[musickid]

I thought that too..boring. It's not very photogenic and also it's size is very deceptive. When i heard qutest/anni through quality headphones the first time only then did i appreciate the new amp and what it's capable of. In fact had i not heard it beforehand i would have dismissed it too. Now i own one. Think transparency, no distortion, power and refinement. It has an addictive sound. Another thing when you see it stacked with qutest in real life with lights on it has a real presence. A stacked qutest with anni on stands is near enough 3K sterling.

 

[jjb3]

Just got my Anni and paired it with my Hugo 2 and a set of Dali Oberon 1s. I was concerned that the Anni would not drive the 6 ohm speakers to decent levels but this is phenomenal in a near field setting. And, it probably has enough juice to drive them to decent levels for a smaller sized room. Huge thank you to @Andrew DiMarcangelo at Bloom Audio for an exceptional buying experience, responsiveness, and just all around good business.

 

[adrianm]

With the mscaler and the way it does reverb to me that's fantastic. But no crossfeed on anni. There are many reasons why i didn't go mDave. Cost, not finding any other hi end headphones that comfort me, playing the upgrade game for 5 years and then going into deeper philosophical reasoning applicable to me. A final solution system so i can just enjoy music with the mscaler being central to any decision is what i aimed for. I'm satisfied now. The realism factor with the anni/qutest/mscaler trio as compared to dave on its own is in a different league IMHO.

Well i'll definitely audition one, it's pricing isn't something to lose sleep over, it's just a huge bummer on the crossfeed. I was considering a HPA-4 but that's a lot tougher to swallow for occasional use with potential future headphones. I am curious what you're attributing the realism factor to, i would think it would be mostly the M-scaler as your PM1 are also easy to drive. I think you sticking with them for so long is even weirder than me preferring the Z1R to most everything on the market. But i am sticking to closed backs for now, there are tons of good open backs.
There's also the fact that while solo Dave is good, mains filtering is a huge upgrade (as with all dacs i've encountered) , as is a good streamer via Coax. Usb i just find bad, even out of battery powered sources. Add to that a battery for the M-scaler and there's a lot of stuff that improves solo Dave vs an optimized one. It is exhausting and expensive, but what's the alternative? It still ends up cheaper than a Bartok, even though that's a one box solution.

 

[musickid]

Anni is £1200 that's a lot of money but then again some guys spend that on a night out. I tried the z1r but it was very hot inside after 30 minutes. The sony sound is very refined. I personally couldn't enjoy dave without mscaler and i don't have x thousands more to spend on audio. With my pm1 and wave cables this system is already around 9K lol. Then again with music cost is no object for me but i am happy with my system now. I'm at my desk when i listen another reason why the desktop set up suits me. With the mscaler and all the anni, qutest lights on at night it feels like a recording studio or the deck of the starship enterprise lol. Someone who feels music can get more out of it using beats headphones and a cheap phone than someone who doesn't using 10 Bartoks imho.

 

[adrianm]

Anni is £1200 that's a lot of money but then again some guys spend that on a night out. I tried the z1r but it was very hot inside after 30 minutes. The sony sound is very refined. I personally couldn't enjoy dave without mscaler and i don't have x thousands more to spend on audio. With my pm1 and wave cables this system is already around 9K lol. Then again with music cost is no object for me but i am happy with my system now. I'm at my desk when i listen another reason why the desktop set up suits me. With the mscaler and all the anni, qutest lights on at night it feels like a recording studio or the deck of the starship enterprise lol.

I'm pretty sure there are discounts to be had on Anni as well as the rest of the stuff. I skipped the Wave cables for now, using some Oyaide silver ones with no ferrites because...battery. I barely listen a couple of hours every few days at my desk so it totally works for me. I'm also pretty ocd about RF noise. I hated the M-scaler when i first heard it, because of the amount of noise it injected into Dave (connected via optical to source, though i've moved to a streamer via coax since). I returned it the first time around, got it a week later , but it was definitely a mixed bag before adding a battery, i preferred solo Dave up to that point.
I'm really hoping the new M-scaler for Dave will have that issue sorted out and won't require ferrites.

 

[musickid]

Keep on exploring till you find the sound that hits deep.

 

[Nostoi]

Must say, the dimensions of the Anni/Qutest are very appealing indeed. The comparison I'd like to hear is between TT2 and Anni/Qutest. Anyone?

 

[musickid]

Check the qutest thread.

 

[Nostoi]

Check the qutest thread.

Seen it, cheers.

 

[jlbrach]

thanks so much....I couldnt find it in the manual

 

[jlbrach]

Well that's the plan, Dave's amp is holding me back from going for Susvara Abyss etc. Even with the transparency loss , the net result is probably superior to a PM-1 straight out of Dave for example. Luckily the LCD-5 ,Elite and Stealth are new alternatives that can be driven straight out of Dave. Will have to test everything and see. Meze Elite sounded great out of Dave.
Not going to question your choice, but i do find it weird that you're willing to sell Dave off for MQA (Mscaler Qutest Anni ). From my pov the M-scaler adds to Dave but by no means is the essential part. I much preferred solo Dave to MTT2. And there's a new M-scaler coming soon anyway.

as an owner of the abyss and susvara I would say the anni will work fine with the abyss but not quite up to the best amps for the susvara

 

[jlbrach]

what I really like about the anni is its size...I am going on a trip for about a week and will bring my hugo 2 with the anni and have a really nice portable system with me

 

[Middy]

Another view...

https://majorhifi.com/chord-electronics-anni-review/

 

[Currawong]

Well that's the plan, Dave's amp is holding me back from going for Susvara Abyss etc. Even with the transparency loss , the net result is probably superior to a PM-1 straight out of Dave for example. Luckily the LCD-5 ,Elite and Stealth are new alternatives that can be driven straight out of Dave. Will have to test everything and see. Meze Elite sounded great out of Dave.
Not going to question your choice, but i do find it weird that you're willing to sell Dave off for MQA (Mscaler Qutest Anni ). From my pov the M-scaler adds to Dave but by no means is the essential part. I much preferred solo Dave to MTT2. And there's a new M-scaler coming soon anyway.

Have you tried the Final D8000 Pro yet?

 

[adrianm]

Have you tried the Final D8000 Pro yet?

I haven't, i was dead set on it when it first came out, but reports of it being uncomfortable and virtually no way to try before i buy it turned me off it. Did you find it a good pairing with Dave? I'm a bit concerned about it and LCD-5 being too neutral to be enjoyable (as i found to be the case with HEKSE) . Also reviews make it sound like LCD-5 is better across the board, while also being more comfortable. And that i can listen to for myself (When my dealer finally gets a pair in stock, they're being bought before they hit the store atm).
If i you wouldn't know you could assume they are closed backs by the look, does that design have any impact on the noise leakage/isolation compared to other open backs?