[newabc]

Someone in this DI-20 thread(http://bbs.audio-gd.com/dispbbs.asp?boardid=2&Id=31346&page=1&star=2) mentioned MPS HD-230 and HD-280 HDMI cables which are designed for video playback in extremely high quality(based on some Chinese introduction of them), and other one even mentioned pure silver cable. But I think the shielded cables for HDMI 2.1 should be enough.

 

[FredA]

Wow! I am dying to get mine.

 

[frizzup]

Day 4 of 24/7 burn-in of my new Di-20. Took a peek this morning over my first coffee of the day, definite progress over "out of the box". 6 hours later and an afternoon tea and woh!, considerable step-up in the staging, precision, positioning of instruments, pure black background, and each note/voice, having depth and detail not present with Gustard U16. I would summarise this afternoon quick listen, as being acquainted with an old friend in new clothes, the Audio-GD "house sound" at its best, this compared to the Gustard U16 after 9 months of its use.

I am now of the view after a few days to buy a 2nd DI-20 and not use the Gustard U16 in my Audio-DG Headphones rig. Its that good!

Running USB 2.0 input and I2S (HDMI) output on the DI-20.

Have not tried ACSS (BNC/SPDIF) out of the DI-20

Frizzup

 

[JaMo]

I got a DHL tracking number but the DI is still in Hong Kong.
/Jan

 

[Pappas3278]

Got my DHL delivery notification today. Gonna be hooking up and burning in tonight. Won't listen for at least a few days.

Mac >DI-20 90/90M >R1 (i2S) >NFB1amp (ACSS)

 

[darren700]

Just got home with my new DI-20 90/98. ripped it out of packaging and installed immediately into my main system replacing the Gustard U16.
I know it is way to early for proper impressions and lots of burn in is still required, but WOW does this sound awesome. it took 5 seconds of music to notice the improved resolution vs the U16. It sounds like several veils have been lifted. definitely an inky black background like frizzup described. I am already hearing details in songs ive never noticed before! cant wait until this thing is burned in!

PCM, DSD, 96k, 176k, 192k all play flawlessly with my SMS-200 Ultra Neo and R2R-7. Now I can experiment with newer firmware for the R2R-7 (im stuck on V3 since the U16 had issues with the newer firmware)

Also note the DI-20 does not need 5V on USB input to function correctly.

I am definitely going to buy a second one for my R1 in my headphone setup. the only question is whether to buy a second DI-20 or spring for the DI-20HE. my speaker system already has a H-350 but I am wondering If i could still benefit from the DI-20HE?? If the HE version doesn't make a difference in my speaker setup it would in my R1 headphone setup for sure since I only have a APC H15 for power conditioning in that system...

Chain for my main system now:

Audio-GD HE-350 powering DI-20, R2R-7, Thoebe II Preamp

Jriver Win10 PC -> DLNA -> SOTM SMS-200 Ultra Neo (LPS-1.2 PSU) -> Audio Sensibility Statement Silver USB -> Uptone ISO Regen (LPS-1 PSU) -> Audio-GD DI-20 90/98 -> Moshou HDMI 2.1 1M -> Audio-GD R2R-7 -> SST Thoebe II Preamp -> SST Son Of Ampzilla II Amp -> Monitor Audio GX300 Speakers

I linked to an imgur gallery of lots more pictures including ones comparing size of U16 below... Enjoy.
https://imgur.com/a/vAgXixo

 

[frizzup]

End of Day 6 of 24/7 burn-in running a playlist containing multiple genres, artists and sample rates.

Sat down this evening (Sat in NZ), poured a glass of wine and queued up some albums and just listened

1. Sara K - Made in the Shade (44.1/24)
2. Bill Callahan - Dream River (44.1/16)
3. Nils Frahm - All Melodies (96/24)
4. Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert (96/24)

Glass became a bottle...been a long day in the garden

Conclusion after Day 6



Frizzup

 

[darren700]

End of Day 6 of 24/7 burn-in running a playlist containing multiple genres, artists and sample rates.

