Can't wait to see how DSDAC gets compared with Wavedream!
Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe - ending point in my search for a new reference
- Thread starter project86
- Start date
FOUNDERZERO
100+ Head-Fier
Really looking forward to hearing your impressions!
Not sure this is the right way to compare 2 DACs...I would let both plugged in, and switch after a couple of hours listening between both, as long as memory and impressions are still vivid !
Aibek
Head-Fier
The purpose of the comparison is whether there is a difference in sound, which is really felt, heard. Impressions remain in memory (the difference is one day). Especially if these impressions are significant. Moreover, I am not going to look for a difference with a microscope.
geoffalter11
Headphoneus Supremus
Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Super Clock: DSD Goodness for the Everyday Audiophile
Hey all... I will be posting a full review of the Cen.Grand DSDAC Super Clock (the middle tier) DAC by end of day tomorrow. I will put a link to the review in this thread. I apologize for taking so long to write it, but life has gotten in the way. In the meantime, here are some thoughts and impressions on this amazing DAC. This is a pretty complete picture, so I may just add on to what is below and add some pictures. But, I wanted to get something out. Thank you to Cen.Grand and to Arthur Power at Power Holdings for giving me this opportunity to demo the Super Clock. All thoughts are my own and I have not been compensated to write these impressions/review.
What is the DSDAC 1.0?
The DSDAC1.0 is a high-performance audio DAC based on DSD theory. It is different from a DS, R2R or FPGA DAC in many ways. It doesn't use a conventional chip for DA conversion, but instead uses discrete components and an extremely advanced algorithm for digital processing. There have been several other companies who have made a DSD DAC. These include Meitner, Emm Labs, Playback Designs and most notably, PS Audio. However, the Cen.Grand is not copying their code and spent 5 years creating their own mathematical equations and algorithms. The DSDAC 1.0 can increase the frequency of all input data including PCM or DSD64 up to DSD1024. I addition, Cen.Grand has employed a clock blocking technology that is unique to their DACs. The Standard model follows the above formulas. The Super Clock takes it a step further by improving the clock system so that RMS Jitter is as low as 100fs. Furthermore, they have improved some of the internal components to higher end discrete parts which helps to further enhance and refine the sound. The Deluxe Model takes it further by improving the components even more to create what Jianhue calls "A Nobility to the Sound" which as good as any DAC I have heard.
The high-frequency rise algorithm is the core of the DSDAC 1.0. There are many different ways to realize frequency rising, but by its nature, this is a very complex mathematical problem. It is not a digital problem. So, while many are using similar technologies, Cen.Grand was able to achieve their stated goal in their own way. by using a Synchronous direct clock technology, a femtosecond clock inside is sent to the shift register directly without any intermediate conversion, so that the performance of the femtosecond clock is directly reflected in the analog output. This is different from the use of an external femtosecond clock and built-in femtosecond crystal oscillator. Essentially, due to the way they are using synchronous clocking tech they are able to mitigate jitter and send the clock directly without dividing the frequency. This an advancement in the technology of clock application. Coupled with their Clock Blocking Tech, which is a synchronization process helps them to fix the clocking problem that plagues many digital sources. How I understand the tech is that this is what gives the Cen.Grand DAC such great timing and superior sonics.
Lastly, the DSDAC 1.0 has an advanced USB interface which can receive DSD source code natively. This is a necessary function in creating a DSD DAC. Cen.Grand has customized a special driver from XMOS to enable the DSDAC 1.0 to receive the source code natively up to DSD512. The other way the DSDAC can input DSD is through SPIDF as DSD64 in DOP mode.
Functional Parameters of the DSDAC 1.0:
Basic Impressions:
1. The Super Clock has the exact same form factor as the Silver Fox. A perfect DAC to stack with the Silver Fox. It weighs around 25lbs and is very stable and beautifully built. My version is Silver for my review with gold accents and is extremely classy.
2. The Super Clock sits right in the middle of their DAC line-up. It doesn't have all the fancy parts of the Deluxe, but the most important part of this DAC is the clocking tech, and the Super Clock does have the same clocking tech as the Deluxe. As Jianhue the owner of Cen.Grand told me, the Super Clock is as much DAC as any sane person needs. I agree with this statement. There is no detail missing in my music, and the integrated whole is nothing short of spectacular.
3. The biggest difference between the Super Clock and Deluxe is a certain refinement or nobility to the sound that is not quite to the level of the Deluxe, but better than anything I have heard in its price range. From what I have experienced, the Super Clock represents the very best price to performance in the Cen.Grand DAC line-up and will get you 90% plus of the way to the Deluxe.
