[TJ Browning]

Just got the Deckard yesterday, after demoing and hearing the great synergy between it and the Fostex TH900's. That is now my primary listening combo. Loving this amp so far, and it's day 2. Can only imagine after it breaks in over time. Already very low noise floor (on all gains but particularly low gain), gives a bit more punch to the bass, the soundstage breaths nicely, all around well balanced. Have used the analog and DAC and both sound amazing.

Elvamir, would you mind measuring the dimensions of the Deckard for me? I know there are measurements online, but those measurements usually include the volume knob, any protruding speaker terminals, connectors, etc. I just want to know the dimensions of the main body itself...

 

[elvamir]

Elvamir, would you mind measuring the dimensions of the Deckard for me? I know there are measurements online, but those measurements usually include the volume knob, any protruding speaker terminals, connectors, etc. I just want to know the dimensions of the main body itself...

Just the chassis itself is 6.25" wide, 2" tall, 10" deep

 

[TJ Browning]

Perfect! Thank you!!

 

[Jonfairway]

Well had my new Deckard Amplifier a few days now and wanted to share a few thoughts on it with everyone. 
 
Firstly I had been using my Graham Slee Solo SRg11 and Dacmagic One  ( yes Dacmagic One ) as my preferred source for quite a while. 
 
First day I swapped over and powered the Deckard up I did think to myself my god this does sound very different to the Solo, and it does... 
 
The Idea was to get some synergy for the LCD2's with an Amplifier designed with them and the rest of the Audeze "sound" in mind. 
 
And I am pleased to say the Deckard is all of this and a lot more too. 
 
Just to get some stuff out the way first before I give you all my thoughts on the sound of this amplifier, the workmanship is beyond belief for an amplifier at this price, heavy, solid, oozes quality certainly nothing to complain about here. 
 
The amp likes to warm up !..  I realized this as soon as I powered the beast up, give it a good 10 minutes to reach temperature before listening to some music, its odd but the hotter this puppy runs the better it sounds. 
 
Okay here we go, this amp has plenty of ooomph to drive any of the LCD series on low gain it drives my LCD3's to nice and loud by 1pm on the clock ( and yes I do listen at 2pm most the time ) the sound is warm, lush, and extremely detailed, the extra detail was what struck me when I swapped over to it, I was hearing things that my other amps were missing, its quite astonishing that my attention was drawn to the detail with the LCD3's rather than the Bass and beautiful Mids, but there it is, detailed highs. 
 
It has a good sound stage certainly improved on the Solo which was already better in that regard than the Beyer A1 anyway. The Deckard creates a believable picture of the music, good depth, reality, Instruments sound like the should, but it doesn't over emphasize any part of the music, its almost if the amplifier was designed to compliment the Audeze Sound, just bringing together music in a believable way that is so musical, one finds oneself listening to album after album addictive even. 
 
This is a resolving amplifier, I could see it being a bad match for some headphones, overly bright headphones may find this detail a little overpowering, the slightly laid back highs of the Audeze sound really gel with the Deckard, both my LCD headphones benefiting from the partnership. 
 
It has a great sense of PRAT , separation is great, I listen to mainly rock, female vocals and acoustic material which suit the Audeze sound anyway, so any improvement in definition is welcomed. 
 
As I am writing this I am listening to some Alan Parsons Project and hearing things in the mix that have eluded me in the past. 
 
got maybe 40 hours on it so far and it is still improving so I think a long burn in is going to be the order of the day, only concern is how hot the top of this Class A amplifier is getting !!!!  its to hot to hold your hand on it !!!! 
 
I would say that the LCD2 is the better partner over all so far with the amplifier, it just brings out the best in it, having said that I have the LCD3's on my head   LOL 
 
so far haven't tried it with any of my offboard DAC's , the sound of the complete package has removed my will to play so far. 
 
