[TedB]

All true. But ...

Your "third option" isn't an option in my opinion. To your point, every device in my headphone and speaker system is plugged into a Panamax MR4300 Line Conditioner. This level of filtration and protection should be regarded as essential to any serious home HiFi effort and is well worth the money. This goes a long way toward starting off with clean slate, but it can't fix noise generated downstream. The crux of any PS upgrade appears to be providing DC filtration that cannot physically fit inside a small DAC or streamer. In any case, one need not spend more than $150 USD on a PS upgrade. Individual results may vary and they oftentimes do. Anyway, no need to stray too far off topic. No doubt there are numerous discussions around on this topic (and many more elsewhere).

 

[Patswalker]

I am curious how it will compare to Schiit Yggi and Audio-GD DACs in the same price range.

I actually have both. I do not have the Dayzee though.

I'm going to preface this by saying that I do hear a difference in dacs but I hear much more of a difference in amps and even more of a difference in headphones and speakers. So if you are looking for super difference I would recommend looking in headphone/speakers first, headphone amp second, and dac third. That said, to me Geshelli house soind, Yggi sound, and Audio-GD sound on the dacs are different.

So the Yggi I have is the Yggi OG. It's amazing. Very unique. To me it has more of a raw detailed sound. Dynamially incredibly impressive. Very powerful deep sound, not volume power, more like a visceral impact power. I love it. Creates an incredible 3D soundstage with certain headphones and amps. Crazy detail but not gritty or too sharp. Very robust sound. Can be smooth but can also HIT and GRIND when needed. Shows me parts of songs I didn't know existed. I personally like the Yggi OG connected to a very good class A headphone amp. I have it connected to my Audio GD HE9-LE. I like to say I didn't understand what people meant by 3D soundstage until I heard it. I knew what left and right soundstage sounded like but this is a whole different thing. Room reverbs. Insanity. I got the Yggi OG used but now that I know what it sounds like, I 100% think it's one of the few hifi products I would he totally happy with paying full price for. Love it. Thick deep sound, not delicate, and not cold and clinical. Think the total polar opposite of Topping D90/A90 stack or RME ADI-2 sound.

I have the Audio-GD R28 NOS on my desk and the R27 RE as my dac/preamp on my speaker set up. These to me are my ideal R2R sound. Warm, thick, incredibly well balanced, and sounds good on anything. Think a nice thick blanket of sound, great detail, great dynamics. In NOS mode, I forget I am listening to them which is a huge compliment. Maybe the best compliment for any hifi gear. The dac section for the R28 NOS apparently is the R1 NOS and the dac for the R27 RE apparently is the R8. When they both are on NOS mode they sound very similar tone wise. The R27 RE on NOS mode just does everything I love about the R28 NOS, about 25% - 40% btter. It took me a while to realize this because it also dissapears into the music and I forget I'm listening to it. I had the R28 NOS on my speaker set up for months for movies and gaming and music. When I connected the R27 RE on NOS mode I rewatched some shows and movies and contonued along on some games and the incredibly well balanced tone and sound was still there, it just reached further into the dynaics and detal. The bass was a bit fuller, the detail was more, the power was cleaner which impoved the soundstage and separation. I love that it didn't change the sound. Adding the upscaling which is only on the R27 RE has a huge effect. Soundstage expands and highs get sharper. haven't tried it for music yet but for gaming and movies going all the way up to 8x oversampling is a but much. I have it on 4x and I love it for gaming and movies. I do love that I can chose the upscaing settings because each day can feel different for my listeing and I have options. Once I get my cables in for my streamer, if it is different than what I reported there for the gaming and tv, I will make another post. If I do not, assime it is the same for the music. I'll bet it will be the same.