4. When I set up the Super Clock, I used both the XLRs for my CFA3 and the RCAs for my Icon HP8. I was told there is a possibility of sound degradation with both outputs being used at the same time, but I didn't find this to be the case. While I never used both amps at the same time, I heard no sonic degradation by having both plugged in.
5. The Super Clock takes very well to upstream cabling. I used a Moon Audio Silver Dragon which has great shielding and this provided me with the best connection using the USB. I also used a USBe Perfect out of my Roon Core.
6. I set the Super Clock to fixed to disable its internal volume and I used my amps to control volume. I didn't hear huge differences with the filters, so I settled on filter 6 and went with it for the entire time I used the DAC. I did play with the DAC in variable mode as well. The Super Clock is a very fine Pre-Amp and its volume was more than adequate. However, I did prefer it in fixed DAC mode so I could control the volume from my HP8 or CFA3.
7. The Super Clock is extremely stable and I had no issues with it at anytime. It always worked, and it always sounded fantastic. I left it on for days on end, and I turned it off at the end of each day. I tried it both ways and I never felt the sound changed. I did find that the DAC would take about 30 minutes to fully bias, at which time I would get the DACs full potential.
8. If you use Roon's DSP, you need to turn off the upsample feature as it will cause the Super Clock to distort. All 3 Cen.Grand DACs are upsampling from PCM up to DSD1024 internally, so the DSP in Roon gets in the way of the DAC already performing this function in the digital domain. You can choose between DSD128, DSD256, DSD512 and DSD1024. I found DSD512 and DSD1024 to be exponentially better. I left it set to DSD1024 at all times.
Sound Quality:
The Super Clock is an extremely immersive, physical and weighty DAC. There is deep note saturation, that when accompanied by the right pace and tone provides you with a high amount of resolution. At first listen I found the Super Clock to sound warm, but it wasn't warm at all. It was just extremely saturated and more resolving than what i was using. The DAC is very musical, and analog sounding. It doesn't have any etch or grain, and still extends into the subbass and up above 12k without breaking a sweat. The bass is extremely full and detailed with the right amount of decay to hear both the leading and trailing edge of the notes. I found that with the Super Clock I preferred the visceral strike of fingers on the bass strings, versus the sound of a pick hitting the strings. I can hear the reverb of the bass players fingers rolling across the strings, almost as if I can hear the strings vibrating while the notes trail off. It is a very romantic, physical and beautiful sound. Due to the high level of note saturation, the midrange is open and full of information. There is a liquidity to the midrange where you can feel the pocket open up and envelope your senses. Once inside the pocket you can hear all of the instruments float in and out of the melody anchored by exquisite weight from the drums and bass. Vocals are intimate and emotive. You can feel a singers lips pressed agains the microphone, their breath on your skin and the crackle of the microphone. I loved the way the Super Clock rendered vocals and while I mostly listen to instrumental music, I found myself listening more and more to vocals. I have listened to the Daniel Lanois song "The Maker" 100s of times. I love the Jerry Garcia Band version, but my all time favorite version is from a Dave Matthews show from 2000. His voice just crackles, and I can hear him stretch his range and every bit of emotion he can muster as he works his way through one of the best readings of Daniel Lanois's classic tune. I have never heard Dave's voice sound so emotional and in perfect unison with the pacing of the melody. The Super Clock is able to render vocals at a level I have yet heard through my system. The upper midrange transitions effortlessly into the treble. Because of the deep note saturation, you almost feel it sounds dark at first listen, but once you realize that the saturation is not darkness, but resolution you are able to hear how the cymbals shine and crash and the perfect amount of decay leading to a balanced whole.
Imaging and Transience:
The Super Clock throws a beautiful image. The specificity of instrument placement is accurate and organic. More importantly, the Super Clock opens up enough to provide the proper amount of space between the notes. This enables the listener to not only place each instrument accurately on stage, but also to understand the amount of space between the musicians. You can feel them communicating and the music has enough room to properly breathe.
Transience is one of those things that is very subjective. Do you like a fast decay or do you like the decay to linger? I prefer a faster decay which gives the music more snap. This was the one area with the Super Clock where I would've preferred a bit faster decay which would have led to faster transience. The transience were by no means slow, but I felt the DAC was tuned for music that plays a note or two slower than what I like. That being said, transience are extremely accurate to the integrated whole of the DACs presentation and by no means does it take away from the Super Clocks PRAT. However, sometimes one thing begets another. So, while the impeccable note saturation leads to a organic tone and a beautifully rendered pocket, it does slow down the snap of music by a note or two which isn't my ultimate preference. It is not enough to mitigate my enjoyment of this fine DAC, but it is something that I noticed over time. It took me weeks of listening to really understand this, as it is not something most will notice.
