[8140david]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyway, I have to run out work, but I quickly snapped some pics before my battery went flat. Reference 1 and C2C Upgrade

Nice pictures.
(And I also like the pictures of cat and mouse elsewhere on your website!)

 

[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif I only got charged $11 too! Sagawa Transport, who are good, delivered it. Most couriered stuff seems to be delivered by them here. The guy wisely came up to my door to check I was home first before hauling the 20Kg box up to the 5th floor. Customs had obviously opened it, and made a mess of re-packing, but everything was in good condition. The pictures don't express what a beast the Ref 1 is. I didn't realise when I first saw it online that it has 3 transformers in it, one for each module. It's literally 2 whole DACs and a signal processor all crammed inside a box. My C2C I splurged with an ordered the OFC RCAs and a Goldpoint attenuator for. The Goldpoint people were awesome about it, even after eBay screwed up the shipping address for Audio-gd and I had to confirm it via email. Anyway, I have to run out work, but I quickly snapped some pics before my battery went flat. Reference 1 and C2C Upgrade

Great to hear you got your REF1 and the C2C Curra and even more to hear not much duties..

I know what you mean when you say the Ref1 looks like a beast !!.. Btw, the Goldpoint attenuator on the C2C looks great, and they are pretty steep too, think around USD150 !!.. but then I am sure they make a difference..

Well I guess now I await my turn.. btw I'll be getting my DAC19Se and soon C2C, since my wife robbed me of my Compass.. it will give me the opportunity to hear the difference between Compass - DAC19Se and Ref1 !!

Now I guess we wait for your initial impressions.. cant wait would be the right word..

Btw, nice pics... nice setup.. nice nice...

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandchak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great to hear you got your REF1 and the C2C Curra and even more to hear not much duties.. I know what you mean when you say the Ref1 looks like a beast !!.. Btw, the Goldpoint attenuator on the C2C looks great, and they are pretty steep too, think around USD150 !!.. but then I am sure they make a difference.. Well I guess now I await my turn.. btw I'll be getting my DAC19Se and soon C2C, since my wife robbed me of my Compass.. it will give me the opportunity to hear the difference between Compass - DAC19Se and Ref1 !! Now I guess we wait for your initial impressions.. cant wait would be the right word.. Btw, nice pics... nice setup.. nice nice...

The funny thing is, I can't use the C2C, as I realised I've lent out all my dynamic headphones, except my TF10s! I went nuts on the C2C in preparation for the HD-800s.

I'm too tired to give impressions of anything. Today was so busy that evening listening to music is tiring. I am trying to get an impression of the sound from the Ref 1 though, and all I can get is that it has no signature. It's as if it's not there at all. 15Kgs of electronics that isn't there. That's as strong an impression as the Ref 1 is heavy -- I keep looking at the rack wondering if it's really plugged in. Seriously!

You know we've been screwing around with the Zero, screwing around with the opamps, the HDAMs, then the Compass, and all this stuff for a year or more now, and talking about how this has such a sound, or that sounds different, so when we plug stuff in, we can turn and look at it and say to ourselves, yeah, I remember that sound that it produces. Well, I can't do that with the Reference 1. It's like it doesn't exist, like the monolith in "2001, a Space Odyssey". I keep thinking about the sound the Stax rig produces instead, now I'm not distracted by how digital the Northstar sounds.

 

[insyte]

Congrats Curra

Wow only $11 for dues, lucky you

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm too tired to give impressions of anything. Today was so busy that evening listening to music is tiring. I am trying to get an impression of the sound from the Ref 1 though, and all I can get is that it has no signature. It's as if it's not there at all. 15Kgs of electronics that isn't there. That's as strong an impression as the Ref 1 is heavy -- I keep looking at the rack wondering if it's really plugged in. Seriously! You know we've been screwing around with the Zero, screwing around with the opamps, the HDAMs, then the Compass, and all this stuff for a year or more now, and talking about how this has such a sound, or that sounds different, so when we plug stuff in, we can turn and look at it and say to ourselves, yeah, I remember that sound that it produces. Well, I can't do that with the Reference 1. It's like it doesn't exist, like the obelisk in "2001, a Space Odessy". I keep thinking about the sound the Stax rig produces instead, now I'm not distracted by how digital the Northstar sounds.

