Audio-gd R2R DAC Thread

[thebkt]

Placed an order for the R2R-1 tonight. Looks like the Mimby's on its way to work! I'm honestly not expecting a huge upgrade, as the mimby has been mighty impressive, but I'm looking forward to having the full stack that will use both DAC and amp at their full potential.

 

[TiborM]

Don't forget to use acss connection, I think you're going to be nicely surprised! I am thinking of getting Nfb-1amp for myself! :-D

 

[hyperactiveaudiophile]

So Audio gd Reference 5 is a R2R DAC? Excuse my new comer’s question .

 

[borrego]

So Audio gd Reference 5 is a R2R DAC? Excuse my new comer’s question .

The now discontinued Reference 5, Reference 5.2, and Reference 5.32 all used the PCM1704 R2R DAC chip, and the Reference 5 series of DAC were R2R DAC type.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Question for current owners of the R2R 1 or R2R 2: can "NOS Mode 1" (mentioned above by @motberg) be dialed in on the front panel? Or does one have to open the case to fiddle w/jumpers?

For what it's worth, I currently own a DAC-19 and NOS 19. The NOS 19 is my day-to-day DAC, and it has really transformed my whole relationship w/digital audio. I've never opened the case on either...too much of a PITA, frankly, and the stock sound on both was plenty good so that I never thought of it again.

FYI, I have both the DAC-19 & NOS 19 outfitted w/the 2nd RCA output pair (replacing the ACSS pair)--and this has also changed my entire desktop system for the better. I now always have one HP amp/preamp in use as main system preamp, with a 2nd HP amp (or amp/preamp) running off the 2nd RCA output pair. This makes it so easy to listen to 2 different HPs/on 2 amps, or plug 1 pr of HPs first into 1 amp, then the other.

One of the very big conveniences of the R2R 1 for my complex desktop system will be the possibility of 3 live outputs from the R2R 1 at all times (that this is possible was confirmed by email from Kingwa). The way it would work is:

• 2 X 3-pin XLR output of R2R 1 would power my V281 (to it's 2 X 3-pin XLR inputs)...this is usually be my day-to-day preamp/amp
• 1st RCA output pair would connect to RCA inputs of the Liquid Carbon or Woo WA3
• 2nd RCA output pair would connect to RCA inputs of AGD SA-31SE HP amp/preamp
• I could switch preamps just by unplugging/replugging the output RCA pair that drives the rest of the system...

This all may sound totally nuts--but it's just a more fully featured/convenient variation of how I've been using this system for several years.

PS: If I get an R2R 1, the DAC-19 will be F.S. Terrific unit only infrequently used.

 

[Pharmaboy]

(something I forgot to add in post above)

AGD's website uses somewhat tangled syntax to recommend up to 600 hrs burnin for the R2R 1. Just in case you think that's insane, consider the following:

• A number of posters on the lengthy Audio GD DAC-19 thread on HF affirm that burnin in excess of 500 hours is not just recommended--but mandatory to get past the time of day-to-day sonic variability from this unit
• I determined to my complete satisfaction (when burning in the NOS 19, then DAC-19), that 500 hrs is, if anything, conservative. These units went through some crazy sonic mood-swings as the hours went by, including occasional bouts of brightness and other artifacts that I managed to ignore (and never heard again)

I would say the DAC-19 & NOS 19 setting down and become 100% sonically stable somewhere between 500 & 600 hrs of use.

If I get an R2R 1, I will burn that baby in exactly as I did the others (probably using my 2nd computer + yet another HP amp as a burnin station).

 

[cubed4life]

@Pharmaboy yes you would have to open the R2R 1 and add the jumpers to activate NOS 1 mode. After that you are able to switch between set OS mode and set NOS mode from front panel.

Burn in for me was about 2 weeks going on 3 when I really appreciated R2R 1.

 

[motberg]

I am pretty sure Audio GD would set the jumpers for you at the factory if you request when you order...
..but it only takes about 5 minutes, very easy... in fact the screws on top are standard Phillips head.. so no searching for strange mm sized allen or torx sizes

 

[maellen]

Don't forget to use acss connection, I think you're going to be nicely surprised! I am thinking of getting Nfb-1amp for myself! :-D

Looking forward for your comparison of ACSS vs XLR for the R2R1 & NFB-1AMP.