So for the Geshelli comparison I can only compare to my geshelli stack which is J2S 4499 with dual SS2590 opamps on all outputs connected to the Archel 3 pro. It is coming from very clean power and on a linear power supply. This stack is amazing. In my opinion maybe the best deal in all of modern hifi next to the Chord Mojo 2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my Geshelli stack. So we all know that the Geshelli stack is much less than most of the other products but I do not in any way think they outclass what Geshelli has done. They just do different things. So if you are thinking of the Dayzee, from my emails I have traded with Geshelli, it does even more of that Geshelli magic. What I get from the Geshlli stack is tight sound, very very clear and percise, a bit of warmth which I persoanlly need. Not a ton of warmth, so nothing like the other products but it has a wonderful very slight warm sharpness to the detain and sound. I get bored with things like the RME ADI-2 and the things like the Topping cold percision. The sound I get from the Geshelli stack is much better than that. It's very profeffional, very exact, great soundstage, great separation, and just a pure joy to listen to. Everything I put on it sounds amazing. Some bettet than others but it's my swiss army knife of all of my hifi gear. AND the Archel 3 Pro has tone control!

The Yggi set up is honestly on a next leel above everything else I am listing. That said, it is AMAZING on some stuff like brain melitng amazing on some stuff but not so great on others. It can be a bit much or a bit lackluster in comparison on some heaphones. On my speakers it's amazing but that's because I have very transparent unflavored detailed neutral speakers.

The Audio GD R28 NOS is amazing bit it's so smooth and good at what it does that it's not super exciting. Some times I like being enveloped in a warm blanket of detail and thick glorious sound and some times I want to tap my feet and jame out! The R28NOS is the warm blanet. I LOVE that so much. That siad, much like the Yggi set up, its' not great on everything. It's gorious on some stuff but just good on others.

- A quick preface. When I say the Yggi step up and Audio GDR28 NOS aren't great on other stuff I am NOT saying they are bad on anything. They are just SO SO SO good on the things that they match with that this sets the bar and my expectations for what they can do super high so when they are not doing that, that's when I say they're not great on some things even though it still sounds good.

I would place the R27 RE in between the Yggi set up and R28 NOS but the R27 RE is new to me, only like a week old for me. I got it used so it's well broken in so I'm not as used to it as the R28 NOS or Yggi stack but it's amazing. That said, for the R28 NOS and R27 RE, I am only comparing them as a dac/preamp or dac/headphone amp. I am not comparing them as a dac only. It's close as the preamp is very transparent, not noticably different than what my old Schiit Kara sounded like and tons of people say that is a super transparent preamp, but I wanted to be clear that I am not running the R28N OS or R27 RE as dac only so the comparison and sound I am describing is running them though the rest of the Audio-GD class A topology.

The Geshelli stack is glorious. Yes the Yggi set up is in a whole different universe. And the R27 RE is much much better as well. The R28 NOS is not better, I'd say the Geshelli stack is even with the R28 NOS and a fantastic partner to it. It's close in price so that makes sense. What the Geshelli stack has first and foremost is the size. It's tiny and it's great. I have a Chord Mojo2. I have the Geshelli stack. I got a Chord Hugo 2 and even though it is smidgen tad better it is SO close to the Geshelli stack that I sold it. That's a $2500 product. The Geshelli stack works great on everything. IEMs to massive headphones. It all sounds clear and sharp and amazing and fun. If the Dayzee is more than what my fully loaded J2S is, it's going to blow everything into a million pieces. The onlty issue is the size of the Dayzee. I don't need all the outputs of the Dayzee. I don't need a lot of what the Dayzee offers. I imagine it sounds amazing but I wonder what type of headphone amp needs to be in the game to really let it shine, if the $2500 Mojo 2 is super close to my Geshelli stack. To me I don't think the Dayzee is worth it but good lord do I want to hear it.

 

[TedB]

Heck, My J2S has more inputs than I need! Geshelli makes the USB optional but forces us to pay for two SPDIFs and two toslinks for no good reason. Could have been even more of a bargain if those front panel inputs were optional! HOWEVER, at its price, it's too good a deal for me to be complaining about too many inputs

I've also felt the front panel mounted SPDIFs were mostly superfluous, but that's just me. The USB is well implemented, but I was annoyed that I auditioned an Oyaide Neo d+ Class A USB cable and it made an immediate audible improvement. I attribute that to its ability to better dampen noise generated by the source (PC) and not having anything to do with the J2S.

