If these are pretty much the DAC inside Liquid GoldX, I say totally worth it. I thought the DAC implementation on GoldX was fairly good, just didn't think the amp worth the price.
The build is excellent. Liquid Spark DAC looks great stacked with the Liquid Spark amp the leds are not overly bright. The rolled off treble of the Liquid Spark DAC kills the soundstage and imaging. My ears don't think this DAC is worth it. The Schiit Modi 3 DAC sounds so much better to me.
I just wanted to update my post with something I discovered today. The many times that I have compared the Liquid Spark DAC to other DACs I have always used optical SPDIF. Today I began comparing USB inputs. What I discovered was that the optical SPDIF input on the Liquid Spark DAC is the problem. It is not at all useable if you want quality sound. Today when I used the USB input for the first time, the DAC suddenly came to life and had much more sparkle in the highs and soundstage has suddenly appeared, converse to the optical SPDIF which kills all of the highs and produces the sound of a $20 DAC. I still mostly prefer the sound of Schiit's $100 DAC at the moment over this $100 Liquid Spark DAC but the gap has narrowed some today when comparing USB.
Also, the Schiit sounds very good on BOTH optical SPDIF and USB input.
By the way, up until today when I found this USB sound, I really thought all the people liking the Liquid Spark DAC were deaf. I was thinking to myself that there sure are a lot of clueless headphone listeners that can't hear worth a darn. I still haven't made a final judgement on these DACs as I have so much listening to do. However, even though the Schiit Modi 3 and 3 + have more detailed highs that I absolutely love, I am REALLY enjoying this smooth wide soundstage over USB on the Liquid Spark DAC. The word that comes to mind is, "SMOOTH." This might become my main DAC for my main (iMac) computer.
I've gotten through more listening sessions comparing the Monolith Liquid Spark DAC with the Schiit Modi 3+ DAC using USB. With USB, the general difference is that Modi 3+ presents more detail and the Liquid Spark presents more rounded, extended soundstage greater than the Modi 3+. So, some songs sound better with the one or the other.
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One example to explain this can be with the song I am the Highway by Audioslave which sounded better with both of them. The rasp of Chris Cornell's voice is magical and textured in this song. This texture is heightened with the Schiit Modi 3+ DAC and the sense vocal intimacy through Chris Cornell's voice is heightened along with it. When I want to feel through Chris Cornell's voice, the Schiit Modi 3+ will do it. However, when switching to the Monolith Liquid Spark (using USB, not optical SPDIF) on this same song, the focus moves away from voice to the heavily reverberating guitar that seemingly rings from all around. This guitar immersion sensation produces a sensation of transporting my mind out of reality into a spacious guitar dimension. When I want to check out and escape, the Liquid Spark (using USB, not optical SPDIF) will do it. So, it boils down to what the listener is seeking to achieve, or what mood they are in.
I was setting up my Spark stack just now, and I accidentally plugged the amp power supply into the DAC. The amp's power supply is 36V where the DAC's supply is only 12V. The plugs are identical, so it was an easy mistake to make. But the DAC won't turn on anymore. I'm boned, aren't I? Or is there a chance I can save this?
I was setting up my Spark stack just now, and I accidentally plugged the amp power supply into the DAC. The amp's power supply is 36V where the DAC's supply is only 12V. The plugs are identical, so it was an easy mistake to make. But the DAC won't turn on anymore. I'm boned, aren't I? Or is there a chance I can save this?
I was setting up my Spark stack just now, and I accidentally plugged the amp power supply into the DAC. The amp's power supply is 36V where the DAC's supply is only 12V. The plugs are identical, so it was an easy mistake to make. But the DAC won't turn on anymore. I'm boned, aren't I? Or is there a chance I can save this?
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