[tsp hf]

@darku
 
"Maybe I will try a Taurus MK2 if I have a chance.
Unfortunately today nobody imports those in my country...."
 
good things come to those who wait. next month, in your case 

 

[mojolo]

   
 
I like the combo a lot. LCD-3F plus Taurus equals excellent sound. The dual mono Questyle setup is really the only thing that clearly beats it - and even then, the margin is not huge. The monoblocks win partially because they have a slightly more lit up top end, which tends to match the Audeze house sound a bit better. Jury still out on the Violectric V281 though. 
 
And yes, DA8 pairs well. 

Have had the Taurus MkII for 5 days now. Extremely happy camper.
 
My foray into "hi-fi" started when I got a Rudistor RP5.1 hybrid tube/SS amp to drive HD-650s. That was a beautiful pairing, drew me into music like no other cans I'd tried before. My next major upgrade for the home rig was LCD 2.2s, a Burson Soloist and the Yulong DA8. Was never happy with this combo as the Soloist was too sluggish for the LCD 2.2's, there was too much mid-bass/lower-mid bloom and I was never drawn into the music like with the HD-650/Rudi combo. More details were present, but the magic was gone. I actually preferred the WA7 (with EH tubes) I was using at work with the LCD 2.2s (and conversely liked the Soloist better with the Fostex TH-600 headphones I use at work).
 
The Taurus sounded almost too good to be true at $1900 MSRP, so here I am now thanks to project's review on innerfidelity and comments in this thread. This thing isn't even broken in yet, but the magic is back, details are heightened (but not harsh), and I'm at a level of transparency I've never owned before. Every recording flaw reminds me of how good this gear is. I can actually clearly hear the effects of the different filters on the Yulong DA8 now as well. As is the sad reality with hi-fi, I am now left to wonder how much better things can get with an upgrade to the DA8. Alas, the Vega is out of my budget right now with the work I'm doing on my house so I'm forced to "put up with" what I have. 

 
The LCD-3 fazors just arrived this morning. First impression on a completely new, unbroken pair is that they're more neutral than the LCD 2.2s but the 2.2s may be a bit more fun. Don't think I have anything new to add that hasn't already been said on head-fi before though. Perhaps after more break-in and familiarity with the new cans.

 

[TonyNewman]

  Have had the Taurus MkII for 5 days now. Extremely happy camper.
 
My foray into "hi-fi" started when I got a Rudistor RP5.1 hybrid tube/SS amp to drive HD-650s. That was a beautiful pairing, drew me into music like no other cans I'd tried before. My next major upgrade for the home rig was LCD 2.2s, a Burson Soloist and the Yulong DA8. Was never happy with this combo as the Soloist was too sluggish for the LCD 2.2's, there was too much mid-bass/lower-mid bloom and I was never drawn into the music like with the HD-650/Rudi combo. More details were present, but the magic was gone. I actually preferred the WA7 (with EH tubes) I was using at work with the LCD 2.2s (and conversely liked the Soloist better with the Fostex TH-600 headphones I use at work).
 
The Taurus sounded almost too good to be true at $1900 MSRP, so here I am now thanks to project's review on innerfidelity and comments in this thread. This thing isn't even broken in yet, but the magic is back, details are heightened (but not harsh), and I'm at a level of transparency I've never owned before. Every recording flaw reminds me of how good this gear is. I can actually clearly hear the effects of the different filters on the Yulong DA8 now as well. As is the sad reality with hi-fi, I am now left to wonder how much better things can get with an upgrade to the DA8. Alas, the Vega is out of my budget right now with the work I'm doing on my house so I'm forced to "put up with" what I have. 

 
The LCD-3 fazors just arrived this morning. First impression on a completely new, unbroken pair is that they're more neutral than the LCD 2.2s but the 2.2s may be a bit more fun. Don't think I have anything new to add that hasn't already been said on head-fi before though. Perhaps after more break-in and familiarity with the new cans.

 
Congratulations on the Taurus. It's a wonderful amp. Mine was bright for the first 100 to 150 hours, but is now showing a very mild (and very pleasant) warmth.
 
It scales very well with a high end DAC, when your budget allows. I was stunned at the difference the Vega made in the overall SQ.
 
I have not heard much comparison between the Taurus and GS-X Mk2, from what I have been able to find they are very close, with the GS-X perhaps having a slight edge. That is high praise indeed for the Taurus, given how superb the GS-X is said to be and the fact that it costs around a grand more.

 

[Lavakugel]

I'm reading a lot about Auralic Taurus & Vega. It seems to be the non plus ultra for about 5 bucks. I have a lcd3 with schiit mjolnir and gungnir. Can anybody tell me if there is a hudge difference about schiit and auralic. Is it worth upgrade?