If I consider the Solo with PSU1  is more than this and so is the Beyer amplifer  and both do not include a top notch DAC as well, its easy to see how good value this amplifier/DAC  really is, hard to believe its less than £1000. 
 
heres a picture of the beast, it snot been turned off yet since it arrived, just dumped on top the Beyer and off we go...... 
 
will post more later, maybe try it with some Sennheisers...  
 
 
 
 

 

[ToTo Man]

  only concern is how hot the top of this Class A amplifier is getting !!!!  its to hot to hold your hand on it !!!! 

 
That's interesting, as mine only runs lukewarm temperature.  I'm driving 300 ohm Sennheiser HD600s with it though so that could explain it.
 
Nice review BTW.

 

[elvamir]

That's interesting, as mine only runs lukewarm temperature.  I'm driving 300 ohm Sennheiser HD600s with it though so that could explain it.

Nice review BTW.

Agreed, in that mine gets warm but nothing of concern, I'd say. It's clear the design of the chassis is that it works as a heatsink, so pulling the heat to the surface is better than it sitting on the components, I say. Also agree that it was a great review! I concur on all fronts, although my experience has been with different headphones than the LCD's.

 

[GrinJe]

I run this solution with my HD800. The sound is very good to my ears. The sound is a bit warm and good details. I agree with the review on post 79.
 
Its hot, but maximum around 30-40 degrees (C). It use quite a while to warm up, so i usually start it up a while (10-20 min) before i will use the system. I feel the amp plays better when it is warm and also a bit louder. For the price this seems like one of the best choices i have tried.
 
Question: I can run the HD800 on all the different settings, low, mid and high. Which on is best to use from the amp perspective?
 
Thanks!

 

[Jonfairway]

I usually go where the dial ends up at my normal listening level, if the dial is around 12 noon to 1pm its on the right setting, this gives smother control if you wish to turn it up a little, the high gain setting seems to jump to much and the 0 gain is being pushed to much, depends also on what level you like to listen I guess too 
 
If it helps the Graham Slee was always a little keen for my likes with my listen level around 9pm and it was loud enough, the Beyer got to about 2pm at the right level for my ears.
 
maybe an over simplistic way of doing it, but hey, I just go off what sounds good.
This was of course using LCD2 and LCD3, I have not tried anything else with the Deckard so far, I have a feeling my Philips L2 might be to bright for a good synergy, its gonna suit a pretty Neutral Headphone best.
 
I can imagine the 800's being very revealing a combination !
 
might try my HD598's  tomorrow see how they hang

 

[GrinJe]

 
I can imagine the 800's being very revealing a combination !

Indeed. You need really good quality music or else it just doesn't sound that good. But as far as i hear that's very normal with the HD800 in general?

 

[camui78]

If the Deckard likes neutral headphones, I suppose the HE-400i would be a good match?

 

[Jonfairway]

I quite fancy a pair of HD800's it has to be said, yes very detailed, heard them described as ruthless !
 
The 400i should make a good match with the Deckard.
 
Spent a good 3 hours tonight comparing the Beyer A1 ( with DacMagic One )  and the Deckard and I can say I love the Deckards Presentation over the Beyer, its just better integrated, more detailed, more believable, yes its a tad warm and full , especially vocals, vocals may even be placed slightly foward, but it just hangs together well, the overall picture isnt clinical like the Beyer, its Musical !
 
will post more as time goes on, I need to try some more cans with the Deckard see how it handles some Mid cans.
 
think it will work well with my DT1350's  thats tomorrows test...

 

[TJ Browning]

If the Deckard likes neutral headphones, I suppose the HE-400i would be a good match?

+1 to this!
 
The HE-400i are my first and only pair of planars so far, and I'm loving that ortho sound! Think my next headphone is going to be the Audeze EL-8. Been eying the Deckard for a while now for that reason, but until recently good reviews have been scarce...
 
Does anybody have any impressions of the Deckard compared to the Burson Soloist SL for handling planars? From what you guys are saying it sounds phenomenal! Haha I'm just looking for more excuses to buy it.

 

[Jonfairway]

 Does anybody have any impressions of the Deckard compared to the Burson Soloist SL for handling planars? From what you guys are saying it sounds phenomenal! Haha I'm just looking for more excuses to buy it.

