[SoupRKnowva]

i left my dac19 mk3 running for 2.5 months straight after i bought it to get it nice and burned in. Well there were a couple breaks for a couple hours when i would turn it off, because i heard cycling the capacitors is good too.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sk3383 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hate leaving equipment on when I am not at home. Thats why I only have 70 hours of real play time on it. I have the P-2 Pre-Amplifier along with the 6 voltage modules. They all can change the flavour of the sound, adding warmth, chaning dynamics, etc. but I found they could not bring life to the voices in the recordings. The burn in period has really enhanced this area!! I am really starting to enjoy my setup...

The usual time period for A-gd gear is roughly 400 hours and bit more for the TOTL stuff. Just keep putting time on the gear and enjoy the changes as they come.

The big stuff like the C-10/FBI-500/C1 Masters/C3SE and to a slightly lesser degree the REF1/7 DACs take a long long time to fully mature.

If you think it sounds good now wait until you reach 250 hours or thereabouts...the refinements continue to come as does the freq range evening out (bass extension and control of it becomes really tactile and rich without becoming dominant at the expense of the lower mid region accuracy, no mid bass hump either). The bass is a little loose at first and ill defined but that changes 180 degrees past 200+ hours...enjoy the ride

Peete.

 

[Quinto]

Darn, my girlfriend even liked my DAC19 better then the DAC on my Marantz 11S1 cd player.. ´Sounds more real´ lol...

I really dig the combi with my X Can V8 and Grado GS1k btw, piano, strings, sax..it al sounds stunning..

Thank you guys for pointing me to the Audio GD direction

 

[Patu]

 
Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm. Did you write a review on any? I need to read some more reviews. It would be good to hear the DAC-19 compared to the DAC-3SE. I wonder which will have more detail and body? Better synergy with Grado's (and Beyerdynamic if possible).

The DAC19DSP and the DAC-3SE weren't built with the same goals in mind. According to the description on Audio-gd's website the DAC19DSP falls on the neutral category and the DAC-3SE falls on the musical category.

I used to have the dac19mk3 and it had 2 "flavors":
With the PMD100 the sound was warm with a beautiful timber.
With the DF1704 the sound was fast and analytical.

According to Kingwa, the dac19DSP is dead neutral. I should receive either tomorrow or Monday I think. I am planning to write a review on it once I get enough hours on it.

 
I must say that I didn't find that much of a difference between the two mods. I think they both sound very pleasing and easy to listen to. IMO even DF1704 won't make DAC19Mk3 as analytical as you said. After hearing Bel Canto DAC3 vs. DAC19Mk3 (PMD100), DF1704 doesn't take DAC19Mk3 even near the analytical and superdetailed sound which DAC3 produces. And I'm glad it won't. That's the reason I sold DAC3. I have been very pleased with DF1704 so I guess I'll stick with this mode for now.
 

 

[gbacic]

How much of an upgrade is this amp in comparison to the Compass with an Earth HDAM? I love my compass but would love to upgrade it so that I could get that extra little bit and have an amp/DAC for my bedroom.

 

[noinimod]

Quote:

How much of an upgrade is this amp in comparison to the Compass with an Earth HDAM? I love my compass but would love to upgrade it so that I could get that extra little bit and have an amp/DAC for my bedroom.

the DAC 19's not an amp. It's a stand-alone DAC. I had the Compass and while it was a decent entry level DAC, it really is nowhere close to the DAC19
 

 

[haloxt]

Imo the main difference is detail and soundstage, and the sound signature of the dac19 is more neutral. I enjoy my compass almost as much with more forgiving or smooth headphones.

 

[scorpionro]

I ordered a DAC19DF and I can't wait to listen to it unfortunately the DSP premium was a bit to big for the budget that my gf approved

 

[regal]

This is a stretch but has anyone compared the DAC19 DSP with HDCD software (foobar, WMP, etc) decoding vs the DAC19 with PMD100 on genuine HDCD discs?

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

This is a stretch but has anyone compared the DAC19 DSP with HDCD software (foobar, WMP, etc) decoding vs the DAC19 with PMD100 on genuine HDCD discs?

I think that it will be a hard comparison to do correctly as the result will also depend on the quality of the transport (both digital filters have different sensitivities to the incoming jitter).
Personally, and without even using a HDCD software, I found that the DAC 19 DSP didn't sound worse than the DAC19mk3 (PMD100) on HDCD discs (But I have to admit that I wasn't using the same interconnects and headphone amp, so it wasn't a fair comparison.)
 
