I've had mine for a bit over a month now. It truly has continued to improve over this entire time. Seems like the process has been lots of increasingly good listening session, interrupted by some harsh sessions. But the overall arc is toward increasing effortlessness and ease. The coolest aspect...

I would wait just because I would be curious about how the Gungnir sounds paired with the triode amp. I have an ARS Sonum-Filarmonia driving a pair of Merlin Master VSM's. The Filarmonia is an integrated tube amp using  E34L Pentode output tubes. I like the combination of the Gungnir and the...

i'm using the $60 Silflex Toslink cable with a Mac Mini.   Do some deep breathing, CJ. I know what it's like to spend more $$$ than I have on audio equipment. But you are getting an extremely high value in the Gungnir, IMO. I have a very high end system, and it sounds bloody fantastic...

Quote: I live in Portland. I have the Gungnir only. Would be happy to host a listening session.

BTW, I'm afraid I'm becoming a fanboy. This is four full days of being powered up continually, with about 50 hours playing time, and I'm very impressed with this DAC. Extremely musical and accurate/detailed at the same time.   It's going to be a very tough call for me as to whether to hold...

Unless you're listening through headphones, that is.

Quote:     Of course, applause during live performances would then present a problem.  

Oh yeah, and glass Toslink cable.

Ok, twelve hours, and I can say what I'm now hearing is WAY better than any of the three DACs mentioned above. In fact, it's some of the best digital I've ever heard.   BTW, using a Mac Mini, 8 GB RAM, Audirvana Plus.

Quote:   Good point. My integrated is tubed and my sense is that I have the best of both worlds here. The clarity of SS and the musicality and texture of tubes.

I may have overstated it a bit by saying "by a large margin." This is still a new unit with only 4 hours on it now, although I can usually tell what direction a new unit is heading.   That said, I think that the Gungnir is more textured and open than either the Wadia or the Altmann. Its bass...

So far with just three hours on the Gungnir I can say without a doubt that it bests a Moon 100d, a Wadia 121, and an Altmann DAC, the latter two by a large margin.