[kali77]

Right, so I had some time with these boxes and here are some of my observation

Day 1
Slightly dark sounding with a a slight emphasis on bass
While the details were forthcoming and clarity was great, it sounded a little closed
Soundstage was not as wide as I expected but the depth was excellent

Day 2 onward
The slight bass emphasis had receded and overall tonality had lifted, resulting in a more noticeable opening sounding
No longer slightly dark sounding but largely neutral and rather clean sounding, but never in your face
Soundstage improved noticeably too, with good width to complement the excellent depth

The Vox has a rather big sound, I attribute this to the supercaps in the Zap
It is a great sounding DAC, largely neutral and very resolving and this allows the musical Sugden Class A and Monkey 93 to sing and express themselves

Have you given the headphone amp a try yet? I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the amp section. Thanks!

 

[Joe-Siow]

Awesome!! Thanks for taking the time to share your findings. Can’t wait to get mine.

No problem, my pleasure

Have you given the headphone amp a try yet? I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the amp section. Thanks!

Am either on portable or speaker setups these day, but I happen to have an AKG K702 lying around
Sounds above average. The sound signature takes after the DAC with a tinge more warmth
Very listenable unless you need reference quality amp

 

[Joe-Siow]

So a few of my friends dropped by on Tuesday with the Chord M Scaler, Melco N100 and a DIY-ed music server for a great time

Very long story short, the Hydra Vox and Zap matched and kept up with the M Scaler/ Qutest combo all the way in terms of sound quality, just a matter of different flavour and signature

 

[kali77]

So a few of my friends dropped by on Tuesday with the Chord M Scaler, Melco N100 and a DIY-ed music server for a great time

Very long story short, the Hydra Vox and Zap matched and kept up with the M Scaler/ Qutest combo all the way in terms of sound quality, just a matter of different flavour and signature

Thanks for sharing this comparison. I wonder if the Audiobyte would hold it's own against the TT2/Mscaler. I was considering the TT2 with the thought of adding the Mscaler down the road but ultimately ended up ordering the Audiobyte stack.

 

[Joe-Siow]

Thanks for sharing this comparison. I wonder if the Audiobyte would hold it's own against the TT2/Mscaler. I was considering the TT2 with the thought of adding the Mscaler down the road but ultimately ended up ordering the Audiobyte stack.

Congrats on your purchase and also saving a few quids there

 

[DarKu]

My in-depth review of the HydraVox + HydraZap will drop in few days, so stay tuned for that.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Thanks @DarKu (Sandu)! Looking forward to it!

 

[kali77]

My in-depth review of the HydraVox + HydraZap will drop in few days, so stay tuned for that.

Fantastic. Looking forward to it!

 

[kali77]

My in-depth review of the HydraVox + HydraZap will drop in few days, so stay tuned for that.

Impatiently awaiting your review and the arrival of my stack!!

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Damn @DarKu (Sandu) been visitng your site and YT channel continuosly for this past days for that review...

Having withdrawal symptoms already!

 

[DarKu]

It is the hardest review I did to this day, it will drop latest on tomorrow so please be patient, it will be worth your while 15 pages of MS Word text, approx. ~8830 words.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

@DarKu (Sandu) No problems man and no pressure! Just joking around.

Just keep what your always been doing. You're getting popular! Felicitări!!

 

[DarKu]

Hey guys, just posted both reviews one minute ago, you can check them here. Enjoy!

 

[kali77]

Hey guys, just posted both reviews one minute ago, you can check them here. Enjoy!

Very nice review. Well done! Really looking forward to mine arriving. I think this will be the sweet spot for me on price performance ratio. I think anything higher for just headphones is overkill. Thanks again for sharing

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Just paid and ordered mine. The local distributor/dealer says its on stock and ready to deliver.

Will see how these goes.