[FredA]

Has anyone used this new unit as a preamp? If yes, does the output voltage vary according to hi vs lo gain settings?

I do. It's the volume control scale that changes with the gain mode. So when you switch between High and Low, there is indeed a volume level difference. There probably is no difference in DAC mode.

 

[FredA]

In my office setup, with a power amp on the right. Perfect companion for work.

 

[FredA]

I will post a review within the next weeks, but so far, the r2r mkii performed beyond my expectations. Mine is the fully upgraded version i.e. with Crysteks on the Amanero and with the usb isolator. I will eventually try it in my living room setup. It could surprise me.. Curious to see how the sound will change with burn in. It should get a bit more resolution. The mids and timbres could improve a little i guess, and bass, but if everything stayed the same, i would not be disappointed much. Any improvement will be a bonus. My unit received likely more than the usual 100h since it is from the first batch of a new product. Just one weak point so far: I noticed staging is not quite there just yet. The old is a bit better at the moment.

So far, the feeling is the sound is much like what you would get using a 1k dac with a 1k amp. In the office setup, the old unit upgraded with Crystek is fatiguing in comparison (not in the absolute). On certain albums, it will show more. This is really important as i play music for the most part of my work day. Having owned the nfb1-amp, the mkii seems really close to it as hp amp when used with single-ended headphones.

So as an early conclusion, Kingwa has outdone himself in maximizing the value of this unit. I can already state the upgrade is worth every penny and more. Probably even more after after burn-in.

 

[FredA]

Putting the hp set on this morning, the sound has regressed over night (the unit is running 24/7, not an issue as it gets just a tad warm, much colder than the original). Bass is a quite mudded. Attacks lack sharpness. The burn-in roller coaster is on!

 

[Pharmaboy]

In my office setup, with a power amp on the right. Perfect companion for work.

What speakers are those?

 

[Pharmaboy]

Putting the hp set on this morning, the sound has regressed over night (the unit is running 24/7, not an issue as it gets just a tad warm, much colder than the original). Bass is a quite mudded. Attacks lack sharpness. The burn-in roller coaster is on!

This brings back vivid memories of burning in AGD's DAC-19 and NOS 19 4+ years ago. Owners of these units often said on their respective Head-Fi threads that 450+ hrs of burn-in were required for the final sound to emerge and stabilize. I thought that was insane...but when burning in the NOS 19 (the 1st of the 2 I bought), the sound fluctuated wildly over the days and weeks. Regressions were common and I learned to disregard them.

I used that DAC as my main desktop system preamp (w/speakers & sub). I play music at low volume for ~12 hrs a day in the home office, so it was pretty easy to hear this DAC go all over the place sonically as I burned it in. Finally at ~500 hrs it settled down for good. I loved that sound, which changed my whole relationship w/digital...

The DAC-19 was pretty much the same--all over the place during burn-in.

All to say you really shouldn't pay much attention to how this DAC sounds at first. It's going to change and it's definitely going to get better over time.

PS: I emailed Kingwa yesterday asking if he could add a 2nd pair of RCA outputs, a necessity in my complex desktop system. If he can, I'll get on this hype-train, ticket in hand.

 

[FredA]

What speakers are those?

These are the Soundartist S5b, a 200$ speaker pair that is surprisingly good. They do not have absolutely smooth treble, but reasonably smooth and they sound very well overall, once the pack port obstructed, in my case, otherwise too much bass. They go down to 40Hz or so i would say, -10dB... They have some weight to the sound.

 

[FredA]

This brings back vivid memories of burning in AGD's DAC-19 and NOS 19 4+ years ago. Owners of these units often said on their respective Head-Fi threads that 450+ hrs of burn-in were required for the final sound to emerge and stabilize. I thought that was insane...but when burning in the NOS 19 (the 1st of the 2 I bought), the sound fluctuated wildly over the days and weeks. Regressions were common and I learned to disregard them.

I used that DAC as my main desktop system preamp (w/speakers & sub). I play music at low volume for ~12 hrs a day in the home office, so it was pretty easy to hear this DAC go all over the place sonically as I burned it in. Finally at ~500 hrs it settled down for good. I loved that sound, which changed my whole relationship w/digital...

The DAC-19 was pretty much the same--all over the place during burn-in.

All to say you really shouldn't pay much attention to how this DAC sounds at first. It's going to change and it's definitely going to get better over time.

PS: I emailed Kingwa yesterday asking if he could add a 2nd pair of RCA outputs, a necessity in my complex desktop system. If he can, I'll get on this hype-train, ticket i?yeahn hand.

