[REXNFX]

I recently switched from the Cen.grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe (performing way above its pricepoint of approx. 6K EUR imo) to the APL DSD MR SE.. I previously owned the Mola Mola Tambaqui, HoloAudio Spring 3 - level 3 and also compared the APL to the Ideon Audio ION DAC and all I can say: the APL cannot be compared to all of these. It had this sense of emotional connection that is unheard of. 1001% agreeing to the post of Chris @Audiophilestyle.

Just another ‘bla bla’ post one would say. But you know it when you hear it.

Chris at Audiophilestyle is clueless, doesn't have an analogue reference.

 

[Vincent_Amsterdam]

Chris at Audiophilestyle is clueless, doesn't have an analogue reference.

But I do have

 

[572217]

(reverse censorship)

 

[leylandi]

 

[hakunamakaka]

I recently switched from the Cen.grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe (performing way above its pricepoint of approx. 6K EUR imo) to the APL DSD MR SE.. I previously owned the Mola Mola Tambaqui, HoloAudio Spring 3 - level 3 and also compared the APL to the Ideon Audio ION DAC and all I can say: the APL cannot be compared to all of these. It had this sense of emotional connection that is unheard of. 1001% agreeing to the post of Chris @Audiophilestyle.

Just another ‘bla bla’ post one would say. But you know it when you hear it.

How was Tambaqui ? I'm thinking to upgrade my speaker setup later this year and was eyeing a lot on this DAC. Very difficult to find to audition this..However I was quite impressed with May even though my views on chinese DAC's were not best at first. Seems things have shifted in audio gear

 

[Vincent_Amsterdam]

How was Tambaqui ? I'm thinking to upgrade my speaker setup later this year and was eyeing a lot on this DAC. Very difficult to find to audition this..However I was quite impressed with May even though my views on chinese DAC's were not best at first. Seems things have shifted in audio gear

The Mola Mola Tambaqui (Dutch manufacturer) is a great DAC if you are looking for an extremely open and detailled sound, true to the source and crystal crisp. In my ‘audio journey’ I went in a different direction though looking for more heart and soul in the reproduction. The Tambaqui can sound somewhat sterile and distant and after a while fatiguing in my opinion (too many WOW-effects).

The switch to the Cen.grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe (MSRP ~6k EUR) and recently to the APL DSD-MR SE (MSRP ~49k) brought me endless listening sessions and made me never want to skip another track unless it was finished - it sounds so much more ‘real’.. hard to explain and probably only understood when you hear it.

 

[Vincent_Amsterdam]

Deleted message

 

[Vincent_Amsterdam]

Yes, the Wadax is the ultimate reference (I was happy to witness a private audition some months ago) but suffers too much of "the law of diminishing returns" in my opinion. Though comparison with the APL DSD-GR would be interesting..

 

[572217]

You could gift this DAC to me and I would refuse. I am dead serious. Abominations have no place in my home.

Would I have the funds to go from Vivaldi to this? Yes. Would the extra 70K give or take be worth it? Great doubts. There is a lot of talk by people who have not lived with world–class DACs in a world–class system.

The potential of streaming is far greater than going for yet another DAC upgrade after having settled on a top DAC. What is poorly understood by many, is that the streaming signal can be greatly improved by going at the physical layer of the network. I have yet to find a limit or diminishing returns. It is rather exciting.

 

[leylandi]

 

[hakunamakaka]

The Mola Mola Tambaqui (Dutch manufacturer) is a great DAC if you are looking for an extremely open and detailled sound, true to the source and crystal crisp. In my ‘audio journey’ I went in a different direction though looking for more heart and soul in the reproduction. The Tambaqui can sound somewhat sterile and distant and after a while fatiguing in my opinion (too many WOW-effects).

The switch to the Cen.grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe (MSRP ~6k EUR) and recently to the APL DSD-MR SE (MSRP ~49k) brought me endless listening sessions and made me never want to skip another track unless it was finished - it sounds so much more ‘real’.. hard to explain and probably only understood when you hear it.

