Wow can't believe it's end of March already. I've been trying to purchase the Bakoon since early Feb and just got it 2 days ago, it took forever but it finally arrived, as well as my Sonnet Morpheus DAC.
I was pretty set on getting the Bakoon due to the raving reviews and posts I've read praising it but man the DAC purchasing decision was tough. 1 week I was set on getting the DAVE, next the Holo May, then Wavedream... In the end, my purchasing choice actually came down to form factor. I've mentioned it before but I just can't get over how massive some of the Dacs are, like 20-40lbs and almost 1.5' long, just too much and I really want to keep things small. I also couldn't demo any of the DACs mentioned in this thread since in Canada none of the dealers I spoke with had them and they all had to special order it.
So with these 2 new toys, I've come up with an order of how I want to test them so I can tell exactly what is improving what:
WM1Z -> Bakoon (compare Bakoon vs Manley)
Morph -> Manley (compare Morpheus vs 1Z as source)
WM1Z -> Manley -> Bakoon (impact Manley has as a pre-amp)
Morph -> Bakoon
Morph -> Manley -> Bakoon (theoretically, this should give the best sonic quality? but who knows...)
So far I've been mainly listening to the 1Z->Bakoon. First impressions vs the Manley Absolute Tube amp is, well, the Bakoon sounds more like a tube amp than the Manley does... The first few minutes I heard the Bakoon out of the box was man, it sounded THICC, like it's got such a rich, tonally dense, and full bodied sound, but at the same time, much, much better extensions in the highs, bass about the same with the Manley in push-pull mode. Bakoon's soundstage is bigger, more holographic, and overall more detailed all around. In a way, the Manley tube amp sounds more referenced and neutral while the Bakoon's sound signature is warmer and even more euphonic, which is right up my alley.
Final note on how gorgeous the Bakoon is in design, it came beautifully packaged and it really makes me wish more audiophile gear were designed with a similarly small footprint.