Mimby is history? Happy to say i have one as an alternate in my main system, though i could swap it into a different HP-only system easily enough. My main 2-channel system has a locally made VTV amp (Hypex NC250) which only has balanced inputs. Originally i used a Schiit Saga with RCA-to-XLR cables. Thinking that was a SQ bottleneck of some sort i eventually added an SMSL HO200, primarily as the preamp, as it has balanced inputs/outputs. Doubles as an HP amp. i gave my Saga to my son, who has most of my old stereo equipment. Bought a Mimby in January of this year. I was on the fence, figuring it was a five-year-old design, and perhaps they'd be updating it soon (i'd also given my son my Modi 3). Glad i got it, the sound is similar to the Burr-Brown DACs i like. If it's not feasible for Schiit to make it again then i'm more than glad it's here.
But having that audio-fool itch, i got an SMSL D300, in part for a fully balanced signal chain, also in part for remote volume control (the HO200 was six feet away from my listening chair for manual volume adjustment!) and for having a different chip, the Rohm BD-whatever. Having both DACs in parallel i could do a non-blind A-B and to my ears the sound was all but identical, such that the convenience of the remote volume became the deciding factor in mostly using the D300 chain. That said the HO200 also has SE inputs, and i used those for other gear, ultimately asking for my Saga back and piggy-backing that onto the other preamp, so as to have use of the Saga's set of inputs. Nothing blew up, lol. The system as it is now includes three CD source options (one has the old Pacific Microsonics HDCD processor, and i found, back in the day, that i really enjoyed the sound of those), i can listen old-school through their internal DACs, or two through the Mimby, one through the Rohm, so five options to convert the signal of any one CD to analog (my son has all my old vinyl). Kind of Rube Goldberg, a lot of fun, but i can get lost in the weeds. i spent a lot of time listening to the Elvis Costello - Burt Bacharach "Painted from Memory," an HDCD, three different ways, one after the other, good thing i took notes i can refer to because i can't remember which sounded best! (the main difference was how the vocals presented in the mix). The music is what matters most, and the mind meets it halfway, which is why you can love music through a little transistor radio. It's about set and setting, though the "set" isn't just mindset but what you got, glad i got that Mimby, even if it's mostly a second-string player.