The Super Clock's strongest attribute is its tone and slight timbral colorations that make instruments sound alive and accurate. This is not a DAC that you would look at the measurements and get the full picture. The reality is that converting PCM to DSD internally is a very complicated process and leads to challenges with noise. While a measurement tool might pick up that noise, it exists outside of the ability for human ears to discern it. The DAC was dead quiet, the tone was full and wet, and the slight timbral colorations were a wonderful addition to a technically advanced digital source. I liked that I didn't need to use any DSP to get the most out of my music. Guitar had the proper crunch and pop, piano sounded like a waterfall of sounds coming out of the top of my head, the bass could be felt in my chest, and I felt that I could feel the skins of the drums compress and release while I could hear the leading and trailing edges. Coupled with some of most emotive vocals I have heard from a DAC I found myself constantly smiling.
Conclusion:
The true litmus test of a great product is whether or not at the end of the night you want to keep listening to one more song. I spent many a night up until 2-3am listening to one more song, one more song, one more song. There is no better recommendation than that. I just loved the way the Super Clock took my music and gave me the feeling that I was sitting right in front of the soundboard at a live show. The Super Clock gives you the sense that you are immersed in the pocket and you can hear the music unfold from the inside out like a flower blooming in spring.
I will come back to this write up in the next day to fill in some of the other areas and add some pictures. Thank you for reading! I want to thank Arthur Power for giving me the opportunity to demo the Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Super Clock. If you are interested in purchasing this DAC, Arthur can be found at power-holdings-inc.com. I humbly recommend this DAC for anyone who wants to fill out their system with a musical beast that will provide you with deep note saturation, high levels of resolution, and a balanced soundstage with impeccable image specificity. The sound is full, honest and beautifully rendered. I cannot think of a reason why not to own a Cen.Grand DAC, and if your budget is at or around $3000-$3500 you will get as much DAC as any sane person needs. Two big, musical thumbs up!
Hey all... I will be posting a full review of the Cen.Grand DSDAC Super Clock (the middle tier) DAC by end of day tomorrow. I will put a link to the review in this thread. I apologize for taking so long to write it, but life has gotten in the way. In the meantime, here are some thoughts and impressions on this amazing DAC. This is a pretty complete picture, so I may just add on to what is below and add some pictures. But, I wanted to get something out. Thank you to Cen.Grand and to Arthur Power at Power Holdings for giving me this opportunity to demo the Super Clock. All thoughts are my own and I have not been compensated to write these impressions/review.
What is the DSDAC 1.0?
The DSDAC1.0 is a high-performance audio DAC based on DSD theory. It is different from a DS, R2R or FPGA DAC in many ways. It doesn't use a conventional chip for DA conversion, but instead uses discrete components and an extremely advanced algorithm for digital processing. There have been several other companies who have made a DSD DAC. These include Meitner, Emm Labs, Playback Designs and most notably, PS Audio. However, the Cen.Grand is not copying their code and spent 5 years creating their own mathematical equations and algorithms. The DSDAC 1.0 can increase the frequency of all input data including PCM or DSD64 up to DSD1024. I addition, Cen.Grand has employed a clock blocking technology that is unique to their DACs. The Standard model follows the above formulas. The Super Clock takes it a step further by improving the clock system so that RMS Jitter is as low as 100fs. Furthermore, they have improved some of the internal components to higher end discrete parts which helps to further enhance and refine the sound. The Deluxe Model takes it further by improving the components even more to create what Jianhue calls "A Nobility to the Sound" which as good as any DAC I have heard.
The high-frequency rise algorithm is the core of the DSDAC 1.0. There are many different ways to realize frequency rising, but by its nature, this is a very complex mathematical problem. It is not a digital problem. So, while many are using similar technologies, Cen.Grand was able to achieve their stated goal in their own way. by using a Synchronous direct clock technology, a femtosecond clock inside is sent to the shift register directly without any intermediate conversion, so that the performance of the femtosecond clock is directly reflected in the analog output. This is different from the use of an external femtosecond clock and built-in femtosecond crystal oscillator. Essentially, due to the way they are using synchronous clocking tech they are able to mitigate jitter and send the clock directly without dividing the frequency. This an advancement in the technology of clock application. Coupled with their Clock Blocking Tech, which is a synchronization process helps them to fix the clocking problem that plagues many digital sources. How I understand the tech is that this is what gives the Cen.Grand DAC such great timing and superior sonics.
