How can you notice "hint of congestion on crescendos" if you don't have any kind of reference to compare it to?

H'zone: a fare question. To directly answer your question: I noted a slight breakup of cohesion and a slight harshness during the peak of the crescendo on the 24/92 classical music file I own. I was impressed with the hi-rez jazz, blues and rock. The electronica music was not sufficiently high enough quality to tax the unit. Most of my music is Redbook-16/44 stuff.While I did not directly compare this unit to another unit, I have worked in the AV business on and off since 1986; both in Hi-End 2-ch and in AV as a designer and installation PM. I have designed hundreds of systems and I have critically listened to many, many 2-ch and 7-ch systems for many years and have had excellent mentorship by highly knowledgeable people in the industry. I have listened to $250k 2-ch systems and $1m 7-ch systems. My listening skills have been tested and passed muster by some of the best is this industry. You are right to question any one persons impression. I always do, but I have been greatly aided by many folks on this forum and am passing it on.While I am relatively new to the headphone world (<2 years for seriously listening), I know how 2-ch and 7-ch systems should sound. I will directly compare this unit to others when I have the opportunity. I will update my review as soon as I have some good comparison info to share.Thank you for calling me out and not just taking my work for it. Unfortunately, I do not have the funds to compare it to other unit as I do not work in the hifi industry anymore and have no opportunity to compare it to other DACs readily right now.

I'm impressed with this so far! I basically do all my home listening on my laptop while sitting on the couch, so from a more superficial "clean solution" point of view, I've always been looking for a simple setup that doesn't involve an overly convoluted chain of boxes next to me on the couch. I went through various portable USB DAC/Amp combos (Fiio E10, HRT HeadStreamer, iBasso D7) that are all good, but never did quite what I wanted. Then I got the JDSLabs C421 when that first came-out and finally got something that did what I wanted at the amp level. When the JDSLabs standalone ODAC finally came-out, I thought about it, but again, didn't want a chain of boxes sitting next to me. While the HiFiMeDIY does have a small "box", it is so small and light that it presents no real footprint or weight--it simply feels like part of the cable.

I was looking at the HeadStage USB DAC cable, but since that is a 75cm cable, it would seem just as messy as another box, even if wound. The HiFiMeDIY has a really short USB cable, which actually seems cleaner, even with the small box. Plus it does 24/96 and even has an optical option in the output...for cheaper than the HeadStage. I ordered from the US site early Mon morning, and it arrived via USPS Wed mid-morning--not bad, considering I live in Boston and it came all the way from Oregon... It worked automatically on my MacBook Air w/10.8.2--I simply plugged it in, and it showed-up as "SABRE 24/96 DAC".

I no longer have most of my old equipment, except for the E10, using its line-out. While the E10 isn't exactly high-end, they are in the same price range. It's a pretty drastic improvement over the E10's DAC--cleaner sound top-to-bottom and no noise at all. It doesn't have the E10's excessive warmth that tends to muddy things for me, but it also isn't harsh or treble hot (to me). I'm pretty happy with the overall sound, especially for ~$50, and completely love the pairing with the C421. I have both OPA2227 and AD8620 versions of the C421 and found that my DT-880's work really well with both C421/HiFiMeDIY combos. I also found that my DT-990's work really well with the OPA2227 C421/HiFiMeDIY combo. The only combo I didn't like as much was DT-990/AD8620/HiFiMeDIY, since the lesser amount of warmth in the HiFiMeDIY (relative to the E10 DAC) and the lack of any warmth in the AD8620 can expose the notorious sibilance in the DT-990's, making things too harsh and fatiguing at times.

Great review. I would like to know if you have tried the DAC without the ferrite collar and if you notice any differences or noise. Thanks.