 
The soloist is a good looking product, it is however only an amplifier NO inbuilt DAC like its bigger brother the Conductor.
 If you already have a good DAC then its def worth an audition.
 
I have another AMP + DAC  combo called the Dared EF99  it is a valve amplifier, I have changed the Valves around quite a bit, but the stock unit is very good, and can be found for around £200 and would make an excellent match for the 400i's  it also has a warm sound, good bass extension, well detailed, just a good valve amp really at a good price, may have to look around for a bit cause they don't get sold on very often, I find it works really well with my Sennheisers and the Philips L2, looks brill in the dark too  
 
To get back to topic a little, the Deckard really has raised the bar on an  AMP + DAC combination at this price, solid engineering, good components, plenty of power, and very good sound. Its gonna bring the others down to raise their games too.

 

[ToTo Man]

Out of curiosity I connected my Schiit Bifrost Uber to the Deckard's analogue inputs and spent the night flicking between the Deckard's USB and RCA input, and I'll be damned if I can hear any difference.  Both sound identical to my ears, and quite exquisite I have to say!  I don't understand how this is possible, as I would have expected the analogue board in the Bifrost to impart its own sonic character on the output it is sending to the Deckard.  Perhaps my ears are just not quite golden enough to detect what little difference exists?
 
My ears are however good enough to detect a difference between the Deckard and my Schiit Valhalla 1.  Outputting the Bifrost Uber to both amps simultaneously (with RCA splitters), the Deckard is audibly superior to the Valhalla 1.  The Valhalla 1 exhibits a fatiguing harshness in the lower treble that is not present on the Deckard.  The Deckard's presentation is smoother and more neutral and the treble is more open and resolving (but in no way rolled off).  I'm actually a bit disappointed by this because I really love the aesthetics of the Valhalla and the whole romance of the 'tube' thing.  I just wish it sounded as open and relaxed as the Deckard.
 
A bit off-topic but does anyone know if the Valhalla 2 sounds better than the Valhalla 1? 

 

[sheldaze]

  Out of curiosity I connected my Schiit Bifrost Uber to the Deckard's analogue inputs and spent the night flicking between the Deckard's USB and RCA input, and I'll be damned if I can hear any difference.  Both sound identical to my ears, and quite exquisite I have to say!  I don't understand how this is possible, as I would have expected the analogue board in the Bifrost to impart its own sonic character on the output it is sending to the Deckard.  Perhaps my ears are just not quite golden enough to detect what little difference exists?
 
My ears are however good enough to detect a difference between the Deckard and my Schiit Valhalla 1.  Outputting the Bifrost Uber to both amps simultaneously (with RCA splitters), the Deckard is audibly superior to the Valhalla 1.  The Valhalla 1 exhibits a fatiguing harshness in the lower treble that is not present on the Deckard.  The Deckard's presentation is smoother and more neutral and the treble is more open and resolving (but in no way rolled off).  I'm actually a bit disappointed by this because I really love the aesthetics of the Valhalla and the whole romance of the 'tube' thing.  I just wish it sounded as open and relaxed as the Deckard.
 
A bit off-topic but does anyone know if the Valhalla 2 sounds better than the Valhalla 1? 

I will risk continuing to go a little off topic by opening first with agreement. I too heard the treble harshness of the Valhalla when switching to recent purchase, a new solid state headphone amplifier. I truly wish I did not because I bought both a black Bifrost Uber and a black Valhalla, which were a really cool looking stack. At a recent headphone meet, I was at a table with my original version Valhalla and HD650 headphones. At my same table was a gentleman with Valhalla 2 with a Bifrost Uber and HD600 headphones. I spoke to him and asked him what he thought were the differences. He said basically none other than the output impedance, which can be switched on the newer model to suite a wider variety of headphones. I also listened to his setup, and preferred my setup simply because I prefer the HD650 sound signature over the HD600.
 
I suspect there's no difference between the two generations of Valhalla in terms of sound signature.