Sat down this evening (Sat in NZ), poured a glass of wine and queued up some albums and just listened

1. Sara K - Made in the Shade (44.1/24)
2. Bill Callahan - Dream River (44.1/16)
3. Nils Frahm - All Melodies (96/24)
4. Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert (96/24)

Glass became a bottle...been a long day in the garden

Conclusion after Day 6



Frizzup

Glad to hear your experiences match mine, I am loving the DI-20 more every-time I listen to it.

Day 3 of burn in for me. Sound is still awesome to my ears, but im sure it will get better.
I continue to hear things in songs I have never noticed before. I mainly listen to Electro, DNB and EDM and it seems to have more depth and snap to it, hard to describe but it just sounds more real, perhaps it is the "pure black background" frizzup was talking about. Bass texture and depth is also improved with the DI-20 vs the U16.

With the U16 I was stuck on V3 R2R-7 Firmware (R2R7V3IIS3_S.jrc) because when trying the new OCT 2019 firmware I was getting static.

Now with the DI-20 90/98 after flashing to the latest OCT 2019 firmware (R7tda_Asy_P2_dsdclk_IIS3.jrc) everything is working perfectly.
No more pops during sample rate changes and alot smoother transitions when changing between different sample rates

 

[FredA]

I will get my unit Tuesday or Wednesday!

 

[DACLadder]

Audio GD is offering a 5% discount on DI-20 and DI-20 HE orders during November 2019.

5% OFF promo in Nov.
http://www.audio-gd.com/En audio-gd.htm

 

[soundlogic]

Audio GD is offering a 5% discount on DI-20 and DI-20 HE orders during November 2019.

5% OFF promo in Nov.
http://www.audio-gd.com/En audio-gd.htm

Thanks for that post Dac-Ladder! That just got me off the fence...
Also, on one of the Gustard U16 threads either here or on Computer Audiophile, one of the posters did a very telling A/B between the Singxter and Gustard...is that poster here? And if so, will you be doing a similar A/B?
Thanks in advance!

 

[DACLadder]

@soundlogic You are welcome and enjoy!

The early DI-20 shipments are now being delivered so check back here in the next week. I have a lot of DDCs but my DI-20 HE won’t be shipped for several more weeks. And excited about the possibilities from the few early reviews so far!

i hope the DI-20 is a U16 killer. Operationally the U16 is an failure in my PC, Allo Usbridge, and Aurender setups. Sounds great though when working but what a sorry design. The three Singxers and Amanero USB board never falter in operation. I’ll be concentrating on how the Singxer SU-6 compares to the D-20 HE.

 

[JaMo]

HI!
I got my DI20HE delivered now, today. The lady was home and received. Will unbox and test it tonight. I am very excited to get the first impressions. Just have to work for a few hours.... feel like a kid in Christmas times... (hate the waiting..)

 

[JaMo]

I have now unboxed the DI20HE. It took some time to get the correct linux driver to get it to sing out. Finally I got sound. First minutes the sound was flat and hollow but after a while it started to shine.... What struck me was the deep black background and now and then the performance gave glimts of its potential. This is a High End device, no doubt. Some tunes shows already what this will be. I have been pleased with the Gustard U16 's performance and have not had all the issues and problems I have been reading about. Anyway, this DI20HE from Audio-gd and Kingwa is a "U16-killer". And this by its performance. I guess the non-HE also is but don't really know. I have tested a varity of formats PCM 44.1-384 and DSD64,128 and they all plays beautifully. I play through HDMI to my R2R7 (fw Parallell DoP). Now I will leave it powered on 24/7. I expect 2 weeks for the internal XO's to stabilize and longer (months?) for the electronics to fully mature. It is very nice already. The DI20HE is not cheap but I know this is one of my best investments in the audio-chain. More to come when I have more burnin in time and testing/playing.
/Jan

 

[JaMo]

4 hours later.... The sound stage is huge and the precise layering impresses... This box is full of surprises, Wow!/J