DAC Roundup: Geshelli Dayzee, Denafrips Ares 12th, Chord Qutest, Topping E70 Velvet

[227qed]

The thread caught my attention as I was interested in the Dayzee with Sparkos op amps.

ZMF Bokeh Closed takes EQ/bass boost very well, much like the LCD-X 2021. Unlike the Focal Clear OG which starts clipping on bassy tracks at higher volumes (still a great headphone for certain genres). Bokeh is such a great headphone for the pricepoint and sounds great on the majority of my library.

Other models I've compared to the Bokeh for reference.
-HD 6XX
-Hifiman Arya Organic
-Abyss Diana MR
-ZMF Atrium Open

Currently using the Fiio K19 for solid state or K19 dac to Cayin HA-6A for tubes - Gold Lion kt88 and Apos Select 12au7 tubes. Running Tidal. Should also add I have a Furman Power Conditioner for peace of mind.

Seriously considering a ZMF only collection at this point. They are all solid and you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for the info, that’s great to know! I’ll probably save up for a caldera or atrium closed, but would definitely love to consider the bokeh at some point as well. Seems like they’re all really well designed drivers, so I don’t expect any of the same issues like on the focal. I liked the Elear I had, but the clipping was a total deal breaker for me. I wonder if utopia has the same issues.

Anyways, I don’t want to derail this thread too bad. I just picked up a musician Pegasus though and am now a believer that DACs can notably affect the perceived bass response. Would have loved to try a dayzee, but they told me they were t taking orders due to an excessive backlog. I would have waited if they had a better system in place, but overall they didn’t really answer the other questions I had and did not seem interested in selling me one at all so I moved on. I don’t think it was a good match for my space any ways.