[wuwhere]

Will there be a DAC only Soul?

 

[Richter Di]

Jan Meier tends to be very conservative in his designs, evidently working on the basis of 'if it works, don't fix it'. So I have to assume that the insides of this Soul box must contain essentially a DACCORD/classic combo with some modifications. You report however a significant improvement over the latter. Could this be mainly the result of the Soul's balanced output?

The Jan Meier I know is a stong inventor:

Crossfeed (his design is often copied from companies), active balanced ground driving, ff-technology ... and these are only the ones I know of.
So, I had a balanced amp for my Sennheiser HD800, the CEC HD-53N, where I could change between balanced and unbalanced, and I have heard others like the Bryston BHA-1 in both modes. In no way is the Soul “only” a Daccord/classic combo in it’s current state.
And believe me I own the Daccord ff and Classic ff and I heard an inbetween prototype for a week where Jan Meier did connect the DAC-chip output directly with the Classic. This Soul is on another level.
BTW, I am listening to it since a few days again.

 

[buchignani]

The Jan Meier I know is a strong inventor:

Crossfeed (his design is often copied from companies), active balanced ground driving, ff-technology ... and these are only the ones I know of.

I don't disagree, but I didn't quite mean what I think you imply. For example, I still have here Jan's very first full sized amp (heavily modified now) and it featured crossfeed technology. The active balanced ground and use of the same DAC chips as proposed here go back some ways in time. To me, conservative design evolution is a good thing!

From what I decipher, then, there must then be quite significant changes in the post-DAC chip audio section between the Classic and the Soul. It would be interesting if Jan M. might someday expound on these analogue audio section changes. It would be particularly interesting to folk like me who currently have the DACCORD/Classic combo.

 

[Richter Di]

I don't disagree, but I didn't quite mean what I think you imply. For example, I still have here Jan's very first full sized amp (heavily modified now) and it featured crossfeed technology. The active balanced ground and use of the same DAC chips as proposed here go back some ways in time. To me, conservative design evolution is a good thing!

From what I decipher, then, there must then be quite significant changes in the post-DAC chip audio section between the Classic and the Soul. It would be interesting if Jan M. might someday expound on these analogue audio section changes. It would be particularly interesting to folk like me who currently have the DACCORD/Classic combo.

Hi, I do not imply. I only reacted to:

Jan Meier tends to be very conservative in his designs, evidently working on the basis of 'if it works, don't fix it'.

I think someone inventing active balanced ground and “ff” shouldn’t be called “conservative in his designs”.
For me he is the opposite and a true innovator when it comes to designs.
As an example of someting different in the Soul is that he used the ff-technologoy in the DSP area.

 

[FritzS]

Could anyone say whats the difference between an Meier amp without/with 'ff' or without/with 'active balanced ground' in hearing?
Hearable or not?
I take this questions about 'Jazz' or 'Classic'.

 

[Richter Di]

Could anyone say whats the difference between an Meier amp without/with 'ff' or without/with 'active balanced ground' in hearing?
Hearable or not?
I take this questions about 'Jazz' or 'Classic'.

I answered this in the German Hifi-Forum too:
About the ff
At the time Jan Meier developed the ff he had just built the prototype for the Daccord and Classic ff, it was possible to hear double-blind ff versus "without ff" via switch. ff was clearly audible, so that I could say afterwards without any doubt which switch position was different.

Jan hadn't told me anything about what kind of change he had done and I wasn‘t sure if it wasn‘t a trick to show me how easily someone is fooled just by a switch doing nothing. So I didn't know if it was just a test of my hearing and there was perhaps no difference at all between the two switch positions.

The ff-increased quite astonishingly the transperency, like Soul now does even on another level. This transparency leads to a new understanding of my favorite tracks like the beginning of the Youngblood Brass Band CD „Center Level Roar“ where a voice now comes out of a clear spot and the beginning of David Munyon‘s „Four wild horses“ the light fog above the digeridoo is lifted.

Regarding active ground just one note, the cable to the headphones plays a much smaller role. I've tried it before. You therefore need to invest less in cables.

 

[FritzS]

Now I got an test sample from Jan Meier of his Classic -ff and hear music with my K812.
Some says K812 was sharpen, at some of my CDs I could hear this with my HA WNA MKII, but with Corda -ff this passage sounds silken not sharpen.

