[moodyrn]

That's why I chose to get the oem version. Too many uncertainties about the mav.

 

[bearmann]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moodyrn /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's why I chose to get the oem version. Too many uncertainties about the mav.

Don't really know what you mean by "uncertainties"...
I bought one of Ryan's new DACs mainly because Ryan answered all my (pre-order!) questions quick and proficient. Don't know why anybody would be anxious about sending a device back to Ryan for repair.

IMHO Ryan's new DAC is even more a no brainer: You get the 5670 tube, swappable opamps, sleek design for the same price as or even cheaper than the Xiang Shen...

Well I'll wait till my unit arrives for further and profound opinions.

best regards.
bearmann

 

[moodyrn]

Well probably because I was originally looking at the mav because of the black finish. But I sent him six emails asking him questions about the unit. He failed to
respond to any of my emails. Also
someone else posted about the case not being lined up correctly. I'm sure other were satisfied, but for me this was enough to chose to go in another direction. And also, I only paid 187 shipped for the oem version, and I was able to order it with the preamp bypassed to use the outputs strickly as a dac lineout. And I can change it back just by changing some jumpers which the mav won't do. There's some soldering involed to
bypass the preamp with the mav. And lastly, I'm covered by the oem warranty which I confirmed with the oem. So it ended up being a nobrainer for me.

Please forgive the incorrect grammer. I'm away on vacation enjoying my xs, and Ive had about 4 glasses
of cognac. Another reasson y I like this unit. It's small size allows me to take it on trips. LoL.

 

[bundee1]

Is it possible to use HDAMs in the maverick?

 

[boomy3555]

I asked that question as well.Here was the answer:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/6143445-post110.html

I've hade mine open and I saw plenty of room for a HDAM.

 

[elwappo99]

Strange, but my tube out is working fine now. Pretty unexplainable. I found resetting the line out helps when there's a problem that comes up.

Has anyone been able to actually open it up?

He says they come with a 5670, but can anyone confirm that? And anyone for sure know which opamp was in it?

 

[boomy3555]

I had it open and I can confirm the 5670 tube not not the OPamp.

 

[elwappo99]

boomy, I'd be interested to hear your impression of the maverick, when you get a chance. You've heard enough different sources to give a good impression of it. Any thoughts that stood out?

 

[boomy3555]

I have not had many Solid State amps to compare it to. but I can definitely hold it's own against the EF2's and Little Dots. I'm just burning in the Zero and considering the
differences the Mav can hold up to it as well. About 60% as powerful as the Zero, the Mav also has many more features. like multiple inputs which makes it better if you have multiple sources. The DAC and AMP on the SS side of the Mav were again quite good. about 80% of the Zero. The tube preamp is like an extra thing that is there but not really part of the whole Mav it'self. I don't really need to preamp from one tube to another (EF2) so the tube section is wasted on me. I have the Earth HDAM in the Zero and even though it's just buurning in, Im very impressed. I'm trying to justify buy this instead of saving for the Compass. I can tell you though. The compass I heard at a recent meet with the "Sun" HDAM ran giant mega circles around the Zero.

So if I were to place them in order of preferrence:

Compass 399.00
Zero 190.00 with the earth upgrade
Maverick 200.00

 

[moodyrn]

My impressions are quite different. While I agree the compass runs circles around the zero, but so does the my xs version. The xs amp is just as powerful as the compass and way more powerful than the zero. The zero couldn't do any justice to my 600 ohm sextetts and not much for my senns either. I don't have to go past 10:30 on the volume knob with my sextetts. The amp on the compass is a little more refined than the xs, but not as detailed. I actually like the dac on the xs better than the compass. For me
this is where the compass is lacking. I'm now beginning to
really wonder about the mav since you say the amp on the zero is more powerful.

 

[boomy3555]

I still say the amp on the Zero is about 60-80% more powerful than the Maverick. Now that being said, I used the maverick more for the switching and spent most of my time using it as the pre-amp into the EF1. I just didn't like the regular output from the DAC. Also keep in mind that all of my headphones are easy to drive and I have not heard any high inpedence cans on either the Maverick or Zero. I did hear some HD650's on the Compass at the meet where I felt the compass rocked.

 

[elwappo99]

with my hd650s on my mav, I listen comfortably at 9-10, and anything past 12 is way too much.

 

[moodyrn]

I wonder if anything wrong with his. The amp in the zero isn't that powerful, and t say that the zero is 60-70% more powerful than the mav makes me wonder if something is going on. Other users of the mav reported of it being very powerful. I've owned both the compass and the xs, and I must say that the amp in the xs is at least as powerful as the amp in the compass.

 

[elwappo99]

Maybe he got a super-powered zero?

 

[boomy3555]

I have 50 ohm Fostex T50 RP on my head right now (these are my highest Imp.)and the Zero volume is around 3 on a scale of 0-10. I don't have any 300 or 600 ohm cans to audition. I still standy by my impression that the Maverick is not as powerful as the Zero. Think what you will. I'm not bashing the Mav. Just giving ellwappo my inpressions as asked.