[viggen]

I just moved. The "hifi room" is now carpeted. WE396a is sounding a bit dull. Still very good mids but highs and lows are a bit muted. Swapped to Valvo.. slight improvement. Swapped to Amperex... holy mf...

 

[Oddiofyl]

I am more inclined to listen to my speakers but I do listen to phones too so when I saw this thread I had to chime in. I have a decent system, it has very good synergy and lively dynamic sound. I have been using the RME adi2 DAC fs and it's been very good. It is the Swiss army knife of DACs and sounds great for the money

Then I came across LAB 12 and visited their NA distributor, Fidelis in Nashua NH. So Tuesday I took a trip to NH to listen to this DAC

Mark at Fidelis was awesome, as is their retail store. Many great brands, I don't think there one thing in that place that I wouldn't want to try . Awesome equipment, several rooms filled with toys. I highly recommend stopping by, it is worth the trip.

Back to this DAC... It was good in the store, no doubt . But in my system it's even better! So smooth and easy to listen to . I never recommend anything before listening to it, but if you are looking for a DAC it is worth checking out. I am really enjoying this DAC so far.

My windows 10 pc recognized it right away , sounds great through it's USB too!

The whole LAB 12 line is really nice, I listened to the pre 1 and Suara amp with this DAC . I can not say enough good things about their stuff, high quality and great sounding gear . High performance to price ratio. Check them out

 

[Joe-Siow]

Had the fortune of listening to full range of Lab12 products at the showroom of the local distributor, Cornerstone Audio, last week. The boss, Edmund, is a great guy

A high end DIY music server was fed to the Dac1 Reference to the Music First Baby Reference passive preamp to the Suara power amp to the QLN Prestige 3 floorstand speakers. 2 no Lab12 power conditioners were also used for the source and analog chains

Sound was very good. Very natural presentation coupled with good technical performance. I could listen to this setup all day. Resolution, imaging and soundstage were all outstanding

Brought the Dac1 Reference for a home loan demo

It has a slightly warm/ meaty tonality with a weighty note and very natural and slightly relaxed presentation
Details are very present in a very organic presentation and never in my face
R2R DACs have reputation (unfair?) of rolled off treble, but that is not the case here; extensions on both ends are very good

The best praise I can give the Dac1 Reference is that I dun feel it lacking in any particular aspect. It's a very good DAC at any price point and a practical no brainer at the listed price

I can listen to it all day and dun feel that I missing anything. YMMV, take it with a pinch of salt

 

[Pashmeister]

Had the fortune of listening to full range of Lab12 products at the showroom of the local distributor, Cornerstone Audio, last week. The boss, Edmund, is a great guy



A high end DIY music server was fed to the Dac1 Reference to the Music First Baby Reference passive preamp to the Suara power amp to the QLN Prestige 3 floorstand speakers. 2 no Lab12 power conditioners were also used for the source and analog chains

Sound was very good. Very natural presentation coupled with good technical performance. I could listen to this setup all day. Resolution, imaging and soundstage were all outstanding




Brought the Dac1 Reference for a home loan demo

It has a slightly warm/ meaty tonality with a weighty note and very natural and slightly relaxed presentation
Details are very present in a very organic presentation and never in my face
R2R DACs have reputation (unfair?) of rolled off treble, but that is not the case here; extensions on both ends are very good

The best praise I can give the Dac1 Reference is that I dun feel it lacking in any particular aspect. It's a very good DAC at any price point and a practical no brainer at the listed price

I can listen to it all day and dun feel that I missing anything. YMMV, take it with a pinch of salt

Have u had a chance to compare it to other R2R DACs in his shop, like the ones from Sonnet?

 

[Joe-Siow]

Have u had a chance to compare it to other R2R DACs in his shop, like the ones from Sonnet?

Yes, I had the fortune of listening to both the Sonnet Morpheus and the Lab12 Dac1 Reference in my own setup

I personally prefer the Lab12 as it sounds more balanced with better extensions on both ends while the Sonnet sounded more mid-centric in my setup

 

[Strayngs]

I am considering this. I am currently using the dac in the Hifi Rose RS150B With a Rogue RP7 preamp. I wonder how this will compair to the Hifi Rose internal dac.

 

[project86]

I am considering this. I am currently using the dac in the Hifi Rose RS150B With a Rogue RP7 preamp. I wonder how this will compair to the Hifi Rose internal dac.

To my ears the Lab12 sound is warmer and smoother. Sort of a "vintage analog" type presentation. The RS150B has a more modern, high-resolution presentation, which is very good in its own way, so it would come down to your personal preferences and associated gear.

 

[BowWazoo]

I`ve been driving the following combo for a few days:

DAC1 Reference + LYR+ + HE-1000 Steahlt.

It sounds fantastic.
The LAB12 delivers an intoxicating sound.