The first test reports current only in german language. Later I want to translate some of them - to this threads:
http://www.open-end-music.de/vb3/showthread.php?t=13504
http://www.hifi-forum.de/index.php?action=browseT&forum_id=110&thread=17816

If anyone have an Classic -ff and an K812 too, please compare this.
I need them to comprehend if I am right!

Jan could not spend me a test sample of Soul - he have only few samples (maybe later).

 

[Richter Di]

Jan could not spend me a test sample of Soul - he have only few samples (maybe later).

He has only two prototypes!

 

[laurentplop]

I'd be interested in a DAC only, or even better a DSP only Soul. Still a very interesting project overall - saying this as an happy owner of multiple Corda DACs.

Actually, if the Soul comes as a combo but you can only use the DAC, or the DSP, or the AMP, separately if you want to, I'd be even more interested.

 

[Richter Di]

Hi,

Jan Meier has an email list to which send updates regarding the Soul project. The last ones were interesting as you can see the final front plate design and also the prices.
The emails are in German and I tried to translate it as good as I could and have put below the original German version too.

SOUL Circular August 1, 2018

Hello music lovers,

last week holidays started in Bavaria. Outside it is sunny and the temperatures reach 35 degrees. I don't have an air conditioning and......... sitt behind my desk. I must have done something wrong with my life.......

Today came a message from Fried Reim (Lake People). He's done with his calculations, so I can finally give you prices for the SOUL.

As you know, we work with a registration list. The price depends on the number of orders. The list is now "open" and will be closed at the end of September.

For 40 or more orders the net price is € 2600,-.

For 80 or more orders this price is reduced to € 2300,-.

For 150 or more orders the price goes down to € 2100,-.

Please note the following:

- Customers with a shipping address within the EU pay an additional 19% VAT.

- Customers from outside the EU can be charged import costs by their customs. Please contact me if you need information on how to minimize these costs.

- Prices include shipping by DHL.

- You can register for the SOUL by sending me an email with your name, address, and phone number (for the package).

- After confirmation of the registration a deposit of € 250,- is required. In case of cancellation of the order there will be no refund and the deposit is not transferable to another buyer. These measures are designed to prevent people from placing dubious orders just to reduce the price.

- Should the SOUL, again, expectations, not be produced, people will get their deposit back.

- The payment of the rest of the amount is expected one week before the amplifier is shipped. You will be informed in time.

- Production will start in October. Lake People is estimated to take about 12 weeks to complete the first production series. Amplifiers are sent in the order of the payment receipt. The faster you pay, the faster the amplifier is at home.

- It will be possible to order the SOUL at the end of the registration period. However, prices will then be significantly (!!!!!!!) higher.

It is clear to me that the price for a SOUL is not so easy to pay from the coffee box. Nevertheless, I think that the SOUL is still a "bargain" made-in-Germany, considering the technical qualities, its great sound, and the enormous development work, so don't hesitate to register if you are seriously interested. The faster people register, the more attractive the project becomes for others, and the lower the price.

Tomorrow I hope to update the information on my website.

All the best,

Jan

German original

SOUL-Rundschreiben 1. August 2018

Hallo Musikfreunde,

letzter Woche haben in Bayern die Ferien angefangen. Draußen ist es sonnig und die Temperaturen erreichen 35 Grad. Ich habe keine Klimaanlage und ........ sitze hinter meinem Schreibtisch. Etwas habe ich wohl falsch gemacht mit meinem Leben .......

Heute kam eine Nachricht von Fried Reim (Lake People). Er ist fertig mit seinen Berechnungen und deshalb kann ich euch endlich Preise für den SOUL geben.

Wie euch wohl bekannt ist, wird mit einer Anmeldungsliste gearbeitet. Der Preis hängt von der Zahl der Bestellungen ab. Die Liste ist jetzt "geöffnet" und wird Ende September geschlossen.


Bei 40 oder mehr Bestellungen beträgt der Netto Preis € 2600,-

Bei 80 oder mehr Bestellungen reduziert sich dieser Preis auf € 2300,-

Bei 150 oder mehr Bestellungen geht der Preis herunter auf € 2100,-

Bitte folgendes beachten:

- Kunden mit einer Versandadresse innerhalb der EU zahlen zusätzlich 19% MwSt.