Yes, i burned so many Audio-gd dacs, and amps, I am used to it. The mkii is back to glorious now, better than yesterday.

2 holes need to be drilled to add the additional RCAs, some wire and a pair of plugs. The output stage can easily drive 2 inputs. Kingwa should be able to accommodate you i suppose although it takes some workmanship.

 

[FredA]

There could be a lack of room. I would use a splitting cable if i were you.

 

[FredA]

After amost 140h, the r2r 11 mkii has now excellent staging, lots of refinement.

It is good enough for a demanding audiophile like me. Considering my main setup is is no-compromise Audio-gd setup worth over 20k (including cables, streamer, 10M clock and speakers) , my modest 1200$ office setup is really impressive and really does not feel so inferior. You get about 85-90% of what the big setup is capable of, and the sound is also without any annoying trait. A bit less staging, less botton extension of course, given the size of the speakers, fewer details and less clarity. But what comes out is very refined. Before the new r2r mki, the small system gave 80% of the big one. And i was using a usb isolator, plus an Amanero384 board featuring crysteks. So the improvements made elsewhere definitely pay off. And most of all, the r2r 11 mkii retain the excellent musicality of its predecessor. So i would call it the perfect foundation for a budget system that does not feel like one. My cheap speakers are even better than i thought they were! And on headphones, the improvement is also significant. Better control, blacker backgound and more relaxed sound. Better staging too and smoother top.

I can already recommend it without any reservation. It is excellent, better than i expected even being well aware of the great value audio-gd products possess. The unit is no more cheap, but it remains a huge value, even better than before IMO.

Cheer to Kingwa, this is a great product!

 

[FredA]

My full review of the new r2r 11 mkii is out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-gd-r2r-11.859278/page-33#post-16738573

Enjoy!

 

[FredA]

So, @Pharmaboy, how is your r2r 11, mkii coming along?

 

[Pharmaboy]

So, @Pharmaboy, how is your r2r 11, mkii coming along?

Very well. It's not even 150 hrs yet, so the DAC has a ways to go. At this point I don't have any downstream amps attached yet. That will come after this amp section burns in.

But at the moment the sound is quite good. Of course hard to distinguish the DAC from the amp when both used together, but so far, the DAC sounds like a solid NOS design, and the amp sounds just like other Audio GD AIO's I've heard w/single-ended amps--that is to say, clean, clear, powerful, slightly warm, excellent bass, a real get-out-of-the-way amp. Was doing some listening last night via my 5-yr old but still very nice sounding Fidelio X2s and really liked what I heard.

After 3 full weeks burn-in (the 2nd & 3rd of which will have other amps attached to the dual RCA outputs), I'll bring this unit into into the desktop system in place of the MHDT Labs Orchid (at least temporarily/for evaluation); then into the side system in place of the Audio GD DAC-19. I'm expecting the R2R-11 MKII to be at least competitive in the main system; and to be the boss in the side system.

 

[FredA]

Very well. It's not even 150 hrs yet, so the DAC has a ways to go. At this point I don't have any downstream amps attached yet. That will come after this amp section burns in.

But at the moment the sound is quite good. Of course hard to distinguish the DAC from the amp when both used together, but so far, the DAC sounds like a solid NOS design, and the amp sounds just like other Audio GD AIO's I've heard w/single-ended amps--that is to say, clean, clear, powerful, slightly warm, excellent bass, a real get-out-of-the-way amp. Was doing some listening last night via my 5-yr old but still very nice sounding Fidelio X2s and really liked what I heard.

After 3 full weeks burn-in (the 2nd & 3rd of which will have other amps attached to the dual RCA outputs), I'll bring this unit into into the desktop system in place of the MHDT Labs Orchid (at least temporarily/for evaluation); then into the side system in place of the Audio GD DAC-19. I'm expecting the R2R-11 MKII to be at least competitive in the main system; and to be the boss in the side system.

Will you use a dcc with it, cause I believe you did not get the usb upgrades, am i right?

I am still amazed how clean my own sounds. Bass, mids, highs, staging. Minimal coloration. I can't stand gears with much coloration anymore (ever since i got my first audio-gd dac about 11 years ago). This little guy sounds like a grown up.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I just commented on this in the R2R-11 thread. I will use a DDC w/the R2R-11 MK2; and/or a SPDIF converter.

So far the sound of this unit is quite promising. I love NOS digital and am happy to have another NOS box in the house.

I rarely use USB straight in these days. I find coax always sounds better...