[UntilThen]

Great review of the Elise, this helped me to make my decision to purchase the Elise.

Can anyone please recommend a DAC for use with the Elise?

Have just purchased a couple of those Mullard 6080's, from Langrex, so may have upped the price a bit more

I'm going to get a Denafrips Ares DAC ($598) for Elise and Euforia.... to replace the NAD d1050 that I currently use now. Will post impressions when it happens. Was also thinking about the Gumby ($1349) but that's more than twice the price. There's also the Holo Spring DAC - Kitsune Tuned edition at $2499. At this rate I'll have to sell my deck....

I have been listening to Euforia with Psvane 6sn7 and Mullard 6080 for many days now. With modified HD650, I'm loving the tone. Nice full bodied sound and a prominent bass. Really great with vocals and Knopfler's guitar magic.

 

[UntilThen]

I am very confident you be be extremely happy with your purchase. But now you are part of our cult. We used to always refer to ourselves as the Lucky Ones))) I love my Schiit Bifrost MultiBit DAC, but you will probably get other recommendations. I view the Bimby in much the same light as Elise - extremely good value for the money and sure to bring you years of listening enjoyment.

Oh, warning. Our cult is like Hotel California. You can check out any time you like. But you can never leave

Hotel California in Mexico is being sued.... so be careful which Hotel California you check into. On the other hand, it's quite safe to check into Hotel DownUnder.

I like to know how the Denafrips Ares compares to the Bimby. The latter cost $1 more.

 

[pctazhp]

I'm going to get a Denafrips Ares DAC ($598) for Elise and Euforia.... to replace the NAD d1050 that I currently use now. Will post impressions when it happens. Was also thinking about the Gumby ($1349) but that's more than twice the price. There's also the Holo Spring DAC - Kitsune Tuned edition at $2499. At this rate I'll have to sell my deck....

I have been listening to Euforia with Psvane 6sn7 and Mullard 6080 for many days now. With modified HD650, I'm loving the tone. Nice full bodied sound and a prominent bass. Really great with vocals and Knopfler's guitar magic.

Hotel California in Mexico is being sued.... so be careful which Hotel California you check into. On the other hand, it's quite safe to check into Hotel DownUnder.

I'll keep your travel tips in mind when I plan my next vacation.

I doubt any of us will have a Bimby and Ares at home to compare. I know Denafrips claims their R2R technology is the most advanced and the Ares does appear much more substantial than Bimby. But who knows? Also, I have concern about ordering relatively heavy gear from China because of possible shipping and return issues. I assume shipping from China to Hotel DownUnder is of less concern.

The problem I have with Gumby is it's balanced, and for use with Elise I assume half the circuitry is not being used. So the increased cost over Bimby may not be producing much significant improvement in my situation. I remember many months ago there was a fairly lengthy discussion on a site whose name will never pass my lips nor my keyboard about comparisons some people had made between and among Bimby, Gumby and Yiggy. As I recall, the people didn't feel there was a substantial difference in SQ between all three. That was before Mumby or whatever that new lowend Schiit DAC is called.

I have stated that someday I may spring for a Yiggy. But that's because I'm a Mike Moffat fanboy and Yiggy is his TOTL, although it is balanced. But that's more of a an emotional thing than based on common sense. I really don't feel I need a DAC better than my Bimby.

 

[pctazhp]

Crap. Everything below "Hotel California in Mexico...." in my above post are my words. This new format is getting old fast. Bah humbug!!!!!

 

[frederick-rea]

Great review of the Elise, this helped me to make my decision to purchase the Elise.

Can anyone please recommend a DAC for use with the Elise?

Have just purchased a couple of those Mullard 6080's, from Langrex, so may have upped the price a bit more

For you and Elise I found the best "tube" DAC == Lampizator Amber II

 

[UntilThen]

@pctazhp I'll do a bit more diggy on Bimby, Gumby and Yggy.

Unlikely that I will get a Yggy because then I'll feel that I need a new tube amp.

I'm thinking Gumby after reading this... good comparison to the Chord Hugo.
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/01/zesty-and-sweet-the-stunning-schiit-gungnir-multibit-dac/

 

[angpsi]

Great review of the Elise, this helped me to make my decision to purchase the Elise.

Can anyone please recommend a DAC for use with the Elise?