 

[daveyston23]

Hey folks, I'm looking to grab the Auralic Taurus Mk2 to pair with Chord Hugo. Any recommendations on the best way to connect the Hugo to the Taurus for the best SQ? 
 
Cheers!

 

[Byrnie]

Hey folks, I'm looking to grab the Auralic Taurus Mk2 to pair with Chord Hugo. Any recommendations on the best way to connect the Hugo to the Taurus for the best SQ? 


 

The Hugo outputs are:

- RCA

- 3.5mm 

- Optical

- Coaxial

 

Cheers!

well the Hugo is a DAC, your only options are analog connections like 3.5 mm or RCA. I suggest RCA given the Taurus doesn't have a 3.5mm but it does have RCA.

 

[daveyston23]

well given the Hugo is a DAC, your only options are analog connections like 3.5 mm or RCA. I suggest RCA given the Taurus doesn't have a 3.5mm but it does have RCA.

 
Thanks very much for that, Byrnie. And sorry for my ignorance. 
 
I understand there are 3.5mm to RCA cables. Would there be any difference between such a cable and an RCA to RCA cable in terms of SQ?

 

[Byrnie]

Thanks very much for that, Byrnie. And sorry for my ignorance. 

I understand there are 3.5mm to RCA cables. Would there be any difference between such a cable and an RCA to RCA cable in terms of SQ?

No need to apologize I was only giving you a heads-up (sorry if my post came off as condescending).

 

[daveyston23]

No need to apologize I was only giving you a heads-up (sorry if my post came off as condescending).

 
Not condescending at all. I know I have lots to learn. 
 
Back on the topic of cables, I'm thinking 3.5mm to RCA might be the go because of the RCA fit issue on the Hugo chassis. I just wonder if there is any difference in SQ if it was RCA to RCA.. 

 

[project86]

3.5mm to RCA would probably work just fine, though the crosstalk inherent in that format is significant compared to that of RCA. Will it be audible? Probably not, but still. I have the early Hugo here with the smaller plug openings and even so it isn't that difficult to find cables that fit. 

 

[commtrd]

I'm reading a lot about Auralic Taurus & Vega. It seems to be the non plus ultra for about 5 bucks. I have a lcd3 with schiit mjolnir and gungnir. Can anybody tell me if there is a hudge difference about schiit and auralic. Is it worth upgrade?

Same stuff I have except the X instead of LCD3. After lots of reading and researching (6moon etc reviews) I think the Taurus MkII / Vega is where I'm going next.

 

[TonyNewman]

 
Same stuff I have except the X instead of LCD3. After lots of reading and researching (6moon etc reviews) I think the Taurus MkII / Vega is where I'm going next.

 
+1 for the Vega+TaurusMk2+LCD-X set up. Wonderful matching of components IMHO.
 
Taurus also makes for a great pre-amp for a full size setup, if you want to go that way.

 

[yellowblue]

 
Same stuff I have except the X instead of LCD3. After lots of reading and researching (6moon etc reviews) I think the Taurus MkII / Vega is where I'm going next.

Never heart the Taurus. But the Vega / Master 9 / LCD-X is really nice matching. Maybe even better...?
Certainly when you can include a pair of Toxic SW cables for your LCD-X in your setup - for the same price.

 

[commtrd]

 

 
Same stuff I have except the X instead of LCD3. After lots of reading and researching (6moon etc reviews) I think the Taurus MkII / Vega is where I'm going next.

Never heart the Taurus. But the Vega / Master 9 / LCD-X is really nice matching. Maybe even better...?
Certainly when you can include a pair of Toxic SW cables for your LCD-X in your setup - for the same price.

Already have the Toxic Silver Widow cable; works well with both LCD3 and LCD-X. I have considered the M9 amp as well as the Headamp GSX-MkII. The really long wait time for the latter is not good and still not totally ruled out the M9. The Taurus is matched with the Vega and by review works quite well. I think the dac is really more important than the amp honestly but still the amp needs to be able to function as a wire with gain to drive whatever phone is connected and the Taurus will drive the Audeze products beautifully while matching with the Vega. Plus price for both is right about where I wanted to be for a good system being well under 10 grand.

 

[tsp hf]

  Thanks for first impressions.
You should do the minimum recommended 100 hours of burn-in, orfeo modules and big caps need some run time before they do operate at their best.
Besides that class A amps like this one need at least 30 mins of warm up before listening.
PS: How about HD650 balanced on MK2 vs SE on A2? That should be fun, HD650 scales enormous with balanced drive.

 
hi. any suggestions on balanced aftermarket cable for hd650 + taurus mkii?