Greeni
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2008
- Posts
- 643
- Likes
- 24
The V-Dac arrived. After some break-in, I put it up against the Valab NOS Dac, also Taiwan made. The V-Dac goes for $299 + shipping in the US market, while the Valab has recently raised its price tag to $230 shipped worldwide. The design of the V-dac precludes the use of an after-the-market power cord, while the Valab could benefit from the use of one. I found the Valab to be not overly sensitive to premium power cords however. For this comparison I use $50 power cord to put them on equal ground.
MF explained its secret with the V-series as follows: “Most high-end components offer incredibly bad value. Why do we say this? Because, as crazy as it sounds, about four to five percent of the cost of good value high-end electronics is in the actual electronics that do the work. The other 95% of the cost is in the metalwork and other items that don’t contribute to sound production or sound quality. Basically, high-end is a lot of show and not much go for a huge cost…..The V-Series is the result of our iconoclasm. We have eliminated pointless metalwork, bling and packaging, and concentrated on performance. Typically, the V-Series has 60% to 70% of its cost in electronics….” Along these design philosophy the V-dac comes in a plain black box finish and there is not even an on/off switch. Personally I found the silvery bushed metal casework of the $ 230 Valab to have more appeal, but in no way compromise with sound quality either. My only concern with Valab is that there appears some inconsistency in the use of components with different batches of production, meaning you can't be sure if you get one it will sound the same with mine.
Initial impression of the V-Dac is a detailed and balanced signature. In comparison with the Valab, I noticed that the V-Dac is the more detailed of the two with a slightly blacker background. Instrumental images are also tighter with the V-Dac. The V-Dac also scales better and is more apt at unraveling complicated musical passages, seemingly the better choice for orchestral crescendos. The V-Dac is also the briefer, more upbeat sounding of the two, and serves certain genres like rock and electronic better. The detailed, tighter presentation and briefer pacing of the V-dac has immediate appeals.
Kevin of Valab apparently has high opinion of Non-oversampling designs in retaining the tonal colors and atmosphere of the recording. I did find this to be the case in comparison with the V-Dac. The overall presentation of the Valab is more relaxed with more air around instruments. While the V-Dac is the winner at the amount of details, and everything snap into tighter focus, the Valab has slightly less apparant details but excel at the manner in which musical hues and information are presented with ease. Vocals have the nuances and more presence, human touch, and it is easier to feel the air bushing against the reed of the saxophones. The instrumental images presented by Valab are less tightly focused, but are more full bodied, dimensional and has slightly more harmonic overtones.
While I found the PRaT of my MF Trivista SACD to be accentuated and reticent across different frequency spectrum, I can detect no serious issue with the V-Dac. The V-Dac is also the briefer, more upbeat sounding of the two, but otherwise the Valab more appropriately conveys the subtle ebb and flow of musical passages. In these respects, the Valab is closer to single ended amplification. If a musical note can be grossly seen as comprising the initial attack; the main movement; and the subsequent decay, the Valab is more capable as presenting these elements in a continuum and in the correct proportion. I suspect the briefer pacing of the V-Dac is associated with an ever slight emphasis on the initial attack; or de-emphasis on the decay of the musical note. We are talking about very subtle and elusive differences here, but to these ears the Valab has the more natural tempo of the two, and it is easier to follow the intent of the musicians with this dac. The temporal clues so aptly captured by the Valab seem a touch diluted with the V-Dac.
For me the two is a tie, it really boils down to one’s musical preference and the type of musical genres. I could easily see why someone would prefer one over the other, or vice-versa. The V-dac has more audiophile qualities, its detailed and tighter presentation; briefer pacing will be preferred by many. The Valab has more subtle and subdue values, may well sound too soft to some, but when properly assimilated is more analogue sounding and offers more insight into the musical event. The bottom line is, performance wise the two are very close to one another. Their differences are heightened to make the point, but for the price point, without the benefit of A/B it will be hard pressed to pinpoint anything lacking with either.
MF explained its secret with the V-series as follows: “Most high-end components offer incredibly bad value. Why do we say this? Because, as crazy as it sounds, about four to five percent of the cost of good value high-end electronics is in the actual electronics that do the work. The other 95% of the cost is in the metalwork and other items that don’t contribute to sound production or sound quality. Basically, high-end is a lot of show and not much go for a huge cost…..The V-Series is the result of our iconoclasm. We have eliminated pointless metalwork, bling and packaging, and concentrated on performance. Typically, the V-Series has 60% to 70% of its cost in electronics….” Along these design philosophy the V-dac comes in a plain black box finish and there is not even an on/off switch. Personally I found the silvery bushed metal casework of the $ 230 Valab to have more appeal, but in no way compromise with sound quality either. My only concern with Valab is that there appears some inconsistency in the use of components with different batches of production, meaning you can't be sure if you get one it will sound the same with mine.
Initial impression of the V-Dac is a detailed and balanced signature. In comparison with the Valab, I noticed that the V-Dac is the more detailed of the two with a slightly blacker background. Instrumental images are also tighter with the V-Dac. The V-Dac also scales better and is more apt at unraveling complicated musical passages, seemingly the better choice for orchestral crescendos. The V-Dac is also the briefer, more upbeat sounding of the two, and serves certain genres like rock and electronic better. The detailed, tighter presentation and briefer pacing of the V-dac has immediate appeals.
Kevin of Valab apparently has high opinion of Non-oversampling designs in retaining the tonal colors and atmosphere of the recording. I did find this to be the case in comparison with the V-Dac. The overall presentation of the Valab is more relaxed with more air around instruments. While the V-Dac is the winner at the amount of details, and everything snap into tighter focus, the Valab has slightly less apparant details but excel at the manner in which musical hues and information are presented with ease. Vocals have the nuances and more presence, human touch, and it is easier to feel the air bushing against the reed of the saxophones. The instrumental images presented by Valab are less tightly focused, but are more full bodied, dimensional and has slightly more harmonic overtones.
While I found the PRaT of my MF Trivista SACD to be accentuated and reticent across different frequency spectrum, I can detect no serious issue with the V-Dac. The V-Dac is also the briefer, more upbeat sounding of the two, but otherwise the Valab more appropriately conveys the subtle ebb and flow of musical passages. In these respects, the Valab is closer to single ended amplification. If a musical note can be grossly seen as comprising the initial attack; the main movement; and the subsequent decay, the Valab is more capable as presenting these elements in a continuum and in the correct proportion. I suspect the briefer pacing of the V-Dac is associated with an ever slight emphasis on the initial attack; or de-emphasis on the decay of the musical note. We are talking about very subtle and elusive differences here, but to these ears the Valab has the more natural tempo of the two, and it is easier to follow the intent of the musicians with this dac. The temporal clues so aptly captured by the Valab seem a touch diluted with the V-Dac.
For me the two is a tie, it really boils down to one’s musical preference and the type of musical genres. I could easily see why someone would prefer one over the other, or vice-versa. The V-dac has more audiophile qualities, its detailed and tighter presentation; briefer pacing will be preferred by many. The Valab has more subtle and subdue values, may well sound too soft to some, but when properly assimilated is more analogue sounding and offers more insight into the musical event. The bottom line is, performance wise the two are very close to one another. Their differences are heightened to make the point, but for the price point, without the benefit of A/B it will be hard pressed to pinpoint anything lacking with either.
