[MRC001]

Jan Meier was so friendly and lent me his private collection of Corda Soul and a Daccord / Jazz combination so that I could test the two devices over the holidays. If requested, I will be happy to report how I experienced Daccord / Jazz and the Corda Soul.

Please do! Jan loaned me the Soul and I compared it with my Oppo HA-1. I'm curious to know what differences you hear (if any) and how they compare.

 

[Diego Dee]

I want to try to describe what made me buy the Meier Corda Soul.
Ultimately, it is a sum of events that took place on my way in the 2020/2021 time window.

I want to provide support for everyone who is looking or who will be and who have had enough of reading
but still can't decide.
If my report is the famous "tip on the scales" that helps some enthusiasts to buy a device for life and when he is also happy and satisfied with it then I would be happy.
For me there will be no more measured values. All are generally known and have been discussed sufficiently.
Soul is not cheap and I struggled very hard to get it, period.
In the end, it was worth the investment to me.

The ordeal started when I was temporarily standing there without a DAC.
Coincidentally, almost at the same time (ultimately thanks to the report by Fidelio and ML Sensai: thanks to Mark) I got an almost brand new Ether2 + all replacement pads.

The Ether2 just didn't want to please the RME ADI-2pro at that time.
Quiet it was OK, but a little louder the sound was unbearable for me.
Isn't the Ether2 good?
Is it the RME amp section?
In order to be able to make at least a little bit of a statement, I got a V280 to test from Fried Reim.
Connected to the RME, the V280 now delivered a nice analogue sound on the E2 and now I've been able to experience it myself how nice the E2 can play.

At that time the new Violectric HPA V390 and V580 were announced.
So I sent the V280 and the pro back, didn't have a DAC / KHV and I had to wait.

Actually, I was 90% through to buying a V390.
Wolfgang had given me an explicit recommendation for a Questyle Master Twelve in his opinion
should harmonize very well with the E2.
I rejected that because the sound of the V280 had already convinced me at the time and in this case the proximity to the company was also important to me (Made by Lake People, 2.5 hours by car from me).

Then the fire occurred at AKM and the availability of the V390 was until further notice.
I do not doubt the outstanding sound quality of Violectric products, but I have now noticed that it bothers me
if a device for sound generation / amplification has nothing on board apart from a loud / quiet and a balance control.
The V390 doesn't even have a balance control! The same with the Questyle, by the way.
I don't spend that much money on that (sorry Fried Reim, sorry Questyle).

But (again) to the RME? ..... Never!

So I rediscovered the existence of Meier Corda Soul, so to speak.
But the price!
I didn't really want to spend that much.
Thanks at this point to Hans (Robodoc) and senifan who endured me with a lot of patience and did their best to answer my questions
to answer regarding Corda Soul (Robodoc) and Daccord / Jazz (senifan): wink:

Now I wanted to know exactly and contacted Jan Meier.
Also many thanks to your patience dear Jan.
I was amazed again and again how such a luminary, my sometimes amateurish questions and concerns without any twinkling
and arrogance answered.

Jan Meier made his private Corda Soul and a Daccord / Jazz combination available to me over Christmas / New Year for extensive testing.

To get started, I made myself familiar with the Daccord / Jazz Kombi after installing the 30-day test version of Audirvana Plus.

Yeah, Daccord / Jazz, a really very nice combination with the E2.
That was right from the start, loud or quiet.
Nice analog feeling, actually I didn't miss anything.
A track had to be mastered really badly that I didn't enjoy the music with the D / J combo anymore.
There was always plenty of power for the E2, even loud.
I spent a lot of wonderful hours with the daccord / jazz, if that thing had annoyed me in any way, I would
to say relentlessly.
Actually, I don't need anything anymore?
Believe me or not, I really didn't touch the soul during that one week!

I was once on the verge of sending the soul back unheard.
The rationality has robbed me of sleep.
Boy, the Daccord / Jazz is enough, you stay under 1000 €, save the money for something else ...... and so on.
Purely from a reasonable point of view: screw on the 5% more sound for 3 to 4 times the money.
Do you really need that ???

To cut it short: yes, it's worth it! And: it's definitely a bigger difference than 5%.
Although no controller was activated, the music spontaneously felt like it used to be in a music room.
So it often happened that I thought the music was coming from speakers and not blowing into my ears with headphones (no, the crossfeed was switched off).
When switching to the Daccord / Jazz the sound space shrank, the music came from a 12 "(30cm) pipe from the front.
Decent, correct stereo.
The soul managed to get me to sit in the middle of the music.
Depending on the music title, it can even be that the sound comes from above, in the middle, from diagonally below or from the front, sensational!
Silky highs (never sharp) nevertheless everything is there, beautiful mids, clean bass, I don't find any flaws in terms of sound.
Perfect.
In my opinion, soul is a window to music.

The possibility that I have switches and knobs to regulate briefly if necessary (or simply on the whim) is vital for me.
The control options are very sensitive. I haven't yet been able to fully explore the possibilities.


At the end of the day, the soul does not convince through showmanship but through an interplay of many factors which opens up to the inclined listener gradually.
A masterful headphone amplifier.

I'm a SOUL MAN!

 

[Gene4797]

Hey to everyone, I’m thinking to get one Corda Soul , I have a question, does it have enough power for lcd 4 ? Thank you

 

[Diego Dee]

to the left of the volume control is a switch to set 3 different volume levels. The Soul should provide sufficient power for the LCD-4. Just ask Jan Meier directly about safety:

http:/www.meier-audio.com

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear Gene,

please don't worry, there's plenty of power!



Jan

 

[Gene4797]

Thank you guys, last question, what you think , trade Phonitor x on Corda Soul , does make any sense?