Lastly, the DSDAC 1.0 has an advanced USB interface which can receive DSD source code natively. This is a necessary function in creating a DSD DAC. Cen.Grand has customized a special driver from XMOS to enable the DSDAC 1.0 to receive the source code natively up to DSD512. The other way the DSDAC can input DSD is through SPIDF as DSD64 in DOP mode.
Functional Parameters of the DSDAC 1.0:
- SPDIF sampling rate: PCM 192 khz / dop64 (AES, optical fiber, coaxial, BNC)
- USB sampling rate: PCM 384 khz / DSD512 (native)
- Output interface: one for XLR and one for RCA
- Output level: 5.0V RMS (XLR), 2.5V RMS (RCA)
- Volume control range: - 70dB ~ 0dB
- Overall dimension: 430 * 360 * 100mm
- Net weight: 10.6kg
- Gross weight: 13.3kg
Basic Impressions:
1. The Super Clock has the exact same form factor as the Silver Fox. A perfect DAC to stack with the Silver Fox. It weighs around 25lbs and is very stable and beautifully built. My version is Silver for my review with gold accents and is extremely classy.
2. The Super Clock sits right in the middle of their DAC line-up. It doesn't have all the fancy parts of the Deluxe, but the most important part of this DAC is the clocking tech, and the Super Clock does have the same clocking tech as the Deluxe. As Jianhue the owner of Cen.Grand told me, the Super Clock is as much DAC as any sane person needs. I agree with this statement. There is no detail missing in my music, and the integrated whole is nothing short of spectacular.
3. The biggest difference between the Super Clock and Deluxe is a certain refinement or nobility to the sound that is not quite to the level of the Deluxe, but better than anything I have heard in its price range. From what I have experienced, the Super Clock represents the very best price to performance in the Cen.Grand DAC line-up and will get you 90% plus of the way to the Deluxe.
4. When I set up the Super Clock, I used both the XLRs for my CFA3 and the RCAs for my Icon HP8. I was told there is a possibility of sound degradation with both outputs being used at the same time, but I didn't find this to be the case. While I never used both amps at the same time, I heard no sonic degradation by having both plugged in.
5. The Super Clock takes very well to upstream cabling. I used a Moon Audio Silver Dragon which has great shielding and this provided me with the best connection using the USB. I also used a USBe Perfect out of my Roon Core.
6. I set the Super Clock to fixed to disable its internal volume and I used my amps to control volume. I didn't hear huge differences with the filters, so I settled on filter 6 and went with it for the entire time I used the DAC. I did play with the DAC in variable mode as well. The Super Clock is a very fine Pre-Amp and its volume was more than adequate. However, I did prefer it in fixed DAC mode so I could control the volume from my HP8 or CFA3.
7. The Super Clock is extremely stable and I had no issues with it at anytime. It always worked, and it always sounded fantastic. I left it on for days on end, and I turned it off at the end of each day. I tried it both ways and I never felt the sound changed. I did find that the DAC would take about 30 minutes to fully bias, at which time I would get the DACs full potential.
8. If you use Roon's DSP, you need to turn off the upsample feature as it will cause the Super Clock to distort. All 3 Cen.Grand DACs are upsampling from PCM up to DSD1024 internally, so the DSP in Roon gets in the way of the DAC already performing this function in the digital domain. You can choose between DSD128, DSD256, DSD512 and DSD1024. I found DSD512 and DSD1024 to be exponentially better. I left it set to DSD1024 at all times.
