Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris J /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Ouch!
Sorry about that.
Sounds like you are not too impressed with what the Eastern Electric does? Or doesn't do?
Oh, not at all. I'm QUITE impressed. That's why I'm keeping it, after having tested 4 new dacs recently. And I can say it handily beats every dac I've heard from audio-gd, ibasso, yulong, centrance, and peachtree.
I completely concur with the reviewers in this multiple review:
http://www.stereomojo.com/Eastern%20Electric%20MiniMax%20DAC%20Review/EasternElectricMiniMaxDACReview.htm
and trust this 6 way test against the Anedio D1, the Halo, the Lavry DA11, and others:
http://www.stereomojo.com/Stereomojo%20Six%20DAC%20Shootout.htm/StereomojoSixDACShootout.htm
Furthermore, the reason I've decided to stop comparing it against other new dacs up to twice its price range (I was going to get trials of stuff like the JKDac, the Rega, Wyred for Sound, Metrum Octave, etc) is that this has something none of those can match, which is that it's opamp and tube rollable, meaning that you can easily adjust the sound signature depending on your present or future headphones, speakers, amplifiers, etc. So from reading reviews and my own experience, I believe that any sound changes will be very minor amongst all these units, and they are more than trumped by the lack of versatility.
It's an incredible buy, used, which is the only place you can get it, since they no longer make it. The new one they make is ok, but I don't consider it that much of an improvement and it's $400 more, so much less of a bargain.
BUT...
While the Minimax is a fantastic value compared to the truly insane cost of high end dacs (Weiss dac2 at $8000, and so forth), people just getting started need to realize the extent to which the law of diminishing returns applies in this hobby. Moving from the output of your computer and a pair of crummy headphones to a D100 and some decent $150 cans is like moving from a boombox to a nice stereo system. But moving from a D100 and those $150 to a minimax, a $500 amp, and a $1000 pair of headphones is like moving from a nice stereo system to a really nice stereo system. Sure there's a difference, maybe even a "big" difference, but there's no way you can compare it to that original move from the boombox! Once people are spending $500+ for cables, they're truly in "la-la land."