[Jonfairway]

Current settings for warm tube sound
 
 

 

[Jonfairway]

 Original By ToToMan
I can confirm that the pre-outs are variable level and are controlled by the Deckard's volume knob.  They are also affected by the Gain toggle switch so be careful with that.  I find the Low position gives me a nice clean sound and good range on the volume control.  The high position overloads things and only gives you a fraction of the turnable range before it becomes too loud.

 
question
can the usb input be output to the line level preamp output  or only the RCA in ?

 

[smial1966]

Excellent information, thanks very much, most kind of you.

Current settings for warm tube sound

 

[Alphaman0606]

Has anyone used this with anything really hard to drive like HE-6?  I know they increased the power ratings on it which seemed to put it in HE-6 territory.

 

[ToTo Man]

   
question
can the usb input be output to the line level preamp output  or only the RCA in ?

 
Yes, USB or RCA can be "pre-outed".

 

[ToTo Man]

Have you rolled any tubes in yours? If so, any great successes?

 
I haven't done any tube rolling in the Valhalla.  To be honest I wouldn't know where to begin, and I fear my ignorance in this area would make it quite an expensive path to pursue!

 

[Jonfairway]

Alphaman posted
 
Has anyone used this with anything really hard to drive like HE-6?  I know they increased the power ratings on it which seemed to put it in HE-6 territory.

 
It drives my LCD3's on low gain settings.. if thats anything to go on.
 
sure seems to have plenty of power...
 
On another note, had an up and down day today, thought I would see how the Line Level outs were like performance wise, hooked them up to my Crimson 520 Power Amp and a pair of Linn Kans and blow me if the Power amp had'nt developed a fault in storage and blew  one of the bass drivers on the Linn's and then proceeded to blow up itself up for good measure.what a Smell .......
 
  hey some one predicted it !!!! .. what are the weekend lottery numbers ????
 
anyway on to nicer stuff.... tried the line outs to my Naim System and I can confirm this is a good sounding pre-amplifier, good detailed, fast, taut bass, nice seperation, good weight and imaging..... Class A  pre amp for sure !!!
 
shame about my Linn Kans....   
 
Oh well was always going to upgrade them anyway........

 

[TJ Browning]

  Current settings for warm tube sound
 
 

Pretty

Thanks! Definitely going to check this out!
 
Sorry to hear about the Linn Kans btw :/

 

[cdave]

I've had the Deckard for about 2 weeks now and I agree with allot of the posts here. Audeze has set the bar for a DAC/amp combo at this price point. It drives all of my cans on Mid gain no problem.

Depending on what source I'm using I'll switch to high gain but not often as I like my volume pretty loud, I'm usually at 3 o'clock minimum. On the Deckard I keep it around 2.

I have to admit I was very skeptical about the Deckards ability to drive my LCD 2 at first because of the price and this being Audeze first production amp. But after about 10 hours with it I couldn't be happier with any other solution at this price point. Tube or solid state. It has a warm sound for a solid state but not to warm. Sounds really good with my grado PS500 and LCD 2. Personally I think the Deckard has a better overall sound than the Uber/ Lyr or Val combos. Neither one shinned to me in any category and the highs on both Schit amps ruined it for me. They're good amps but I'm not sold on the newest versions of either. This was a great solution for me at this stage of the game. Being that my wife didn't want me to spend money on an amp. Because as soon as I told her about she magically produced a list of things she needed to buy. But anyway like I said I couldn't be happier at this price point. And I talked her into letting me get a Sony 4K for my office. So it all worked out. Down the road I'd like to go with a woo 5 or 22. From reading the threads tube rolling is an investment in time I don't have right now.
Oh yeah. I also have the RCA's going to a pair of A5+ on low gain which I feel like may be to much power for them. I'm thinking about replacing them with a passive pair of bookshelves.

 

[Tambourine Guy]

I use their LCD2 and I am considering the Deckard... anyone care to share an internal shot of it?  

 

[hoth]

I'm surprised there isn't more talk about this amp.  At this price it's pretty hard to beat.  I currently have the Deckard and Antelope Zodiac+ in house as well as a Dacmagic+.  For a long time my main headphone amp/dac was a Benchmark DAC2.  For the past few days I have been listening to the Deckard through my collection of headphones, in ears and feeding a pair of Neumann KH120's.
 
The Deckard has very lovely characteristics. It has ample power (although claims of people running it in low/mid gain with a LCD3 seem hard for me to imagine) which makes for a forceful presentation.  Nice soundstage although maybe not the biggest, especially compared to the Zodiac.  Fine presentation of details but never getting overly bright, even with Bayerdynamic T1 and T90.  The Deckard pairs really well with the LCD3's with the presentation being open but very present - that is a combination I love.  There were times when it may have been on the verge of sibilance but the amp reined everything in before the highs ever got harsh.  I was listening to some Stones songs and heard things that I had never heard before, e.g., in Keith's channel Keith yelling "Whoa" just under the guitars right before each chorus of "Angie".  I know these are all vague terms but trying to describe sound with words is difficult.  With the HE560's I hear loads of detail but the soundstage suffers somewhat, especially in comparison to the LCD3's, but there is that price differential between these two phones.    
 
For a long time I had a Benchmark DAC2 and I would say that I like the presentation better with the Deckard than the Benchmark.  I cannot say if I like the Deckard more than the Zodiac, however, that in and of itself says a lot that I think the amps can be compared as the Zodiac is a special amp.  The Dacmagic+ tries to hold its own at times against the Deckard but you can hear it struggle when you are listening to more complex orchestral material with headphones that need a lot of juice.  The Deckard reminds me of a calm muscular bouncer keeping everything always in check while the Dacmagic+ is the skinnier, wiry drunk party-goer yelling while he gets tossed outside. The Zodiac would be a librarian watching an opera and not missing a detail.     
 
All in all, for $699 I would think it's hard to find another amp that SOUNDS better than the Deckard at this price point.  It also has some nice features like it is both an amp and a DAC, it has three different gain settings including a setting for in-ears (I have the Westone W40's and W60's, and various Shures), it gives a very nice black background, it is built like a tank and feels well-made, and it can function as a pre.  And if you already have an Audeze headphone, this pairing is a no-brainer.  

 

[tg123]

  Does anyone have any information on the DAC?

 
The DAC was posted previously in this thread already.

 

[Tambourine Guy]

Could someone share an internal photo of this amp.  I want to pair my LCD2 with a new amp and this is on my short list : ) 

 

[hoth]

Sorry. I'm not particularly handy so I don't want to go opening up something when I don't need to. Out of curiosity, what are you looking for in a gut shot that will tell you if you should or should not buy the amp?

 

[Tambourine Guy]

A gut shot shows a lot... The size and type of the transformer, the niceness of the component layout, the quality of the components, the amount and type of power caps, power supply section, etc etc... But I fully understand your decision. Thank you.