I have the amp but yet to get the R2R1 DAC

 

[hyperactiveaudiophile]

So, for agd reference 7 or reference 5 I need to set jumper to use it in NOS mode? Thank you guys for the information.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I am pretty sure Audio GD would set the jumpers for you at the factory if you request when you order...
..but it only takes about 5 minutes, very easy... in fact the screws on top are standard Phillips head.. so no searching for strange mm sized allen or torx sizes

Really? It would never even occur to me to ask for that.

BTW, my one experience w/jumpers was not either of my AGD DACs, but their SA-31SE headphone amp/preamp. I bought that used, thought it a touch bright, so put in a couple pairs of jumpers as directed in the thread for that device. It totally worked; then again, I never finished replacing all the screws (since I wasn't sure it would work)...and now I'd be hard pressed to find them.

(definition of PITA)

 

[thebkt]

My R2R 1 arrived a few days ago and I couldn't be happier with it. It's a marked improvement over my Mimby+Eitr combo. First basic impressions are that it's tonally very similar to my peasant ears, but is very noticeably more resolving. It also has a higher output voltage than the Mimby, so I'm a few notches lower on my NFB-1 now. I've tried it mostly via COAX from my Eitr, but noticed no drop in quality when using USB directly from the PC (note: I got it with the USB Isolator option). Also, NOS mode does sound warmer to me, but it's not night and day. I'm more than happy with with the default 8x OS mode.

Long story short is that this combo sounds fantastic together and works flawlessly with my PS4 Pro via Toslink.

 

[Pharmaboy]

My R2R 1 arrived a few days ago and I couldn't be happier with it. It's a marked improvement over my Mimby+Eitr combo. First basic impressions are that it's tonally very similar to my peasant ears, but is very noticeably more resolving. It also has a higher output voltage than the Mimby, so I'm a few notches lower on my NFB-1 now. I've tried it mostly via COAX from my Eitr, but noticed no drop in quality when using USB directly from the PC (note: I got it with the USB Isolator option). Also, NOS mode does sound warmer to me, but it's not night and day. I'm more than happy with with the default 8x OS mode.

Long story short is that this combo sounds fantastic together and works flawlessly with my PS4 Pro via Toslink.

nice comments! I'm very interested in this balanced, switchable OS/NOS multi-bit design...especially interested in the idea that it might squeeze out more detail & musical nuance from the basic organic/natural NOS sound (with which I'm intimately familiar, as my #1 DAC is the Audio GD NOS 19).

But I have to ask: what do you mean by "noticeably more resolving"? Does this refer to frequencies/tonal reproduction? Or just to detail & accuracy?

Is there any brightness/peakiness in this unit?

 

[TiborM]

Hi, what are you guys using in front of the dac? I don't find the Amanero usb interface very good. Compared to my Casea, music lacks body and bass extension, well I've tried only just for couple of minutes, because it was so apparent, so I switched back immediately

@thebkt You really have to put jumpers on to activate nos mode (I really don't know now if it's on by default) and try mode 1 or 2. This is a nos dac, forget oversampling, for me nos digs a lot deeper into music and is more natural sounding than oversampling.

Cheers
Tibor

 

[Pharmaboy]

Hi, what are you guys using in front of the dac? I don't find the Amanero usb interface very good. Compared to my Casea, music lacks body and bass extension, well I've tried only just for couple of minutes, because it was so apparent, so I switched back immediately

@thebkt You really have to put jumpers on to activate nos mode (I really don't know now if it's on by default) and try mode 1 or 2. This is a nos dac, forget oversampling, for me nos digs a lot deeper into music and is more natural sounding than oversampling.

Cheers
Tibor

For years I've used Musical Fidelity S/PDIF convertors to convert USB into coax--which I feed to the DAC du jour. Currently the convertor is the V-Link 24/192. And for the past 2-3 years, I put a USB Regen in line before the S/DIF convertor.

Every DAC I've heard in my system sounds better (a little better, or sometimes significantly better) than USB straight into the DAC. Part of this may be the very fine sounding coax cable I'm using: Oyaide R-510. Not cheap, but it sounds significantly better than other coax cables I tried.

PS: I totally agree with you about NOS. Assuming I get the R2R 1, I'll run it 100% in NOS mode. I'm able to compare NOS vs OS multibit in my system because I have an Audio GD DAC-19 as well as NOS 19. The DAC-19 is a terrific DAC, but doesn't sound quite as relaxed & organic as the NOS 19.