Given that this otherwise seriously interesting DAC is slightly compromised in aspects of its AC/DC implementation, the first thing that occurred to me was to gut the transformer assembly entirely and fit external batteries or Uptone LPS1. In line with the poster above, do you know if anyone has...

It's great to see our little 'cut-price Aqvox' idea catching on: I bet MikroTik have sold a ton of these handy critturs, and I know we see plenty of happy customers buying the 5V KingRex PSU II for this and similar applications. To be fair, Aqvox should really take the main credit for doing it...

I think the M200 Mk II is better value, but the Mark III does add power and finesse. A lightweight Fostex sub works well with them, but they're not conspicuously LF-shy.

We're itching to get our first demonstrators, but I have high hopes for the new DAC section, which (on paper) looks like a big step up from the HA160D and DA160 - just as the Soloist is (actually) a big step up from the HA160.   We've always said: “If Antelope could get together with Burson...

Quote: Probably my pair, then!   The comment back in the thread about impressing you, drawing you into music in a way that makes you take them for granted - then being impressed all over again - is dead right. Also, the 'close perspective' comment is on the money. Although it cedes...

Quote: Yup. The Isabellina, and the Burson Soloist on its mildest setting, are the two best I've heard with the TH900: for solid state the Burson is really sweet-sounding, but the combination of valves and batteries is hard to mimic: smooth and gutsy.

Some good ears there, jonstatt . . .   We stock both because customers often come to us with a strong preconception about what they want, based on someone else's opinion. As we always say, it's best to form your own opinion based on a proper extended audition - especially with something as...

I know the T200B and the M200 II + III very well, and have some A5X, too. To me, there's a big jump up from the M200III to the T200B, relative to a small improvement in power and finesse moving from the M200 II > III.  The A5X has laser-insightful treble, but the T200B is such a complete...

Quote: Yes - a netbook! £200 or less.

Didn't see anyone else there with Fostex TH900, so thought it likely! Several people commented it was their second favourite listen of the day - apart from the SR009, obviously . . .

@David1961: must have been our TH900 you tried at the UK show! They certainly surprised us in comparison to the LCD3 and Grado PS1000.   We've been thinking about the cable issue, too - and are speaking to Fostex UK about the possibility of a socketed version rather than recabling them...

Great to put faces to names, and thanks again Andy for putting it together!   As I said, we might be able to offer a central venue (between Birmingham and Manchester, just off the M6) next year if it's useful or popular.   Unpacking today, we seem to have acquired a white unbranded USB...

There are many opinions about USB cables, but only two kinds of people comment in public: 1. Those who have heard a few, and 2. Those who haven't.   If you listen to a variety of cables at a variety of price points, you will quickly be disabused of the nation that USB interconnects are...

A great, great shame. We corresponded a lot over the course of several years (we imported his cables into the UK), and he was genuinely one of the good guys.   We never met, but his warmth, large-heartedness, and intelligence, was always very evident from his emails and on the phone. We were...

I was talking to the nice people at CryoParts a couple of weeks ago: we'd both been seriously surprised by how good the little UC192 is: adaptive? £159? Surely not. It's most effective delivering AES/EBU and powered by the PSUII or the Valab supply. If anyone want to borrow a PSU to try it, just...

Quote: KingRex has a dedicated miniXLR > XLR cable for this converter. It's £29.

Quote: The 'giant' we wheeled in for slaughter was the Antelope Zodiac Plus (although in the UK, the Calyx is heading towards the same price) which makes it own claim to outperform more expensive DACs. This bunch was pretty much state of the art for the money, and new. So quite likely...

Seven of us (two trade, one ex-trade, four audiophiles) just concluded a mammoth audition on neutral territory of Emotiva, Musical Fidelity, Wyred 4 Sound, Rega, Audiolab, Calyx, Young, Heed and Antelope DACs, along with the Item and NVA music computers. Nine hours, one track, one food break...

Upgrading the input cable makes a big difference to the A5: that 3.5mm stereo jack is a bottleneck. Getting them in the right position is important, too: off the desk! The A5 already has a slightly bottom-heavy sound, so a tube DAC might not be the best match: I'd aim for something agile and...

There was some confusion created by an early translation of the spec from Korean, but the Calyx 24/192 uses a single ESS9018 chip, like the Audiolab, M2Tech and Wyred 4 Sound DACs. The design of that chip is inherently 'eight-channel'.   As long as Calyx doesn't take offense with us as a UK...

KingRex has a new PSU coming out shortly that will be compatible with the UC192, and should improve it significantly. I'm using mine with the Valab linear PSU.

I am quite a lot biased towards the DAC2, but here goes:   1. It doesn't have a headphone stage 2. It's too revealing of defects in recordings 3. It's too truthful about the shortcomings of other components in the system 4. It looks a bit like a shoebox 5. If you order it in silver...

Feel like I'm late at the party here, but have been casting about for mod recipes, though tempted by this off-the-shelf number: anyone tried it?   They've got the RCAs and discrete op-amps sorted, plus a sprinkling of cap changes . . .

Itching to pull the trigger on this one: any reviews or first impressions online yet?!

Quote: Originally Posted by paper2k1 does anyone know how big the W4S DAC-2 is? According to the UK W4S distributor, the DAC2 is 500g heavier than the DAC1 at 6kg. Apparently it measures 215mm (W) x 105mm (H) x 345mm (D) - pretty compact, but no lightweight: must be a pretty...