The fine line between details & fatigue. That's one of the reasons why I went for lampizator instead of Dave. I adored Qutest for so many years and thought Dave is the best logical upgrade there, but lampi was simply better suited for Utopias.

Where does Holo stand in your experience ? I had a brief moment to audition May and was quite impressed with what I heard. Qutest now sits in my living room and while being precise definitely not the best option for acoustic music.

I'm looking into the options with either a DAC upgrade or turntable. With turntable the main headache will be to ship phono-preamp and records from baltics

 

[Vincent_Amsterdam]

You could gift this DAC to me and I would refuse. I am dead serious. Abominations have no place in my home.

Would I have the funds to go from Vivaldi to this? Yes. Would the extra 70K give or take be worth it? Great doubts. There is a lot of talk by people who have not lived with world–class DACs in a world–class system.

The potential of streaming is far greater than going for yet another DAC upgrade after having settled on a top DAC. What is poorly understood by many, is that the streaming signal can be greatly improved by going at the physical layer of the network. I have yet to find a limit or diminishing returns. It is rather exciting.

I totally agree that improvements can be found apart from a DAC upgrade.. but this thread is about DACs . Starting from scratch I was lucky to build my audio basement with great attention to acoustics and treatments.

The network has been optimized (Ansuz D3 PowerSwitch) my power is delivered via a Stromtank and now my final field to explore is the world of grounding..

 

[Vincent_Amsterdam]

Where does Holo stand in your experience ? I had a brief moment to audition May and was quite impressed with what I heard.

I have personal experience with the Holo Audio Spring 3 - level 3: it was the first ladder DAC that I came across combining DeltaSigma tech precision (regarding accurate stereo image, bass tightness) and a tube like lush and organic presentation.

I believe this DAC has a real great investment-SQ ratio. I would rate the HAS a little under the Tambaqui regarding a ‘mature’ presentation but not too far behind! The Tambaqui is a higher resolution DAC for sure but slightly less relaxed to listen to.

 

[chesebert]

I recently switched from the Cen.grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe (performing way above its pricepoint of approx. 6K EUR imo) to the APL DSD MR SE.. I previously owned the Mola Mola Tambaqui, HoloAudio Spring 3 - level 3 and also compared the APL to the Ideon Audio ION DAC and all I can say: the APL cannot be compared to all of these. It had this sense of emotional connection that is unheard of. 1001% agreeing to the post of Chris @Audiophilestyle.

Just another ‘bla bla’ post one would say. But you know it when you hear it.

Glad you finally got a dac worth owning. Sorry you had to go through a bunch of chifi and mediocre stuff. I would rather buy last gen stuff from real dac manufacturers than the pretenders and copycats.

 

[572217]

I totally agree that improvements can be found apart from a DAC upgrade.. but this thread is about DACs . Starting from scratch I was lucky to build my audio basement with great attention to acoustics and treatments.

The network has been optimized (Ansuz D3 PowerSwitch) my power is delivered via a Stromtank and now my final field to explore is the world of grounding..

I beg to differ when it comes to limiting the discussion to purely DACs. At the level we are talking, the story is systems more than components. Choose a world–class DAC and go from there. I know dCS and MSB are in this category. The component is a fraction of what makes a system sing. More importantly, we are here to learn from each other to make choices that suit us on our journeys.

I am not putting water on your excitement around Stromtank. We hear differently and we seek different things in our audio journeys. I heard Stromtank several times at dealers and it collapsed the music’s dynamics in my ears.

I don’t know what else you improved in your network. A switch is only one component. The stream starts where internet comes into the house. The aim is to progressively improve the signal until it reaches the streamer. Power and resonance control are crucial.

The following is not arrogance, but confidence. I went into several of the ultra–high–end rooms at High End last year with digital front ends. Spent no more than five minutes in any of them. Even the dCS room with Vivaldi Apex stack, Dan d’Agostino amps and Wilsons was a pale shadow of what the DAC can achieve in a great streaming setup. I attribute this to the dCS community. There is one aggressive “bits–are–bits” hardhead and regular who works for a switch manufacturer. He understands 100% of 10% of the issues around streaming and severely limits where the hive mind over there goes. Whatsbestforum is much better.