Musician Audio Pegasus R2R DAC
Sep 17, 2020 at 9:22 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 1,442

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This is a thread to discuss and share information on the Musician Audio Pegasus R2R DAC.
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Sep 17, 2020 at 9:38 PM Post #2 of 1,442
Just integrated the Pegasus into my system. I've connected it via USB straight to a Windows computer, with RCA Coax and Optical connected via the D10. I'll be testing all the inputs and how the Pegasus sounds with both the THX 789 and Bottlehead S.E.X., balanced and single-ended, respectively. So far via casual listening, it sounds good! Need to spend a bit more time critically listening to it, so will reserve judgement till I have more data to share.


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Sep 18, 2020 at 1:28 AM Post #3 of 1,442
i like the trolley - i used to have one like that in my kitchen lol

But jokes aside its probably practical for pulling up alongside your chair or bed or wherever your listening spot is
 
Sep 18, 2020 at 1:32 AM Post #4 of 1,442
i like the trolley - i used to have one like that in my kitchen lol

But jokes aside its probably practical for pulling up alongside your chair or bed or wherever your listening spot is
My wife thinks I'm nuts wheeling it around the house with an extra long extension cord ahaha

I've set it up so that I can drive 4 headphones simultaneously with their own volume control. It's great when me and some friends want to a/b test gear or just chill out in silence!
 
Sep 18, 2020 at 7:34 PM Post #7 of 1,442
So I got mine 8 days ago. I've been using a Allo USBridge Ropieee Roon Endpoint via USB and I just hooked up a i2S connection from my Nvidia Shield via a digital interface box I got from Ebay (HDMI connection with a standard HDMI cable). Both have worked flawlessly.

Sonic impressions so far are that it's incredibly transparent, with some of the most detail I've ever gotten from a DAC in NOS mode. It has a very clear tight bass that goes deep. It's free of grain and has clear extended, but not highlighted highs. Ambient cues, soundstaging and subtleties are all strong. I'm impressed so far, but I have been working on my digital sources, and I need more time to come to a conclusion. But I'm liking it.

I've been comparing NOS to upsampling via Roon. I can upsample to DSD 512, and in every case I much prefer the NOS decoding to any upsampling. Much more detail, openness and transparency.

Here's some unboxing pics. The packaging is very basic.





 
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Sep 19, 2020 at 6:26 PM Post #8 of 1,442
I noticed with mine that the first time i plugged it in it sounded quite bright but i only listened for about an hour, i then left it running overnight and next day the brightness had gone. For me it has progressively warmed up over the past week and like a fine red wine it seems to be getting better and better.
On the website it states they are burned in before shipping but im wondering if thats actually true considering I have noticed substantial difference in tone and especially bass improvement. Not that I care at all.

Overall though, i cant fault this DAC - (Excuse my amateur SQ descriptions ), the detail is the best i have ever heard. The sound stage is super wide and holographic and the separation of vocals and instruments is amazing. Bass is tight and plentiful enough for a bass head like me.

Happy listening times are ahead :)
 
Sep 19, 2020 at 7:37 PM Post #9 of 1,442
I’m really excited to see these reviews coming in and am looking to buy a Pegasus soon. I have a few questions, what is the difference between two and four resister ladders? How do you get a balanced output with two resister ladders? What makes a bigger difference the precision of resister or the number?

I wonder when we will see other products? I would be interested to see what they will do in $1,700 price bracket.
 
Sep 22, 2020 at 11:00 AM Post #10 of 1,442
Ooops
Fortunately I kept my Ares II
 
Sep 22, 2020 at 5:27 PM Post #12 of 1,442
Yeah that's a big stumble for Musician. I haven't had these problems. They did take a month to ship my Musician and I emailed them several times. They responded that they burn in and test each one for a couple of weeks. This could have been them working on the firmware and working out bugs. Since it runs on Firmware and not a DAC chip I imagine there are lot's of possible bugs/problems (like the optical issue) that they can create in house! I hope I don't get problems going forward.
 
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Sep 23, 2020 at 3:02 AM Post #13 of 1,442
That distortion thing mentioned in video is scary.
 
Sep 24, 2020 at 5:51 AM Post #14 of 1,442
Had mine for well over a week. Its solidly constructed, with excellent fit and finish. And - works like a charm.
If it helps anyone here it is performing in my 2 channel setup



Key sonics - black background, transparency, detail, large soundstage, deep and tight bass, air around instrument, excellent separation between instruments, excellent imaging.
 
Sep 24, 2020 at 6:22 AM Post #15 of 1,442
Is it possible to share what DACs you previously/currently owned? Setup?
 

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