But you are right, it would be nice if someone could do a proper A/B comparison like you suggested.
 
.

 

[sk3383]

Its going to be difficult to find someone who has both the DAC-19DSP and DAC19MKIII.
 
I've got the DAC-3SE & DAC-19DSP but that is not a true A/B comparisn.

 

[1stimer]

I just ordered the DF version of the DAC-19.  I really debated going for the DSP filter, but in the end I couldn't justify the price for the possible upgrade.  Is the jury definitely out that the DSP is a superior filter?
 
Could  the DF and DSP filters be swapped?
 
Could the unit I bought be modified to swap in the PMD-100 HDCD filter if I had my own chip?
 
I'm coming from a Zhaolu CS4398 based DAC with some opamps that I like.  Pretty happy with it, actually.  Just looking for a bit more body, more weight, maybe a bit smoother sound.  Wanna try something new.
 
I'm running bit-perfect optical out from motherboard on an audio-only XP PC.   Considering experimenting with a USB--->SPDIF converter.
 
Here's to hoping I'll be happy with my new purchase.  It's tough to find a used one it seems so hopefully that's a good sign.  Listening impressions to follow.  I ordered through Pacific Valve (free pair of RCA's and a paypal discount, and I thought I could get it faster than ordering through Audio-GD directly, but it turns out the unit is back-ordered at PV.  Oh well.  I can wait a few weeks. Thanks for all the knowledgeable discussions here.

 

[noinimod]

Quote:

I just ordered the DF version of the DAC-19.  I really debated going for the DSP filter, but in the end I couldn't justify the price for the possible upgrade.  Is the jury definitely out that the DSP is a superior filter?
 
Could  the DF and DSP filters be swapped?
 
Could the unit I bought be modified to swap in the PMD-100 HDCD filter if I had my own chip?
 
I'm coming from a Zhaolu CS4398 based DAC with some opamps that I like.  Pretty happy with it, actually.  Just looking for a bit more body, more weight, maybe a bit smoother sound.  Wanna try something new.
 
I'm running bit-perfect optical out from motherboard on an audio-only XP PC.   Considering experimenting with a USB--->SPDIF converter.
 
Here's to hoping I'll be happy with my new purchase.  It's tough to find a used one it seems so hopefully that's a good sign.  Listening impressions to follow.  I ordered through Pacific Valve (free pair of RCA's and a paypal discount, and I thought I could get it faster than ordering through Audio-GD directly, but it turns out the unit is back-ordered at PV.  Oh well.  I can wait a few weeks. Thanks for all the knowledgeable discussions here.

As far as i can tell, the DSP and DF board are inter-changeable. I don't think you can swap the pmd100 in, however.
Hmm, the thing is, you're not going to find many people who have heard BOTH the DSP and DF, so that's difficult to say.
I don't think the DAC19 is going to give you that sort of sound you're looking for - they are not a terribly warm sounding DAC. It's slightly warm but not too much. That said, i believe you'll be very happy with it even if the sound's not what you're expecting

 

[1stimer]

I don't think I chose my words correctly regarding the sound that I am looking for.  Warmer was not the right word.  I do like detail, I just am really looking for a more natural sound than what I am getting with the Zhaolu.  Nice to know the DSP filter could be added at a later date if I wanted to experiment.  Maybe I'll E-mail Kingwa to confirm.  He was very quick to respond to a question about adding a subwoofer output to the CIA-400 Integrated amplifier that I am still considering.  I really like my Audio Analogue Puccini Integrated, but the PREOUT to the sub needs to be repaired and I'm not sure how much that will set me back.

 

[h.rav]

Quote:

As far as i can tell, the DSP and DF board are inter-changeable. I don't think you can swap the pmd100 in, however.
Hmm, the thing is, you're not going to find many people who have heard BOTH the DSP and DF, so that's difficult to say.
I don't think the DAC19 is going to give you that sort of sound you're looking for - they are not a terribly warm sounding DAC. It's slightly warm but not too much. That said, i believe you'll be very happy with it even if the sound's not what you're expecting

They aren't plug and play like the DAC-19Mk3. Here is a reply from Kingwa:
 
 
The DAC19DSP if want to install PMD100 or DF1704 modules, you want to desolder one place and solder another one place, if you make any wrong, you will shatter the DSP module while you put the DSP back to DAC19.
Kingwa