[Pricklely Peete]

Hi Sandchak,

I never thought your part of the world would offer no option to quality pressings...man that stinks ! Thanks god for the internet !

I have a sneaking suspicion you are going to enjoy the journey from here to there

The CD7/RE1 pairing is top shelf stuff ! You are going to love it !

Thanks for the first date kiss and tell

Peete.

 

[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drosera /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's an interesting remark. How do you think you would have reacted to the Reference One if you had simply bought it as a replacement for the dac in your Marantz cd player and had skipped the 'intermediary stages'?

You know Dro, I find the Marantz CD17 very musical, put in any thing and it will not disappoint you, but at the same time, after extended listening although it will never fatigue you, it might kind of bore you because of it being very predictable.

When I first plugged the DAC19 with CD17, it was like driving in some life into the music, things started to open up, it wasn't as just musical and predictable like before and more than anything it added much dynamic in the music which was lacking in CD17 ( the same happened with Compass but to much less extent).

Till then I used to love the Marantz musical signature, so much that I was contemplating on getting the REF2 which has the DAC7 chip and more closer to Marantz sound.

Until I had DAC19, I never realized that not all music is supposed to be musical and easy going, it was with DAC19 that started to hear different emotions in different music.

Then came the CD7 and it further made me hear the true character of a particular piece of music..

Which makes me believe that if REF1 would have been my first DAC, maybe it would have been an overdose from very musical to absolute clarity, maybe I would not have been ready yet to take that.

It all started with the Compass that gave me the first taste of separate DAC, the DAC19SE kind of made me hear what every piece of music was trying to convey (happens especially if you are into Jazz or classical music and not so much in pop music).

And now with REF1 in very early stages makes me feel I am there, instead of trying convey something..

You can hear from day one, but to develop listening it takes a while, and I feel I am slowly growing into it, just the way my setup has, and also I know I have a long way to go and REF1 may not be the end of it.

EDIT - Btw I wasn't even planning to get the REF1 now, but maybe later in the year and live with the DAC19 for a while, but some changes in personal plans meant it had to be now or next year - I decided on the early option.

 

[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Sandchak, I never thought your part of the world would offer no option to quality pressings...man that stinks ! Thanks god for the internet ! I have a sneaking suspicion you are going to enjoy the journey from here to there The CD7/RE1 pairing is top shelf stuff ! You are going to love it ! Thanks for the first date kiss and tell Peete.

Thanks Peete ..

I am not ashamed to say I owe it to folks like you for rekindling the passion of taking up this journey I thought I had given up long time back.

Btw, did you notice in Chinese website of Audio GD that its last 3 CD7 for sale.. does it mean we are in for CD9??.. (sorry for the OT)..

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandchak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks Peete .. I am not ashamed to say I owe it to folks like you for rekindling the passion of taking up this journey I thought I had given up long time back. Btw, did you notice in Chinese website of Audio GD that its last 3 CD7 for sale.. does it mean we are in for CD9??.. (sorry for the OT)..

Glad to have helped but sorry about the bank account

..

I find music is the great equalizer among cultures in this global village. It's one of the few things we can all enjoy/discuss/complain about/share (not that kind of share

) equally (providing the mud hut has electricity

)

I have no idea about the CD7............

Peete.

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandchak /img/forum/go_quote.gif .... When I first plugged the DAC19 with CD17, it was like driving in some life into the music, things started to open up, it wasn't as just musical and predictable like before and more than anything it added much dynamic in the music which was lacking in CD17 ( the same happened with Compass but to much less extent). .... It all started with the Compass that gave me the first taste of separate DAC, the DAC19SE kind of made me hear what every piece of music was trying to convey (happens especially if you are into Jazz or classical music and not so much in pop music). And now with REF1 in very early stages makes me feel I am there, instead of trying convey something.. You can hear from day one, but to develop listening it takes a while, and I feel I am slowly growing into it, just the way my setup has, and also I know I have a long way to go and REF1 may not be the end of it.

Thanks for this Sandchak! That's beautifully put and a description that really goes to the heart of what makes both the Ref One in particular and this hobby in general special. It's a wonderful thing to realize that our experience of music is still developing and maturing and that the end is (hopefully) still nowhere in sight. So much left to discover...

 

[Audio-Omega]

Is Reference One the best sounding dac from Audio Gd ?

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is Reference One the best sounding dac from Audio Gd ?

That will depend on taste, but let just say that the designer (Kingwa) considers it 'objectively' the best DAC that Audio-gd sells.

 

[Patu]

A question for all the Ref1 owners. What DACs have you previously owned and how did they compare to Ref1? I'm more interested in higher end DACs and how they compete against Ref1. IIRC Currawong sold his Northstar quite soon after he received Ref1. I know everything is probably told already in this thread but I'm too lazy to browse through 49 pages.

 

[Mik]

Everything sounds more right on the Ref1, but orchestral music sounds much more authentic on the Ref1 than my Cambridge 840C (when used as a dac). The Ref1 is also faster in low frequencies in particular, such that they decay faster. Reverb also has less of a ringing effect, which makes it more pleasant to listen to. With the 840C, and every other cheaper dac I tried previously, everything always sounds a little blurred. The Ref1 is the only dac I've heard that doesn't do that. It's the most natural sounding dac I've heard.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

I used to have a MSB Gold link and the P1000 PSU upgrade ( 2001 to 2003 ). It was/still is considered one of the better DAC's ever made in the 3K and under category (Jude has this DAC/PSU pairing). The RE1 simply runs rings around that very good MSB combo (in every conceivable aspect) and that is with the RE1 still in SE'd I/O mode.

Peete.

 

[sachu]

I compared the Ref1 against the Parasound PD/D1500 which uses PCM63Js for the DAC section. The Ref1 sounded good overall, but the details were better on the Parasound. The bass while leaner on the Parasound, it was as well defined as on the Ref1. I preferred guitar strings on the Parasound over the Ref1. They sounded more natural.

The PD/D1500 unfortunately seems to have developed some kind of strange crackle that is intermittent, so will be returned.
However am getting the DAC-1100 now which is supposed to be better than the PD/D1500

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I compared the Ref1 against the Parasound PD/D1500 which uses PCM63Js for the DAC section. The Ref1 sounded good overall, but the details were better on the Parasound. The bass while leaner on the Parasound, it was as well defined as on the Ref1. I preferred guitar strings on the Parasound over the Ref1. They sounded more natural. The PD/D1500 unfortunately seems to have developed some kind of strange crackle that is intermittent, so will be returned. However am getting the DAC-1100 now which is supposed to be better than the PD/D1500

Thanx for the Feedback!

 

[lmswjm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I compared the Ref1 against the Parasound PD/D1500 which uses PCM63Js for the DAC section. The Ref1 sounded good overall, but the details were better on the Parasound. The bass while leaner on the Parasound, it was as well defined as on the Ref1. I preferred guitar strings on the Parasound over the Ref1. They sounded more natural.

Sachu,
Were you able to listen to the RE1 with CAST and/or XLR's outputs with BNC feed?

 

[tim3320070]

Also, how much burn-in did you give it? I wasn't horribly thrilled the first 40-50 hours or so.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachu /img/forum/go_quote.gif However am getting the DAC-1100 now which is supposed to be better than the PD/D1500

Cool. I look forward to that comparison.