 

[Patswalker]

Heck, My J2S has more inputs than I need! Geshelli makes the USB optional but forces us to pay for two SPDIFs and two toslinks for no good reason. Could have been even more of a bargain if those front panel inputs were optional! HOWEVER, at its price, it's too good a deal for me to be complaining about too many inputs

What I was told is that the USB is more expensive because of the Amaneo USB. What is needed for that is not part of the other input sections. If it was Amanero SPDIF it would cost the same as the USB. But I agree for sure. What they offer for the price is insanity. Nothing but grattitude.

 

[Patswalker]

Your "third option" isn't an option in my opinion. To your point, every device in my headphone and speaker system is plugged into a Panamax MR4300 Line Conditioner. This level of filtration and protection should be regarded as essential to any serious home HiFi effort and is well worth the money. This goes a long way toward starting off with clean slate, but it can't fix noise generated downstream. The crux of any PS upgrade appears to be providing DC filtration that cannot physically fit inside a small DAC or streamer. In any case, one need not spend more than $150 USD on a PS upgrade. Individual results may vary and they oftentimes do. Anyway, no need to stray too far off topic. No doubt there are numerous discussions around on this topic (and many more elsewhere).

Your "third option" isn't an option in my opinion. To your point, every device in my headphone and speaker system is plugged into a Panamax MR4300 Line Conditioner. This level of filtration and protection should be regarded as essential to any serious home HiFi effort and is well worth the money. This goes a long way toward starting off with clean slate, but it can't fix noise generated downstream. The crux of any PS upgrade appears to be providing DC filtration that cannot physically fit inside a small DAC or streamer. In any case, one need not spend more than $150 USD on a PS upgrade. Individual results may vary and they oftentimes do. Anyway, no need to stray too far off topic. No doubt there are numerous discussions around on this topic (and many more elsewhere).

Totally agree. But I'm taking into consideration that we might have some people who are just now getting into the Hifi world. Geshelli products are a fantastic gateway drug in so they might not know how much of, you and I both agree on this, how much of a necessity clean power is. It's also not often reviewed or discussed on the youtube channels that often talk more about linear power supplies and Geshelli products. So to me it's not an option but I'm offering it as such to plant a seed. Others, however, might not know so to them it's an option they have yet to chose. But I agree 100% all of my music rooms start with super clean power. It's a necessity for me at this point.

 

[matthia]

I actually have both. I do not have the Dayzee though.

Thank you very much for your great comparisons!
I think I would prefer so far the Yggi sound signature but I would like to know what you think about Dayzee with SS2590 vs Yggi vs R27RE.

 

[matthia]

The dac section for the R28 NOS apparently is the R1 NOS and the dac for the R27 RE apparently is the R8.

AFAIK, the R28NOS uses the DA-8 modules, while the R1NOS, the R27RE and the R8 use the superior DA-7 modules.
The DAC section of the R27RE and the R8 seems to be very similar, I don't know if one is better than the other.

 

[Patswalker]

Thank you very much for your great comparisons!
I think I would prefer so far the Yggi sound signature but I would like to know what you think about Dayzee with SS2590 vs Yggi vs

Thank you very much for your great comparisons!
I think I would prefer so far the Yggi sound signature but I would like to know what you think about Dayzee with SS2590 vs Yggi vs R27RE.

Unfortunately I’m not plan on getting a Dayzee so I won’t be able to help you there. Often times companies like to retain a sort of house sound. When I went from the older J2AKM to the new J2S4499 with all the full upgraded sparkos opamps the house sound was still there but more open and clear. So I’d imagine the Dayzee using the 4499 chips and all the sparkos opamps would sound similar just more open and clear. To me it was like the older J2AKM was a veiled or muffled version of the J2S4499 so I’d imagine the J2S4499 is the same in comparison to the Dayzee. The all sound like Geshelli products, just further up the chain I went the more open clear and articulate they sounded. But you can always email them and ask if they can share some characteristics between the J2S4499 And Dayzee and insert that into what I wrote. All of what I said is also just my ears comparing only those products so different ears will have different experiences.

 

[Patswalker]

AFAIK, the R28NOS uses the DA-8 modules, while the R1NOS, the R27RE and the R8 use the superior DA-7 modules.
The DAC section of the R27RE and the R8 seems to be very similar, I don't know if one is better than the other.