 

[MRC001]

The short answer is Yes, the LCD-4 is an easy to drive headphone and most amps including the Soul can drive it.

There are several models of LCD-4. The "standard" has an impedance of 200 ohms (flat across all frequencies, since they're orthos), and voltage sensitivity of 97 dB for 1 mW of power. That means 0.45 V drives them to 97 dB SPL, and they'll be drawing 2.2 mA of current. This makes the LCD-4 a bit more sensitive than the Sennheiser HD600.

The Soul's full volume max output for a full scale digital signal is 8 V, which is 25 dB louder than 0.45 V. With the LCD-4 that would be 97 + 25 = 122 dB SPL which is loud enough to be painfully un-listenable and cause hearing damage.

 

[Gene4797]

The short answer is Yes, the LCD-4 is an easy to drive headphone and most amps including the Soul can drive it.

There are several models of LCD-4. The "standard" has an impedance of 200 ohms (flat across all frequencies, since they're orthos), and voltage sensitivity of 97 dB for 1 mW of power. That means 0.45 V drives them to 97 dB SPL, and they'll be drawing 2.2 mA of current. This makes the LCD-4 a bit more sensitive than the Sennheiser HD600.

The Soul's full volume max output for a full scale digital signal is 8 V, which is 25 dB louder than 0.45 V. With the LCD-4 that would be 97 + 25 = 122 dB SPL which is loud enough to be painfully un-listenable and cause hearing damage.

Thank you for your post, I’m thinking to get Soul and put on sale Phonitor X, what do you think, is it will be right move?

 

[MRC001]

Thank you guys, last question, what you think , trade Phonitor x on Corda Soul , does make any sense?

[My first reply was too critical/harsh so I've revised it with more fair phrasing] One important differentiator is noise & distortion performance, especially when you turn down the volume from max, to levels we actually use for listening. This is where the Soul really shines, due to the unusual design of its volume control, having excellent low noise and perfect channel balance at all settings. From what I read, the Soul outperforms the Phonitor in this important area.

So on paper, the swap makes sense. Can you get a chance to listen beforehand?

 

[Gene4797]

From what I've read, the Phonitor does not measure well, having poor noise & distortion performance, especially when you turn down the volume from max, to levels we actually use for listening. This is where the Soul really shines, due to the unusual design of its volume control, having excellent low noise and perfect channel balance at all settings.
So on paper, the swap makes sense. Can you get a chance to listen beforehand?

Unfortunately not, I know I’m unhappy with Phonitor, that’s why I’m thinking to sale and now I can buy Soul in good condition for 2200, I think it’s good price, otherwise, I think , to resale Soul will be not easy, but why I should think about if I will really like it?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Unfortunately not, I know I’m unhappy with Phonitor, that’s why I’m thinking to sale and now I can buy Soul in good condition for 2200, I think it’s good price, otherwise, I think , to resale Soul will be not easy, but why I should think about if I will really like it?

At 2200 this is an amazing deal.
The Soul also comes with built in DAC and EQ.

If you're unhappy with the phonitor the switch certainly makes sense

 

[Gene4797]

At 2200 this is an amazing deal.
The Soul also comes with built in DAC and EQ.

If you're unhappy with the phonitor the switch certainly makes sense

After I rode your post I paid for Soul)), thank you for your advice, my Phonitor X with Dac to, but I’m using Mytek Brooklyn Bridge as Dac , even with Mytek I don’t like how Phonitor sound, maybe it’s just my taste

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear Gene,

of course the best choice depends on your personal taste.

The SOUL has a very natural and fluent sound. It offers a high level of micro-detail and a very precise soundstage. It lacks the "harshness" that normally comes with transistor-amplifiers.

However, the SOUL does not have a WOW-effect. It sounds effortless and with great naturalness and inner logic, which makes it a very fine choice for acustic music (jazz, classic, ......). However, for rock, pop, electronic music people may prefer an amp that is a little bit more "sounded". Of course sound can be tailored by the tone controls but some of the characteristics of the SOUL will always shine through.

Also please be noted that it's possible to direct the output of the DSP section to your Mytek and connect the analog outputs of the Mytek to the SOUL. Thus you bypass the internal DAC-section of the SOUL but still have all the digital options (tone control, crossfeed, notchfilter, ...) at your disposal.

If you send me an e-mail at meier-audio@t-online.de then I will send you a copy of the user-manual.

Cheers

Jan

 

[ThanatosVI]

Also please be noted that it's possible to direct the output of the DSP section to your Mytek and connect the analog outputs of the Mytek to the SOUL. Thus you bypass the internal DAC-section of the SOUL but still have all the digital options (tone control, crossfeed, notchfilter, ...) at your disposal.

That's a pretty amazing feature

 

[Gene4797]

Dear Gene,

of course the best choice depends on your personal taste.

The SOUL has a very natural and fluent sound. It offers a high level of micro-detail and a very precise soundstage. It lacks the "harshness" that normally comes with transistor-amplifiers.

However, the SOUL does not have a WOW-effect. It sounds effortless and with great naturalness and inner logic, which makes it a very fine choice for acustic music (jazz, classic, ......). However, for rock, pop, electronic music people may prefer an amp that is a little bit more "sounded". Of course sound can be tailored by the tone controls but some of the characteristics of the SOUL will always shine through.

Also please be noted that it's possible to direct the output of the DSP section to your Mytek and connect the analog outputs of the Mytek to the SOUL. Thus you bypass the internal DAC-section of the SOUL but still have all the digital options (tone control, crossfeed, notchfilter, ...) at your disposal.

If you send me an e-mail at meier-audio@t-online.de then I will send you a copy of the user-manual.

Cheers

Jan

Thank you for advices, I’m also prefer listing to jazz and classical music and prefer natural sound