[CynaLenale]

Can you show the safeguard soap for references

THE SOAP

 

[Virion]

Received the dac3 modules. Will be putting them in the jade today.

 

[kumar402]

I received my adagio 3 and ambre two days ago.



My setup: Roon -cat8-> Ambre -aes/ebu-> Adagio -xlr-> Headroom BlockHead -> Abyss 1266 tc / Copper ring old HD600

Just some simple initial impressions compared to my Scarlatti dac, I'm no proper reviewer:

On both headphone:
You can immediately notice its characteristic low end. The bass becomes more "bouncy".
Can feel better texture on some male vocals.
Big wide sound stage
"air"

On old HD600:
Some old head-fier might know, headroom blockhead with max mod + old cardas blue cable + copper ring hd600 is the original NA tour set in the early 2000s. It's a fantastic combo that is great for listing to orchestra, classical music, some jazz.
If you have a setup that has similar music focus and decide to get this adagio 3, CONGRATULATIONS! You can now better enjoy pop music, edm, house, new age etc.
This dac gives the "classics-oriented" cans a modern taste. It's like a perfectly blended hard iced tea. It doesn't mean that it would be bad for classical music. But what I feel is that the sound becomes more energetic, and more refreshing.

On 1266:
The depth of the sound stage improved a little. The imaging near 30 - 45 degree? improved a little.
I'm using Kimber Axios (copper) for my 1266 because the original cable sounds terrible for me. The original cable to my year has very wide horizontal space, but almost no depth. The vocals are really forward, right in front of your face. I personally call this kind of presentation "safeguard soap" shape. Some people may like it but I do not. So I use Kimber Axios to pull that vocal away, creating better depth. The blockhead amp is a great amp but I still prefer using a power amp to drive the 1266. Current setup lack that "grand" feeling a power amp can provide. I sold my nagra msa a while back so I'm still looking for a new proper amp. I have to check back once I got one.

In general:
This is defiantly a $10k class dac that is hard to beat. Not much else to say for now, it's just a great dac. But my brand new unit is missing one of the rubber feet. And it's not in the box. Strange.

Congrats on new DAC, it's one of the best.
I moved to Morpheus due to compact size and due to availability of switch of change 110/220v as and when needed. But for sound I had no complain with Pavane.

 

[Deolum]

I think the Pavane goes very well with planars like Hifiman, Stax and headphones that need a bit fix to their timbre like the Utopias. It's a tad slow though so i don't really prefer it with the average dynamic headphones. It is my first and the only R2R dac i've ever had so maybe it's a R2R thing and not a Pavane thing.

 

[kumar402]

I think the Pavane goes very well with planars like Hifiman, Stax and headphones that need a bit fix to their timbre like the Utopias. It's a tad slow though so i don't really prefer it with the average dynamic headphones. It is my first and the only R2R dac i've ever had so maybe it's a R2R thing and not a Pavane thing.

R2R NOS do have some roll off in very high frequency and hence may be perceived as slow.

 

[roncagg]

Received the dac3 modules. Will be putting them in the jade today.

How does the Jade sound now, what are the differences? I’m considering picking these up for my Onyx. Thanks!

 

[Virion]

How does the Jade sound now, what are the differences? I’m considering picking these up for my Onyx. Thanks!

Well the dac3 modules have been in use for 5 days now (with about 8 hours a day of playing). However the information sheet on the dac3 modules says that for optimal performance the modules need a month of playing. So impressions are preliminary.
What I immediately noticed was that the stage got bigger. After that as previously mentioned the bass got a good boost. I dont mean big stumping but more nuance. For instance with a favorite album of mine (and I use for prat): Sons of kemet - your queen is a reptile, the tuba was much more clear and there was alot more information wherewith you heard/could discern the tuba. With the dac2 jade / qutest you only heard one bass note.
The same can be said for all other instruments. You can hear more information (if its the recording). Small instruments that were hard to hear in the background are also more easy to discern.
I hope this makes sense, I dont do these sort of descriptions often.
For me these dac3 modules are worth it and have already returned the dac2 modules.

 

[Rebel Chris]

I totally agree with Virion. Dac3 chip improves air/depth. My memory is not that great, but the change is great enough.

Visiting the factory in Den Bosch was nothing special. Production is somewhere else. The guy I spoke was not very chatty, well they build good sounding stuff..

 

[harmony1992]

I totally agree with Virion. Dac3 chip improves air/depth. My memory is not that great, but the change is great enough.

Visiting the factory in Den Bosch was nothing special. Production is somewhere else. The guy I spoke was not very chatty, well they build good sounding stuff..

well Cees was not very chatty, but the sound performance is so good.

Well the dac3 modules have been in use for 5 days now (with about 8 hours a day of playing). However the information sheet on the dac3 modules says that for optimal performance the modules need a month of playing. So impressions are preliminary.
What I immediately noticed was that the stage got bigger. After that as previously mentioned the bass got a good boost. I dont mean big stumping but more nuance. For instance with a favorite album of mine (and I use for prat): Sons of kemet - your queen is a reptile, the tuba was much more clear and there was alot more information wherewith you heard/could discern the tuba. With the dac2 jade / qutest you only heard one bass note.
The same can be said for all other instruments. You can hear more information (if its the recording). Small instruments that were hard to hear in the background are also more easy to discern.
I hope this makes sense, I dont do these sort of descriptions often.
For me these dac3 modules are worth it and have already returned the dac2 modules.

just want to confirm, do the Dac3s need to burn in for one month?

 

[antisocialgarlic]

short, first impressions of new dac3 modules in my pavane. Better stereo imaging, improved instrument separation, greater depth in soundstage, more info in bass and treble. Certainly a fine upgrade.

 

[Virion]

just want to confirm, do the Dac3s need to burn in for one month?

Yep, 1 month. See image with last step from installation guide.

 

[marcelnl]

just keep the DAC playing 24/7 (I always have mine on with signal) I'm now three weeks in and the sound ever so slightly improves. Biggest leaps in the first three or so days.

 

[George Hincapie]

short, first impressions of new dac3 modules in my pavane. Better stereo imaging, improved instrument separation, greater depth in soundstage, more info in bass and treble. Certainly a fine upgrade.

That must have been painful for your wallet.

I still can't decide whether to upgrade my Adagio or not.

 

[antisocialgarlic]

yes, wallet and mind are in tatters!..... Eating chocolate now though....
I think the best bit of the upgrade is the improved stereo imaging, but all my first impressions still stand.

 

[marcelnl]

did anyone find the announced white paper on the DAC3 modules anywhere?