I don’t know what the DA-8 vs DA-7 modules are. But thanks for that clarification! I was running off of what I read in forums and we all know how that can or cannot be accurate on any given day.

 

[matthia]

But you can always email them and ask if they can share some characteristics between the J2S4499 And Dayzee and insert that into what I wrote.

The problem is that for a comparison both DACs must have the same DAC chip and the same opamps. I assume Geshelli will not comment on the J2S with SS2590 since this modification is DIY and not recommended by them.

But I like so much what you mentioned about the Yggi sound that I might wait for Schiit's own D/S DAC named Singularity but this is OT here

 

[activestatic]

The problem is that for a comparison both DACs must have the same DAC chip and the same opamps. I assume Geshelli will not comment on the J2S with SS2590 since this modification is DIY and not recommended by them.

But I like so much what you mentioned about the Yggi sound that I might wait for Schiit's own D/S DAC named Singularity but this is OT here

Actually, I asked and they installed the SS2590 for me on the RCA output. They even let me get the Archel Pro case for a $5 upgrade once I told them I wanted to go all SS2590. The J2S is their latest version of the J2 series. I don’t think they took the SS2590 into consideration when they first designed it to accommodate that size op amp for the XLR output. It’s kinda like an unofficial menu item at a restaurant. They will accommodate if you ask for the “special”. I think they would have to release the J2S as a 2.0 or 2.5 to make it official.

 

[Patswalker]

The problem is that for a comparison both DACs must have the same DAC chip and the same opamps. I assume Geshelli will not comment on the J2S with SS2590 since this modification is DIY and not recommended by them.

But I like so much what you mentioned about the Yggi sound that I might wait for Schiit's own D/S DAC named Singularity but this is OT here

In my experience emailing Geshelli about the SS2590 they have not been opposed to talking about them on the J2S. They might not offer them on the website but that's most likely because they are not able to natively fit on the sockets on the boards. They are MASSIVE opamps. I needed to go the route of getting these... https://www.bursonaudio.com/shop/35mm-extension-lead-x-2/ to fit them and I actually busted one trying to fit in in the J2S case.

All that said though, they recently started offering a taller aluminum case and faceplates specifically for the J2S to offer more room for larger opamps. That's just the larger case for the Archel 3 pro with larger J2 faceplates to match, which to me says they are making design moves of the cases at least to fir the larger opamps and allow us to experiment wieh the larger opamps. They can't change the boards to make the massive SS2590 opamps fit but the extra room makes it extrememly easy to fir hige opamps with those extension leads.

About a month before they started offering those larger J2 cases I emailed them asking if I could purchase only the larger case that is avalible for the Archel 3 pro so I could have more room for the SS2590 opamps. I told them I'd be fine with the unmatched face plates, using the J2 faceplates of the smaller case on the larger Archel 3 pro case. I told them I was having problems fitting the SS2590 opamps on the board with those extensions and they told me they could totally do that and they were working on making larger cases and faceplates specific for the J2 to fit the larger opamps like the SS2590 and the taller Burson opamps. So the circutry can totally take the opamps, they're not opposed to it, it's just the layout of the board being so wonderfully compact and small, we need to use the extensions or something like that to get them to fit and they're making cases with more space specifically for that. I love them so much for that. Companies actually listening to us and following along on our wacky "what if this works" adventures and adjusting their products to fit those adventures is amazing. I have a lot of great products but that is why I will always always always be buying from Geshelli.

 

[activestatic]

As of my purchase date in mid February 2024 they now make the plate to match the larger case.

 

[matthia]

As of my purchase date in mid February 2024 they now make the plate to match the larger case.

This is the first time I see a Geshelli alu case and I like it much more than the wooden case

 

[JerseyD]

Received the replacement for the bottom board of the SS2590 (I broke the original one trying to install it). Followed Andrew’s advice and sanded down both boards as far as I could without hitting metal, and it just barely fit! Used one riser to get it to the right height. The boards are touching the inside of the analogue jacks, but the unit is working! I will not comment on the sound until the op-amp burns in a bit. So far so good.

A big thank you to Andrew for the amazing customer service. Charged me half price for the half of the op-amp, honored my original discount code and told me how to make it fit.