- Kunden von außerhalb der EU können von deren Zoll mit Einfuhrkosten belastet werden. Nimmt bitte Kontakt zu mir auf, wenn ihr Info braucht wie man diese Kosten minimieren kann.

- Preise sind inklusiv Versand durch die DHL.

- Ihr könnt euch für den SOUL anmelden indem ihr mir eine E-Mail mit euren Name, Adresse, und Telefonnummer (für auf das Paket) schickt.

- Nach Bestätigung der Anmeldung wird eine Anzahlung von € 250,- verlangt. Bei Stornierung des Auftrags wird es keine Rückerstattung geben und die Anzahlung ist nicht auf einem anderen Käufer übertragbar. Diese Maßnahmen sollen verhindern, daß Leute unseriöse Bestellungen platzieren nur um den Preis herunterzutreiben.

- Sollte der SOUL, wieder Erwartungen, nicht produziert werden, bekommen die Leute Ihre Anzahlung zurückerstattet.

- Die Restzahlung wird einer Woche vor dem Versand des Verstärkers erwartet. Ihr wird rechtzeitig informiert.

- Produktion wird in Oktober gestartet. Lake People braucht schätzungsweise etwa 12 Wochen zur Fertigstellung der ersten Produktionsserie. Verstärker werden verschickt in Reihenfolge vom Restzahlungseingang. Je schneller ihr zahlt, je schneller der Verstärker bei euch zu hause steht.

- Es wird möchlich sein, den SOUL nach Ablauf der Anmeldungsperiode zu bestellen. Preise werden dann jedoch deutlich (!!!!!!) höher liegen.


Es ist mir wohl klar, daß der Preis für einen SOUL nicht so leicht aus der Kaffeekasse zu begleichen ist. Dennoch bin ich der Meinung, daß der SOUL, in anbetracht der technischen Kwalitäten, desr tollen Klanges, und der enormen Entwicklungsarbeit, noch immer ein "Schnäpchen" made-in-Germany darstellt.Deshalb solltet ihr nicht zögern euch anzumelden, wenn ernsthaftes Interesse besteht. Je schneller Leute sich anmelden, je attraktiver das Projekt auch für anderen wird, und je niedriger damit der Preis.

Morgen hoffe ich die Info auf meiner Webseite zu aktualisieren.

Alles Gute,

Jan

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear friends,

as other people have mentioned the SOUL project now is close before production. Obviously, being a member-of-the-trade, I can't give you to many details but should you have questions, don't hesitate to send me a mail or take a look at my website.

Cheers

Jan

 

[Tomfol]

Dear friends,

as other people have mentioned the SOUL project now is close before production. Obviously, being a member-of-the-trade, I can't give you to many details but should you have questions, don't hesitate to send me a mail or take a look at my website.

Cheers

Jan

Actually the SOUL prototypes can be tested by everybody at home for one week and I had the chance to do this two weeks ago.
After this week I'm very enthusiastic, I tested with an HD 800S an compared to a Beyerdynamic A2 and also tested with my Sequel II, ML No.27 and ML No.28.
The SOUL clearly outperformed my No.28 (!) when connected as a preamp which was a big surprise for me.
All the DSP functions work fine and for me quite decently, they can be used separately because the SOUL has a digital output. In this way it is possible to use the DSP and to use a separate DAC and to go back into the analog inputs of the SOUL.
A lot of possibilities!
I enjoyed the possibility of a longer individual testing very much, perhaps some of you are interested in doing the same. It's free, just write an email to Jan.

 

[Richter Di]

The Prototype of @Jan Meier ‘s SOUL has been elected by the visitors of the recent Audiovista headphone show in Germany as the best headphone amplifier.

http://www.audiovista.de/best-of-show-award/

 

[Richter Di]

Today Jan Meier send his 16th Soul letter because thr front plates have arrived. So here are some sneak peaks. What a beauty!


Also read the German manual. Great work from two volunteers: Andreas and Martin
Perfect description of my favorite ff-technology. I now own three of Jan Meier‘s DAC ans 2 have the ff-technology. This makes such a big difference in clarity and detail.

 

[jokostyle]

Hi, @Richter Di, where can we read this letter ? Thanks in advance.