Sound Quality:
The Super Clock is an extremely immersive, physical and weighty DAC. There is deep note saturation, that when accompanied by the right pace and tone provides you with a high amount of resolution. At first listen I found the Super Clock to sound warm, but it wasn't warm at all. It was just extremely saturated and more resolving than what i was using. The DAC is very musical, and analog sounding. It doesn't have any etch or grain, and still extends into the subbass and up above 12k without breaking a sweat. The bass is extremely full and detailed with the right amount of decay to hear both the leading and trailing edge of the notes. I found that with the Super Clock I preferred the visceral strike of fingers on the bass strings, versus the sound of a pick hitting the strings. I can hear the reverb of the bass players fingers rolling across the strings, almost as if I can hear the strings vibrating while the notes trail off. It is a very romantic, physical and beautiful sound. Due to the high level of note saturation, the midrange is open and full of information. There is a liquidity to the midrange where you can feel the pocket open up and envelope your senses. Once inside the pocket you can hear all of the instruments float in and out of the melody anchored by exquisite weight from the drums and bass. Vocals are intimate and emotive. You can feel a singers lips pressed agains the microphone, their breath on your skin and the crackle of the microphone. I loved the way the Super Clock rendered vocals and while I mostly listen to instrumental music, I found myself listening more and more to vocals. I have listened to the Daniel Lanois song "The Maker" 100s of times. I love the Jerry Garcia Band version, but my all time favorite version is from a Dave Matthews show from 2000. His voice just crackles, and I can hear him stretch his range and every bit of emotion he can muster as he works his way through one of the best readings of Daniel Lanois's classic tune. I have never heard Dave's voice sound so emotional and in perfect unison with the pacing of the melody. The Super Clock is able to render vocals at a level I have yet heard through my system. The upper midrange transitions effortlessly into the treble. Because of the deep note saturation, you almost feel it sounds dark at first listen, but once you realize that the saturation is not darkness, but resolution you are able to hear how the cymbals shine and crash and the perfect amount of decay leading to a balanced whole.
Imaging and Transience:
The Super Clock throws a beautiful image. The specificity of instrument placement is accurate and organic. More importantly, the Super Clock opens up enough to provide the proper amount of space between the notes. This enables the listener to not only place each instrument accurately on stage, but also to understand the amount of space between the musicians. You can feel them communicating and the music has enough room to properly breathe.
Transience is one of those things that is very subjective. Do you like a fast decay or do you like the decay to linger? I prefer a faster decay which gives the music more snap. This was the one area with the Super Clock where I would've preferred a bit faster decay which would have led to faster transience. The transience were by no means slow, but I felt the DAC was tuned for music that plays a note or two slower than what I like. That being said, transience are extremely accurate to the integrated whole of the DACs presentation and by no means does it take away from the Super Clocks PRAT. However, sometimes one thing begets another. So, while the impeccable note saturation leads to a organic tone and a beautifully rendered pocket, it does slow down the snap of music by a note or two which isn't my ultimate preference. It is not enough to mitigate my enjoyment of this fine DAC, but it is something that I noticed over time. It took me weeks of listening to really understand this, as it is not something most will notice.
The Super Clock's strongest attribute is its tone and slight timbral colorations that make instruments sound alive and accurate. This is not a DAC that you would look at the measurements and get the full picture. The reality is that converting PCM to DSD internally is a very complicated process and leads to challenges with noise. While a measurement tool might pick up that noise, it exists outside of the ability for human ears to discern it. The DAC was dead quiet, the tone was full and wet, and the slight timbral colorations were a wonderful addition to a technically advanced digital source. I liked that I didn't need to use any DSP to get the most out of my music. Guitar had the proper crunch and pop, piano sounded like a waterfall of sounds coming out of the top of my head, the bass could be felt in my chest, and I felt that I could feel the skins of the drums compress and release while I could hear the leading and trailing edges. Coupled with some of most emotive vocals I have heard from a DAC I found myself constantly smiling.
Conclusion:
The true litmus test of a great product is whether or not at the end of the night you want to keep listening to one more song. I spent many a night up until 2-3am listening to one more song, one more song, one more song. There is no better recommendation than that. I just loved the way the Super Clock took my music and gave me the feeling that I was sitting right in front of the soundboard at a live show. The Super Clock gives you the sense that you are immersed in the pocket and you can hear the music unfold from the inside out like a flower blooming in spring.
I will come back to this write up in the next day to fill in some of the other areas and add some pictures. Thank you for reading! I want to thank Arthur Power for giving me the opportunity to demo the Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Super Clock. If you are interested in purchasing this DAC, Arthur can be found at power-holdings-inc.com. I humbly recommend this DAC for anyone who wants to fill out their system with a musical beast that will provide you with deep note saturation, high levels of resolution, and a balanced soundstage with impeccable image specificity. The sound is full, honest and beautifully rendered. I cannot think of a reason why not to own a Cen.Grand DAC, and if your budget is at or around $3000-$3500 you will get as much DAC as any sane person needs. Two big, musical thumbs up!
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Cen.Grand recommends 300 hours of brake in. I can personally confirm it needs at lest 100 hours for it to really open up. The caps and other components need time to settle in. Electrolytic capacitors will actually measure differently after many hours of use.