 

[running wild]

Hi there,

i´m also considering buying a Lab12 DAC1 Reference to replace my Gustard X26 Pro D/S DAC.
I want to try out an other sound experiance.
First i thought about going to R2R DACs like Holo Audio Spring, Musician, Denafrips Audio GD,.... but then i saw that Lab12 has a Tube DAC that got some good reviews in the net.
I have a Lab12 Gordian power cleaner in my system and really like it what it does to the sound - much better than my old puwer cleaner before.

Rockna Wavelight or Holo May are also on the list but a little bit too expensive for me.

My main use is with Headphones like ZMF VC or Kennerton Rögnar Planar with the SPL Phonitor X and Gustard X26 Pro (at the moment).

What do you think about LAB12 DAC1 Reference in comparrison to R2R DACs?

 

[running wild]

Nobody there.....
All sold their LAB12 DACs .........

 

[Lucus]

Hi Running Wild
I will also take the bet of the Lab12 Ref, after a disapointing experience with the Ferrum Wandla. As always, the final result depends on the synergies of your set up...You have lot of headphones, and I am a loudspeaker hearer, so I can not really judge the future results, but I expect from the Lab12 saturated sound colors, non-tiring hearing sessions (I canlisten to music hours long...) and a nice sound. I don't really care for "neutrality" (what is neutral anyway, as you never heard the original sound) and was quite disapointed by the "new" DACs= Lot of details, but poor music....

 

[running wild]

Hi Running Wild
I will also take the bet of the Lab12 Ref, after a disapointing experience with the Ferrum Wandla. As always, the final result depends on the synergies of your set up...You have lot of headphones, and I am a loudspeaker hearer, so I can not really judge the future results, but I expect from the Lab12 saturated sound colors, non-tiring hearing sessions (I canlisten to music hours long...) and a nice sound. I don't really care for "neutrality" (what is neutral anyway, as you never heard the original sound) and was quite disapointed by the "new" DACs= Lot of details, but poor music....

@Lucus

Hi Lucus,
thank you for replying.
I don´t know the Wandla, but heard good things about it.
At the moment i use a Gustard X26 Pro (2x ESS9038 Pro) and like the sound of it, but it´s a more sterile type of sound. Good details, good stage..... and capable for High Res and DSD.
I have a bit of DSD but the most of my music is normal CD quality or up to 96/24 and i listen only to my own stored music, no Tidal or Qobuz.
My aim is to get something with more warmth and more soul not that clinic sound profile but with nearby the same technicalities like details, creamy mids, soundstage, bass impact and rumble, ......
I want something that can bring all the details of the music but not beeing fatigueng for long listening sessions or just for pure enjoyment and relaxed listening.

Do you have heard the Lab12 DAC1 Reference yet or is it your plan to get one?

 

[Lucus]

I have not heard it, so it is a bet I am taking...But I have very efficient and dynamic speakers (Klipsh Forte 4), and my experience with the Wandla has definitly convinced me that the ESS chips are not for me: I find them to dynamic, to hard, and not natural. That's what I am looking for with the Lab12: Naturalness, no harshness, liquid and easy sound that can be heard for hours, along with a nice soundstage and delicacy in timbres and sounds. I have had a lot of DACs, and the most expensives were not the most satisfying musicaly. I was also hesitating with FPGA wandlers like the Cen.Grand but did not take the bet sofar

 

[running wild]

I have not heard it, so it is a bet I am taking...But I have very efficient and dynamic speakers (Klipsh Forte 4), and my experience with the Wandla has definitly convinced me that the ESS chips are not for me: I find them to dynamic, to hard, and not natural. That's what I am looking for with the Lab12: Naturalness, no harshness, liquid and easy sound that can be heard for hours, along with a nice soundstage and delicacy in timbres and sounds. I have had a lot of DACs, and the most expensives were not the most satisfying musicaly. I was also hesitating with FPGA wandlers like the Cen.Grand but did not take the bet sofar

I only know ESS chips. I havn´t had nothing other than that.
Ok, in my Cayin N7 player there is a Ladder DAC inside that converts everything to DSD and i like it very much.
I also conider these FPGA DACs like Audiobyte or the Cen.Grand which looks very nice to me but the prize is also a bit on the higher side (double the prize of the Lab12).

 

[alekc]

I have not heard it, so it is a bet I am taking...But I have very efficient and dynamic speakers (Klipsh Forte 4), and my experience with the Wandla has definitly convinced me that the ESS chips are not for me: I find them to dynamic, to hard, and not natural. That's what I am looking for with the Lab12: Naturalness, no harshness, liquid and easy sound that can be heard for hours, along with a nice soundstage and delicacy in timbres and sounds. I have had a lot of DACs, and the most expensives were not the most satisfying musicaly. I was also hesitating with FPGA wandlers like the Cen.Grand but did not take the bet sofar

@Lucus What you have described is exatcly Rockna WaveLight minus all the issues with tubes. Have not heard Lab12 dac so I can't comment how big or small the difference is.