Dillan for an objectivist you play with some expensive toys there. But who can blame you if you got the funds, I would too even though I would fully know how little difference they make at the end. That Mc is stupendous.
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
WilliamLeonhart
Another day, another great review on head-fi. I learn a lot from you guys.
Anyway, Dillan, have you tried a lot of China-made DACs like the iDac6? I'm thinking of a few solid choices like Aune S16, Gustard X20, Audio-GD NFB28 etc. Would really appreciate if you can give me some comparison between these.
Anyway, Dillan, have you tried a lot of China-made DACs like the iDac6? I'm thinking of a few solid choices like Aune S16, Gustard X20, Audio-GD NFB28 etc. Would really appreciate if you can give me some comparison between these.
Dillan
Hey Guys, thanks for the kind words.
@MLGrado I wish I had done more DSD comparisons side by side. My collection of DSD is actually rather limited and most of the albums I enjoy are in 16/44 or 24/96 and quite a bit 24/176 24/196. I think it would be hard to compare these two when focusing Sabre and AKM due to Cayins implementation of filtering and tubes.. the sound signature is just naturally different due to things like that without even considering the different chipsets. Sorry I couldn't be of more help with this.
@LajostheHun I love all my equipment, but I do know the diminishing returns is extremely high. Part of why I buy things are because of the features, build quality, company reputation/support and how pretty they are. Sound quality is most important, but the difference in mid-fi and summit-fi is small in that regard (in my humble opinion).
@WilliamLeonhart Hey William, I haven't had the opportunity to try many Chinese DACs unfortunately. I have read reviews on all 3 of those you listed though and I have heard pretty much only positive things. I have noticed an underwhelming assortment of non off-the-shelf chip type DACs in the Chinese market however. I would like to see some R2R or FPGA type designs coming outta there more often. I've listened to the Auralic with a pretty good experience overall. I think Audio-GD has great customer service right now, as well as go above and beyond in their builds - if you were to go Chinese-made with a Sabre chip I would look at Audio-GD.
@MLGrado I wish I had done more DSD comparisons side by side. My collection of DSD is actually rather limited and most of the albums I enjoy are in 16/44 or 24/96 and quite a bit 24/176 24/196. I think it would be hard to compare these two when focusing Sabre and AKM due to Cayins implementation of filtering and tubes.. the sound signature is just naturally different due to things like that without even considering the different chipsets. Sorry I couldn't be of more help with this.
@LajostheHun I love all my equipment, but I do know the diminishing returns is extremely high. Part of why I buy things are because of the features, build quality, company reputation/support and how pretty they are. Sound quality is most important, but the difference in mid-fi and summit-fi is small in that regard (in my humble opinion).
@WilliamLeonhart Hey William, I haven't had the opportunity to try many Chinese DACs unfortunately. I have read reviews on all 3 of those you listed though and I have heard pretty much only positive things. I have noticed an underwhelming assortment of non off-the-shelf chip type DACs in the Chinese market however. I would like to see some R2R or FPGA type designs coming outta there more often. I've listened to the Auralic with a pretty good experience overall. I think Audio-GD has great customer service right now, as well as go above and beyond in their builds - if you were to go Chinese-made with a Sabre chip I would look at Audio-GD.
in the that the SABRE will filter DSD in the digital domain, apply DSP and re-modulate via the Hyperstream delta sigma converter before final analog filtering and amplification.
As compared to the AKM which is advertised as bypassing all DSP and re-modulation, sending the DSD signal directly to the final analog filtering/output stage.
There are those who swear by the way the Sabre architecture works.. that digital filtering and re-processing via the Hyperstream modulators is BETTER than simply filtering the 1 bit bitstream in the analog realm.
I am very curious what your EARS tell you..
Of course, there are other factors contributing to the final sound of each device. That being understood, I still am curious about more specifics regarding the DSD performance of each device!!
Thanks for the GREAT review, and looking forward to your comments!