I have had some customers over the years who do not believe in brake in. They will listen to a new piece of gear for 10 minutes and say I don't like it I want to return it. This is really a shame. I am in a unique position as I often have a demo unit that was sent out to reviewers with hundreds of hours on it and right next to it a brand new unit out of the box. There is always a difference that most people can hear. It usually sounds better, but sometimes it just sounds different. In any case you are not hearing what the unit can and will sound like in your system if you don't give it at lest a week or two of use. Only then can you truly evaluate the synergy with your other components and decided whether or not it's to your preference.
Sure there is some psychology adjusting to the new sound, but brake in or burn in is real. Some gear doesn't change that much, but some components change drastically in how they sound after 100+ hours.
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Why is there no hdmi input???
geoffalter11
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok, Review is complete. I have added the Techno jargon and pictures to the review! Enjoy!
project86
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
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Cen.Grand has their own dedicated streaming transport coming soon, and it matches the DSDAC1.0 Deluxe in appearance. They have been toying with their own proprietary dual-cable connection system which they say has advantages over other methods of transmission. Their plans for rolling out this proprietary system seems to be the reason they did not go with I2S over HDMI.
The Deluxe DAC has a blank panel on the back for upgrading to this new system. I have explained to Cen.Grand that I2S over HDMI is also extremely popular and can lead to excellent results. They seem potentially interested in adding that option down the road but I can't speak to their specific plans.
For now, the DAC is already exceptional at dealing with mediocre transports via any of the included cable formats, so it's not really a big loss in this case.
geoffalter11
Headphoneus Supremus
Here is a link to my published review. Enjoy!
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cen-grand-dsdac1-0-deluxe.26448/reviews
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/cen-grand-dsdac1-0-deluxe.26448/reviews
geoffalter11
Headphoneus Supremus
The DSDAC took 200 hrs to fully open up for me. it started to sound really good at 100 hrs and just kept getting better up to 200 hrs. It took one more jump around 250-300, but it was 97% of the way there by 200 hrs. I tend to like to burn things in while I am listening to them so that I can hear the differences as they occur. Sometimes I think it is just placebo or my brain becoming more accustomed to the sound but the reality is that this DAC takes some time.
I found it to be less congested after burn in, more stable and organized. I felt that the FR stayed pretty similar throughout the process, just a bit more of everything that was already there. My number 1 rule with burn in is that if it doesn't sound good out of the box, burn in won't fix it. But, burn in can help it get the rest of the way there after you have already heard its basic potential from the first hour.
The "burning in" of electronics is mainly a good argument for the shop/salesman to invite you to not send back the unit during the (mandatory) 10 days trial. If there is a difference between before/after, than it should be measurable: No one has ever measured this difference, and I think it is pure placebo/emotional effect (Do I want to keep the unit ? = If yes, than it sounds better after 200 hours) or self adjustment of our hearing to our desires
Probably not a fair comparison but any comments on the superclock version vs Chord Qutest? Looking to upgrade but I also do believe the Qutest also sets a relatively high bar so keen to hear some more opinions on this match up!
Another question I have regarding this DSD/PCM thing (I'm not well-versed in this aspect) is that in my use case, everything is fed out of a PC whether that be music, gaming, media consumption and such. Is it fine to just USB audio into the DSDAC here and everything will function as it should? Any latency issues to account for? I know the Denafrips units all have slight latency in their audio conversion which causes sounds and screen to be out of sync. Not an issue for pure music use but definitely does impact other use.
Another question I have regarding this DSD/PCM thing (I'm not well-versed in this aspect) is that in my use case, everything is fed out of a PC whether that be music, gaming, media consumption and such. Is it fine to just USB audio into the DSDAC here and everything will function as it should? Any latency issues to account for? I know the Denafrips units all have slight latency in their audio conversion which causes sounds and screen to be out of sync. Not an issue for pure music use but definitely does impact other use.
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Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
I disagree.
While I have no experience with this DAC, I've had a couple DACs (Audio GD DAC-19 & NOS-19) for which some users recommended 400-500 hours of burn-in, based on their experience. I thought they must be out of their minds--but then I discovered they were right. The sound of those DACs changed constantly early on, sometimes sounding very good and other times pretty bad, until the sound finally stopped changing somewhere between 400 and 500 hours (can't explain it, just report it).
With other DACs I found the sweet spot for burn in was ~150 hours. At least for me, burn-in of electronics is for real.
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+1. Especially for the DDC that I experienced from Audio-GD DI-20HE. And yes, can't explain. Just share mine.
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