Quote:
Originally Posted by nblis
So Audio, how do you like the DAC? I assume you put the maxed out dac? Can you compare it to any other dac? Also, do you use crossfeed? I'm just curious about your amp. Did you think about waiting and purchasing a home or max amp?
Noel
|
I played all day. I had the Grace m902, micro stack, and the Desktop Maxed here, and I brought in my Benchmark DAC-1 to compare. I also had the internal DAC from my Arcam CD72 working through some Transparent brand optical cable. When I A/Bed the unbalanced in (Dimarzio M-Path interconns) and USB input on the Grace, I could tell very little difference, with a little favor to the Grace's internal DAC (really, something like 2% difference). Not bad. When I did the same test just now the Headroom, the DAC in that was slightly less punchy, and less rhythmic, but more dynamic and lively in the vocals... overall, it was too close to call. And I haven't paranoid-ized my CD collection yet, so we're still dealing with some AAC files. Not bad at all. The DAC-1 was significantly more forward than the other options, which gave the immediate impression of more detail. I'm inclined to think that it does indeed have more detail, but the tonal balance is different, and something that I personally really like, but not through headphones. I use my DAC-1 on recording monitors (Dynaudio Acoustics BM6A, to be precise). It's also a bit more powerful, and that shows through. Tonally, however, it's a bit harsher. I really like this softer Headroom sound on my head.
The Micro Stack surprised me with its capability, and at the moment I'm deciding which to keep - the Desktop Max or the Micro Stack. (The vocals on
Let it Be coming through much clearer in the Max, and rather muddy in the Micro at the moment). The Grace is a great amp, but it does a lot of what I want my next set up to do, which is to get every last detail. My next set up should do this much better than the Grace, so I figure I wouldn't sacrifice tonal quality now for detail that I'll have within a year or so. The Headroom products have softer, more even sound to them. So the Grace is going back.
Either of these systems will be a "one-box" solution to tide me over while I'm shopping for a higher-end system - none of the systems I tested today blew me away. One of the amps I will be considering at that time is the Headroom Max Balanced, but it will probably be fed from a Levinson 30.6, Wavelength Ultimate, dCS, etc., level of DAC. If it had been available, I probably would've gone for the Max, since it would be the best one-box solution, but my school starts in a about a week, so no dice.
And yes, I use crossfeed. The sound is really significantly less fatiguing with it on.
So yes, long, rambling post, and I will post again when I've composed a more proper review of the stuff I compared, but properly, in its own thread.
(Headphones used: 600 (burnt-in) with primarily Zu, but also with Cardas, 650 with the same (not burnt in, and therefore too hard on the Headroom stuff to use for long), RS-1, PS-1).
EDIT: The Cardas cables have been burning in all day, and I just reconnected them, and now, with the bass de-emphasized, the Micro Stack has a wonderful, even sound.
