[RedBull]

Anyone can share sound impression (DAC alone) against any Audio-Gd DAC, like NFB-2 or something like that?  Thanks a lot.

 

[Townyj]

I used to own the DAC19MK3 and from what i remember i do prefer the sound of the DACmini by a fair bit... Not the best info but you wouldnt be disappointed by the mini imo. Both sound totally different though, the DAC19 is musical and warmish. Where as the Mini just seems to extend further overall. Has an added warmth that makes it very enjoyable to listen to.

 
Quote:

Anyone can share sound impression (DAC alone) against any Audio-Gd DAC, like NFB-2 or something like that?  Thanks a lot.

 

 

[RedBull]

Thanks Townyj, how would  you say about vocal reproduction, bass detail? which one do you prefer?

 

[Townyj]

Ahhh! Well the DAC19 is rather magical for vocals, I really enjoyed alot of slower Blues, Rock, some Electronic was good aswell. The bass is deep and impactful, but not as detailed as the DACmini. The DACmini is hard to beat as an overall unit and just does things better in certain area's.

 

[Anouk]

Hi, If everything goes right with fedex delivery mine should be here today which makes it two weeks since the day I ordered, not too bad. My rca to xlr cables from blue jean are already here so I am pretty excited to see how it will work with my rig. Has anyone tried this dac with optical vs usb inputs from a laptop and is there a lot of idfference? My two laptops only have usb input but I might in the future consider getting a hiface interface. Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Townyj]

The usb implmentation of the DACmini is darn good, i honestly doubt you would notice much difference between them both. But thats upto you to decide with your ears in the end. 

 
Quote:

Hi, If everything goes right with fedex delivery mine should be here today which makes it two weeks since the day I ordered, not too bad. My rca to xlr cables from blue jean are already here so I am pretty excited to see how it will work with my rig. Has anyone tried this dac with optical vs usb inputs from a laptop and is there a lot of idfference? My two laptops only have usb input but I might in the future consider getting a hiface interface. Greetings, Anouk,

 

 

[pekingduck]

Yesterday I did a little comparison between the following setups:
 
iPod Classic > Algorhythm Solo > coaxial > Dacmini
 
iPad > Camera Connection Kit > USB > Dacmini
 
The same music (in lossless) was played. I couldn't notice much difference..
 
Like you said, CEntrance's adaptive USB must be pretty good (or I just have tin ear )

 
Quote:

The usb implmentation of the DACmini is darn good, i honestly doubt you would notice much difference between them both. But thats upto you to decide with your ears in the end. 

 


 

 

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Has anyone tried this dac with optical vs usb inputs from a laptop and is there a lot of idfference?

I did a very brief comparison on my laptop and can't say anything stood out as glaringly different between the two, that might change if I do more extensive back and forth between the two but my initial impression of the USB implementation was quite favorable.
 

 

[Anouk]

Hi, Well its here, going to unpack it in a moment. I forgot if voltage setting is automatic, i have 220v here. I have to check if i still have a loose power cord lying around and I think it uses the printer like usb cable which I hope I still have a spare off. I would like to know about the voltage though because I dont want to blow anything. Greetings, Anouk,

 

[pekingduck]

The voltage is automatic so no worries there. There should be a USB cable included.
 
I am curious how the DACmini works with the ES5 so please share your impressions. Thanks

 

[Anouk]

Hello again,
I just unpacked the unit and am pleasantly surprised by how small and light it is.
I connected the power (found an old printer cable) usb and spdiff but i did not yet put the power on. I found the volume knob on the front and the headphone jack.
As most of you might or might not know I am blind though os if someone oculd explain the control to the left of the volume control then that would be nice. I suppose it is a sport of input switch of some kind? Is there an on/off button or will it go on automatically after I give it power?
I also have not yet located the rca jacks.
i do presume they are to the right of the optical jack but there are four connectors there.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[pekingduck]

Assuming you are facing the back panel:
 
The control to the left of the volume knob is the input selector. There are four positions (from right to left): line in, optical, coaxial and USB.
If you turn the input selector beyond the USB, the DACmini will go into stand-by mode. There's no on/off switch.
 
Regarding the back panel, the rightmost pair of RCA jacks is output. The next pair is line input.
Quote:

Hello again,
I just unpacked the unit and am pleasantly surprised by how small and light it is.
I connected the power (found an old printer cable) usb and spdiff but i did not yet put the power on. I found the volume knob on the front and the headphone jack.
As most of you might or might not know I am blind though os if someone oculd explain the control to the left of the volume control then that would be nice. I suppose it is a sport of input switch of some kind? Is there an on/off button or will it go on automatically after I give it power?
I also have not yet located the rca jacks.
i do presume they are to the right of the optical jack but there are four connectors there.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Greetings, Anouk,

 

 

[Anouk]

Thanks a lot for that info! I guess rca and headphone output are always active at the seem time? Will the unit give a pop if you put it into standby mode? I guess I will just have to practice a bit with the input selector, i had the seem with my last dac, a dacmagic by cambridgeaudio. It too had a digital input selector, i got used to it quickly. Thanks again for the help, Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Anouk]

Hi, I just tried the dacmini very briefly with the es5 to see if I got the usb channel. I must say that at first there is no volume and hten when it is there it is immediately fairly loud. Not really loud but it does not start as really soft as with normal volume. Also there seems to be a bit of channel imbalance at low volumes with first the right channel coming in and then, when you turn it up louder, the left channel. This was only a really brief test though because I hadnt gotten my speakers working yet and i wanted to check if the source was set right. Greetings, Anouk,

 

[RedBull]

Quote:

Ahhh! Well the DAC19 is rather magical for vocals, I really enjoyed alot of slower Blues, Rock, some Electronic was good aswell. The bass is deep and impactful, but not as detailed as the DACmini. The DACmini is hard to beat as an overall unit and just does things better in certain area's.

Yeah, I tried Zero, yes, just the "Audio-Gd Zero" and I'm very impressed with the vocal, but the bass is 'rather' dissapointing, a bit too polite and 'lite', I know some will say DAC-19 and Zero is day-and-night difference, but I guess the implementation 'phylosophy' of implementation is similiar.  I tried Phoenix as well, they carry the same 'signature' and style.
 
How would you say the vocal sound like?  Can I say, Audio-Gd smoother and 'better' on vocal while DACmini does everything else better?
 
I was very interested for W4S DAC-2, but when I read it can be a little rough on the edge and can be sibilance, I totally refuse it.  I'm very sensitive to rough treble or vocal.