[vert]

I sent my HPA to California when Bakoon was out there to have the batteries replaced.
 
Soo In handled it for me and he is a class act.
 
Now I'm back to 6.5 hours run time and don't having to worry about compulsively turning it off when I walk away from my system.
 
It was $150 for the service plus shipping.

 

[vert]

http://www.bakoon.com/product/dac-21/
 
Exciting stuff. Can't wait to hear it paired with the HPA over SATRI-LINK.

 

[jacal01]

Not so exciting if the DAC chip is single bit DSD, and not multibit PCM.

 

[vert]

I'm willing to bet it's going to be something else paired with the HPA-21 over Satri link.
 
"The conventional voltage transfer method (by RCA interconnect cables) has a major weakness that it is very sensitive to outside noises such as RFI or EMI, because its output impedance is low and input impedance is high. However, the SATRI-LINK works vice-versa that its input impedance is close to 0 that it is strong against outside noises and it is not affected by the cables’ inductance."

 

[jean-luc]

i'm using the bakoon for 2 months with ether c flow headphones, remarkable combo.

 

[vert]

I have the Bakoon DAC-21 paired with my HPA-21.

Bakoon hit another one out of the park with the DAC-21.

It's made me a believer in getting everything off the grid. And I have tens of thousand dollars worth of Entreq grounding and power conditioning.

The Satri link I found to be lacking, unfortunately. So I'm using my reference interconnects instead.

 

[omniweltall]

I have the Bakoon DAC-21 paired with my HPA-21.

Bakoon hit another one out of the park with the DAC-21.

It's made me a believer in getting everything off the grid. And I have tens of thousand dollars worth of Entreq grounding and power conditioning.

The Satri link I found to be lacking, unfortunately. So I'm using my reference interconnects instead.

How much did you get it for? I've been looking for that DAC, but it's so pricey.

Do you any spec for the DAC? Is it R2R or delta sigma?

 

[msiekkb]

DAC-21 have Sabre 9018S http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/bakoon4/1.html

 

[vert]

I paid full price, which I rarely do.

Don't worry about the DAC chip. It just makes music.

And the noise floor is so low (with the battery design) that you will be stunned at the lack of noise and distortion.

I'm fairly certain the DAC-21 will compete with much more expensive offerings, because it leverages the inherent advantages of being off the grid.

You would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a DAC and power/ground conditioning to get the same performance level of the Bakoon.

 

[vert]

This was also the case when I switched to the HPA-21.

The Leben was my reference, but I never looked back after hearing the HPA-21.

 

[Hi-Head]

You would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a DAC and power/ground conditioning to get the same performance level of the Bakoon.

Hi Vert,
what makes you so sure about this to state above?
I, too, am interested in this DAC to replace my T+A DAC8 but was almost giving-up as there is no opp. for me to give the DAC-21 a listen for test purpose only before I would actually buy it.
I however did give the Metrum Acoustics Adagio (Pavane Level 3) DAC a serious listen and am absolutely astonished how good it is. Given your positive feedback on the DAC-21 I would ideally like to A-B test both DACs in direct comparison to make the final call....

Best Regards,
Hi-Head

 

[vert]

Hi-head,

To start off, you would need to spend quite a bit of money on power and ground conditioning. Along with expensive cords if you are going with the Metrum.

Right then and there, you've spent a big part of the budget, before even acquiring the DAC.

You wouldn't need any of that for the Bakoon. Of course, you would still need those power conditioning components for your streamer and router.

That's why I'm considering going with the Rossi mini pure for my Lumin D1 streamer, to get everything off the grid.

6moons has a review comparing the DAC-21 to the Aqua Formula. It doesn't lose anything to the Formula.

So that gives you an idea.

Though I'm not really surprised the reviewer mentions the Bakoon in the same breadth as the Aqua. The Bakoon has inherent advantages being off the grid.

In fact, if you have a really good DAC, but haven't addressed power conditioning and RFI/EMI, you're not going to get anywhere near the best out of it.

 

[vert]

By the way, if you're located in the US, Jaguar Audio has a 45 day audition.

I rarely purchase anything new, but I won't be sending mine back, now that my audition period is done.

I look forward to listening to it every night.

 

[Hi-Head]

6moons have also compared the Metrum Adagio against the Formula here: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/metrum3/1.html
Srajan prefers the Metrum over the Formula.
I fully agree that isolating the DAC from the source is very important and I also acknowledge that proper power supplies in all components play a major, significant role in achieving the best sound quality for your system.
Putting those two aspects aside what qualifies the DAC-21 to better the Metrum Pavane or Adagio or other DACs in the same league if it is not the unique Satri link between the DAC-21 and the HPA-21 which I also own?
Best Regards,
Hi-Head

 

[omniweltall]

Hi Vert,
what makes you so sure about this to state above?
I, too, am interested in this DAC to replace my T+A DAC8 but was almost giving-up as there is no opp. for me to give the DAC-21 a listen for test purpose only before I would actually buy it.
I however did give the Metrum Acoustics Adagio (Pavane Level 3) DAC a serious listen and am absolutely astonished how good it is. Given your positive feedback on the DAC-21 I would ideally like to A-B test both DACs in direct comparison to make the final call....

Best Regards,
Hi-Head

This would be very very interesting