Wow, Curra, despite your depleted energy-levels, I think you managed really well to convey your first impressions of the Reference One. Kudos and thanks!

 

[sandchak]

I understand what you are saying Curra, and honestly there cant be better compliment to an audio gear, than what you summed it up as, audio gears are made to reproduce music and not produce or add to the music, so in a way, all you hear with ref1 is minus all the EQs and effects of stuffs like Zero, Hdams and Compasses, and what you hear is pure music, the way it is, or the way it was recorded.. and not the machine.. That quite sums it up and says a lot about the Ref1.. Thanks Curra..

 

[moonboy403]

Great impression from Curra!

Thanks.

 

[Zanth]

Interesting that you think that the Northstar now sounds digital. Comparing to memory, the Dragon...how would you say the Ref 1 holds up?

 

[Hellenback]

Please disregard, I ended up posting in the wrong place!

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting that you think that the Northstar now sounds digital. Comparing to memory, the Dragon...how would you say the Ref 1 holds up?

The Nakamichi had more of an impact on me, maybe because I wasn't expecting it to, and also possibly because it was 10 years old and probably had been used for thousands of hours by various people. The Ref 1's impact is more so on re-visiting tracks I've listen to many times, as like the Nakamichi, the beauty of, say, the emotion conveyed by Jeff Buckley, or Sara K, comes through in such a more meaningful way. So, more than anything, it draws me to the music and the expression.

Equipment-wise, I want a Blue Hawaii now to experience this to its fullest as I feel the Stax are holding me back.

 

[Gu Sensei]

Sorry if I have missed it posted elsewhere, but how much is that beast? Maybe with shipping to Japan too, Currawong.
Cheers!

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Nakamichi had more of an impact on me, maybe because I wasn't expecting it to, and also possibly because it was 10 years old and probably had been used for thousands of hours by various people. The Ref 1's impact is more so on re-visiting tracks I've listen to many times, as like the Nakamichi, the beauty of, say, the emotion conveyed by Jeff Buckley, or Sara K, comes through in such a more meaningful way. So, more than anything, it draws me to the music and the expression. Equipment-wise, I want a Blue Hawaii now to experience this to its fullest as I feel the Stax are holding me back.

Thanks

Good luck with the BH, I've read nothing but grand reviews about that piece of kit. The KGSS is nothing to sneeze at and the BH just takes it up a few notches. My experience is with the O2/KGSS combo which was sickly awesome.

Oh more questions about the Dac, you say it is getting out of the way, invisible..so on your sweet grading scale, how are you ranking the Ref 1?

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh more questions about the Dac, you say it is getting out of the way, invisible..so on your sweet grading scale, how are you ranking the Ref 1?

I think we need a new scale for DACs like this. One with a rating based on degrees of invisibility.

 

[insyte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drosera /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think we need a new scale for DACs like this. One with a rating based on degrees of invisibility.

I guess the reference 1 is living up to its expected potential

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks Good luck with the BH, I've read nothing but grand reviews about that piece of kit. The KGSS is nothing to sneeze at and the BH just takes it up a few notches. My experience is with the O2/KGSS combo which was sickly awesome. Oh more questions about the Dac, you say it is getting out of the way, invisible..so on your sweet grading scale, how are you ranking the Ref 1?

Ask me after I've used it for 350 hours. The Northstar isn't plugged in atm, so I'll need to go back to it and compare.

Some quick notes though as I cycle through different music:

Violins no longer sound ridiculous, as they tend to do from digital. I was listening to Mozart's Symphony No. 40 from Linn (Scottish Chamber Orchestra) and the difference between how the sound of the different instruments reverberates off the walls of the concert hall was apparent.

I forgot to add, I bought a PS Audio Statement from Patrick82 and plugged it into the Ref 1 today. I haven't done a comparison between power cables, but I will at some point.