard time believing anything else out there surpasses the Gaia, IMHO. Perhaps something does, but this Gaia is significantly better than any other D/D converter I've owned.

P.S. Further edit- my comments are based on my speaker setup, in a dedicated audio room with lots of acoustic room treatments, ideal speaker positioning, etc. I'm not sure if the sound staging improvements would be adequately revealed with headphones only, but the improvements to transparency sure would.

Hi Blake,

Congras !!

It is always ymmv and system dependent on the the extend of effects on any new components .. dun worry, we all understand else one should ONLY be in audioscience forum instead with lab equipment measurements before any sharing.

I am also keen to have the gaia but heard that it may be quite some time before I can receive a demo unit due to production/shipping schedule.

I love the idea of having my digital sources e.g. fm tuner, music servers/renderers etc. synced to my Terminator Plus with its ocxo clock and believe that while the gaia is already with also ocxo clock, the one in Terminator Plus is one step higher quality.

Will test out doing so especially with the avatar also included in the mix when I can get my hands of the gaia to share here ... wink wink Alvin if you are reading this or not sure if you have the avatar to test out this with your pending receipt of the Terminator Plus before me on the gaia.

Cheers.

Richard