Have just purchased a couple of those Mullard 6080's, from Langrex, so may have upped the price a bit more

Hi @SnapperMusicFan and welcome! Good choice to buy the Elise—honestly I had been sceptical for quite some time since I haven't had any experience with headphones and headphone amps, but since the Mullard and after having gone through a certain mileage experimenting with EL tubes and the upgraded stock configuration I can safely tell you that you're in for a good treat of long hours in audio bliss!

In regard to choosing a DAC, if you care to wait I've been meaning to test my old and trusty Benchmark DAC1 with the Elise. These used to be top-tier $2000 DACs back in the day and now they go for about $400. Haven't heard any of the current breed mid-tier DACs (nor the TOTL ones for that matter), but if the combo proves to be good, maybe you might want to consider going for vintage.

 

[UntilThen]

The more I read about the Gumby and Yggy, the more I'm suck in.

I should have listen more attentively to the Yggy and Rag combo at the meet.

Time to give JimmyBoi a call.

 

[pctazhp]

@pctazhp I'll do a bit more diggy on Bimby, Gumby and Yggy.

Unlikely that I will get a Yggy because then I'll feel that I need a new tube amp.

I'm thinking Gumby after reading this... good comparison to the Chord Hugo.
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/01/zesty-and-sweet-the-stunning-schiit-gungnir-multibit-dac/

The more I read about the Gumby and Yggy, the more I'm suck in.

I should have listen more attentively to the Yggy and Rag combo at the meet.

Time to give JimmyBoi a call.

Well I must admit I'm glad to see Schiit MB DACs getting some attention here. When it comes to DACs here, I feel like the Lone Ranger with my Bimby. Over on the HD800S thread when I talk about Elise I feel like the Lone Ranger there.

I've been talking to a guy on the S thread who owns a Bimby and an S. He's looking for an amp. I told him, among other things, that I view my Bimby in much the same way as I view Elise. Extremely high performance for a reasonable price - a point about Schiit mentioned in the review you cited.

I can be very confident that if you do get the Gumby you will not in any way be disappointed

.

 

[pctazhp]

@UntilThen My fellow Bimby owner (actually Bimby is a little too close to Bimbo for my comfort) on the HD800S thread said that he had seen a post from Mike Moffat saying he was was working on an upgrade to Bimby and that it is "spine tingling". I haven't seen Mike's post, but just thought I'd mention it. One thing great about the Schiit MB DACs is they are built for easy upgrade.

Edit: WOW. Just realized it is again possible to edit posts. Maybe that has been part of the new format all along and I just noticed it. But I usually write first and think later, so it is one of my favorite features.

 

[angpsi]

The Mullard 6080 are actually making me happy! I hate the weekend, it takes me away from my Elise [–on–Mullard]...

Btw, my EL tubes are now live on Ebay auctions as pairs. I wonder what will happen!...

 

[UntilThen]

Pct, you are not alone in the universe. JT has a Bimby too with his Elise. Pretty sure @HOWIE13 has a Mimby too but he doesn't talk about it much now. I think he's using a Audiolab M-DAC now.

I don't really care about DSD and hirez. I don't have much of those files. I do have a lot of good quality CDs, Chesky included. I find Tidal HiFi good enough for me. So I'm looking for a DAC that does 16/44 or Redbook very well. That is where I understand multibit or the ladder dacs do well. Ladder is important. Helps me to get to the lower part of the garden... ok I'm thinking of a different deck now.

 

[UntilThen]

The Mullard 6080 are actually making me happy! I hate the weekend, it takes me away from my Elise [–on–Mullard]...

Btw, my EL tubes are now live on Ebay auctions as pairs. I wonder what will happen!...

I find a lot of tube combinations sound very good on Elise / Euforia.

The Mullards with Psvane sounds good but so does Tung Sol 6sn7gtb (60's black base) with Bendix 6080wb slotted plates. Pct were singing their praises and I agree with his ears.

Good luck with selling the EL tubes but I'm going through an interesting phase now. Shopping for a new DAC....

 

[UntilThen]

Now if you excuse me, I need to read more about multibit dacs and Gumby in particular.

 

[UntilThen]

The Mullard 6080 are actually making me happy!

I take it you like Mullets hairstyle. Here's a song for you.