[absolutk]

Thanks project86! The credit all goes to nkbg who lent me his D1 and allowed me to do side-by-side comparisons and confirmed my observations. 
 
As a side note - I'm thrilled that revered members of the community respond to my posts .

 

[project86]

Quote:

Thanks project86! The credit all goes to nkbg who lent me his D1 and allowed me to do side-by-side comparisons and confirmed my observations. 
 
As a side note - I'm thrilled that revered members of the community respond to my posts .

 
Meh - I'm just some guy on a forum. Your opinion is just as valid as mine. 

 

[Argo Duck]

Thanks again absolutk, truly useful.

And yeah, that project86 guy has written some of the best and most considered reviews I've ever seen

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

I only tried the D2's SPDIF input with the AP, and yes, it was the same. To summarize:
 
Cleaner, crisper bass (may appear tamer):
D2 USB
D2 SPDIF w/AP
D1 SPDIF w/AP
 
Warmer, rounder bass ("creamer")
D1 USB
 
I hadn't the chance to try either SPDIF without the AP except with the optical out from AppleTV w/ Airplay, which I didn't like as much in any situation.

 
That matches my findings with the Metrum Quad when fed with:
- Squeezebox Touch coax out: loose & overly creamy bass
- Stello U3: much tighter, less creamy but still "romantized" somehow
- Concero: bass is as clean as possible but seem tamed when compared to the Stello U3.
 
Technically, the Concero is better than the U3, no doubts. Yet, on my dad speaker system (which won't go < 45Hz), I miss the mid-bass presence of the Stello.
 It seems the speaker can't go low enough to fill-in the room with the very deep/tight bass of the Concero. As a result, the sound is leaner. That's a "system mismatch" :/

 

[ehlarson]

Quote:

I only tried the D2's SPDIF input with the AP, and yes, it was the same. To summarize:
 
Cleaner, crisper bass (may appear tamer):
D2 USB
D2 SPDIF w/AP
D1 SPDIF w/AP
 
Warmer, rounder bass ("creamer")
D1 USB
 
I hadn't the chance to try either SPDIF without the AP except with the optical out from AppleTV w/ Airplay, which I didn't like as much in any situation.

 
 
Thanks for the posting. You have re-whetted my appetite for the Legato II I am waiting for.

 

[absolutk]

Quote:

 
 
Thanks for the posting. You have re-whetted my appetite for the Legato II I am waiting for.

Holy smoke - I just read up on the Legato II and that sounds like one impressive piece of hardware. Given the fact that most of my music playback is coming from 320kbps Spotify Premium, hi-res isn't a huge deal for me. The AP is being operated at a very oversampled 24/192 right now (which sounds better to me). But I'd reckon that an extremely low jitter implementation of 16/44 would be way more impressive. Can you share with us thoughts when you get it? And how it performs on the Anedio? For now I'm sticking with the D1+AP.

 

[rocksea]

Quote:

 

I had extensive listening both with the D1 and the D2 with an Audiophilleo AP2 + PurePower USB-SPDIF converter.
 
The USB inputs on the D1 and D2 are worlds apart, with the D2 being far more refined and detailed. As a result of clarity, the D2's bass seems weaker, but it is, in fact,cleaner. The AP on the D2 makes a shocking impression.
 
 

 
Originally Posted by project86 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
I completely agree with this. Thanks for being able to articulate something that can be hard to explain or even figure out while hearing it. 

 
Interesting, I found that D2 is quite sensitive to power, usb cable...just like other digital equipment. I am using the audio-gd Di-v3 USB-SPDIF converter  and get recognizable improvement compared with the d2 usb.

 

[absolutk]

Interesting, I found that D2 is quite sensitive to power, usb cable...just like other digital equipment. I am using the audio-gd Di-v3 
USB-SPDIF converter  and get 
recognizable improvement 
compared with the d2 usb.

Absolutely. If you read the next few posts I made, I observed the same thing. The Audiophilleo USB-SPDIF converter made a huge difference. Basically saying that the D2's USB input isn't the pinnacle of async USB design, albeit really good.

 

[kyokyo0412]

Hi,
 
Anyone try windows 8 with Anedio D2? It seems that I could not install the driver.
 
kyokyo

 

[remilio]

Quote:

Hi,
 
Anyone try windows 8 with Anedio D2? It seems that I could not install the driver.
 
kyokyo

I bought a new notebook a couple of days ago and was going to try this combination, but my nerves didn't cope with this ****ty W8 and I got back to W7 before installing Anedio driver 

 
 
BTW, have anyone tried AKG K500 straight out of D2?  In a couple of weeks I hope i will get a pair and I need to know what to expect 

 Is internal amplifier of D2 able to provide some bass with them?

 

[zzffnn]

I had extensive listening both with the D1 and the D2 with an Audiophilleo AP2 + PurePower USB-SPDIF converter.

The USB inputs on the D1 and D2 are worlds apart, with the D2 being far more refined and detailed. As a result of clarity, the D2's bass seems weaker, but it is, in fact, cleaner. The AP on the D2 makes a shocking impression. AP+D2 vs. D2 alone is almost the same level of difference as the D2 vs. the D1. Detail I have never heard before makes itself present. Switching the resolution to 24/192 further enhances this. 

This would mean that the U2 USB-SPDIF converter that's built into the D2, while pretty good, isn't necessarily the best implementation of asynchronous USB out there. 

However, on the SPDIF inputs alone, the D1 and D2 came quite close. Meaning that an AP+D1 sounded very close to an AP+D2.

^ Thanks for your impression.

 

[Argo Duck]

Indeed, very useful impression from absolutk. This more-or-less persuaded me D2 is the dac for me. Whereupon Anedio announced they would no longer sell overseas (update on their website)

Such exquisite timing !

 

[Fegefeuer]

What is their reason? 

 

[Argo Duck]

To provide better and more timely support to their domestic customers.

Suspect their (well deserved) success has created demand ahead of what they can meet. They are a small operation.

Regardless, it's a shame for those of us outside USA. Both technically and in terms of (reported) sound, it is probably one of the best VFM DACs out there. A very carefully designed, well-engineered product.

 

[cky8]

If anyone wants to try Anedio D2 with Windows 8. James has put a new driver (v1.56) on the website. If you are an Windows 8 user and have the D2 or U2 please submit your feedback to James as whether this works for you.
 
http://www.anedio.com/index.php/audio/faq#USB%20Audio%20Driver%20in%20Windows%208