[KillerQ]

I just performed the R28 2021 update HERE to allow my 2018 R28 to be able to use the 2021, as well as future, firmware updates!

It well well! Can’t wait to listen more.

 

[sumpao]

Did you guy still experience DSD and PCM POPPING when switching song.

I use R28 for 3 year this issue is quite annoying.

Now I plan to jump ship to SMSL M400

 

[barbz127]

Has anyone compared the USB input on the 2021 models to that of the DI20?

Looking to see if there anything else to gain here.

 

[ToddRaymond]

I wish I could help you, barbz127. I believe Kingwa fairly recently stated that the new USB input brings things to about the same level as the DI20, but that the DI-20HE was still a good notch above.

 

[barbz127]

I wish I could help you, barbz127. I believe Kingwa fairly recently stated that the new USB input brings things to about the same level as the DI20, but that the DI-20HE was still a good notch above.

Thankyou

I have everything running through a regenerator so may just sit on my hands for the moment

 

[Lu Mazzmarill]

Did anyone reviewed this unit here?
I am undecided between this and the flux lab FCN 10...

 

[ocramida]

@Currawong
So I watched your reviews on the R28 and the Empyrean. But of course they were a year or so apart. Not sure if you still have the R28, but could you comment on how it is with the Empyrean? I did try running a search in this thread, but did not see any mention of the Empyrean. Much Appreciated.

 

[ocramida]

Interesting. Been looking through this thread and at some of the picts from 2018. Appears that the 2021 version uses 2 rcore transformers compared to the one from the 2018?

 

[ToddRaymond]

Hi Ocramida. Yes, that's correct. Two R-core transformers now.

 

[ocramida]

Hi Ocramida. Yes, that's correct. Two R-core transformers now.

Thank you for the reply. So anyone have any insight into how the changes improve the performance? Anyone do an a/b comparison?

 

[dl3152]

Just got the R28 and heard it requires 500 hours of burn in. Is that true?

 

[sajunky]

It depends.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Just got the R28 and heard it requires 500 hours of burn in. Is that true?

I wouldn't mess with.
Just plug in your gear and let it play.

It refinest during use, i'd say.

And yes, it depends on what you're hunting for.

 

[dl3152]

I wouldn't mess with.
Just plug in your gear and let it play.

It refinest during use, i'd say.

And yes, it depends on what you're hunting for.

Thanks

 

[ocramida]

I've been curious about Audio gd products for a while but always held off because of the seemingly complicated ordering process and lead time. Then I came across a Underwood Hifi ad on Audiogon. Turns out they recently became a US reseller for the brand. About a week later I had a brand new R28 2021 to go with my Meze Empyrean.
Some 4 weeks later the R28 has been playing. Whether it was me burning in or it, the sound is quite smooth and big. Given the improvements made to the R28 2021 USB input, I decided to try a Raspberry Pi 3b as a source with volumio. Only tweak is an iFi iPower PS feeding the Pi.
The only thing that "seems" to be missing from the R28 when compared to my Woo Audio WA11 is a slightly euphoric sound. What the R28 provides is much deeper bass extension and detail which demonstrates how well the Meze headphones scale. High frequencies are excellent if not a little dry when compared to the Woo. Not surprisingly, the largest difference is dynamics. The R28 slams and crescendos like a proper solid state amp. Of course the Woo runs on battery and produces ~1.2 watts compared to ~8 watts into 32 ohms.
I do enjoy having my entire FLAC library at my fingertips via the Pi/Volumio/NAS, while my Woo is fed by a SD card via a LG V30+.

Wondering if the sound will change much more beyond the 600+ hours of current run time. I have been bouncing between NOS and Oversampling modes. Not surprising I seem to prefer NOS.