[Spamateur]

   
Better arrive late and safe than fast and damaged. 

Ha! Very true. Although I've noticed a distinct relationship between the number of days a shipping carrier has your package and how damaged it ends up. This is why I usually try to do overnight shipping on any expensive items, as UPS looks like they play rugby with anything I end up receiving via UPS Ground.
 
I just called DHL and they confirmed that the "shipment information received" status means that they haven't taken possession of the package yet, so either Audio-GD sent me a tracking number well before they actually shipped my DAC-19, or something else happened in between Audio-GD and DHL.
 
Anyone know how I get in touch with Kingwa? Are the Audio-GD email addresses on their contact page the best way?

 

[Kingwa]

We are in the Chinese mainland, the DHL is belong Hongkong, so we need 1-3 days shipping the goods from Mainland to Hongkong, depend on how fast process of the Chinese customs.
Once the goods arrive Hongkong DHL, only few days can arrive anywhere in the world.

 

[Spamateur]

  We are in the Chinese mainland, the DHL is belong Hongkong, so we need 1-3 days shipping the goods from Mainland to Hongkong, depend on how fast process of the Chinese customs.
Once the goods arrive Hongkong DHL, only few days can arrive anywhere in the world.

Wonderful. That makes sense. Thank you for the clarification, Kingwa! 

 

[jjacq]

Like the Yggdrasil, is this(or the NFB10.32) recommended to be always on too?

 

[Stillhart]

 

 
It's a Class A device so it will perform best when fully warmed up.  Best way to make sure it's fully warmed up is to not turn it off.

 

[conquerator2]

How're the drivers so far? 

 

[Stillhart]

  How're the drivers so far? 

 
It uses the same drivers as my other A-GD devices, so anyone with another A-GD should know what to expect there.  
 
It's not the most stable driver and I'd prefer to see a different chip in newer models, but I'm sure Kingwa has his reasons for sticking with the VIA.  

 

[wmedrz]

 

 
I read a post by Kingwa a month or two back where he recommended regenerative power units not be left on for over 8 hours continuous, while regular units can be left on all the time with a restart every 120 hours. It was either in M7 or NFB7 thread but I don't remember. 

 

[Joeybgood]

 

which category does the DAC19 fall into?

 

[Stillhart]

  which category does the DAC19 fall into?

 
Regular units.  The regenerative ones are very expensive.

 

[RiddleyWalker]

   
I'm glad to hear that you like it!  Looking forward to some comparisons to the Gungnir.
 
I've spent a lot of time listening to the DAC-19 and the Theta Basic II (in SE mode) and I can say with confidence that there is almost no difference to my ears.  The DAC-19 has perhaps a touch more bass quantity and a very slightly more mid-forward sound.  But the difference are very hard to detect and could be down to slight volume differences.  (I don't have the best equipment for matching volume so it's close, but not exact.)
 
Honestly, if I had to pick today which to keep I think it'd be a coin flip.  The difference comes down to non-sonic stuff:  The DAC-19 has a much smaller footprint, it doesn't need a separate transport, it plays HD tracks, it's under warranty, etc. 
 
That said, I'm going to swap my Theta back to the balanced outputs and see how that changes things.  Not all Thetas have balanced outputs so this could be an important differentiator...
 
EDIT - I also have a C-2 Class A amp coming on Thursday.  Using ACSS might cancel out the balanced Theta...

Hey there, interested in hearing your impressions on the combination of the DAC-19 and the C-2 Class A, seems like it might be a great combo for the money!

 

[Stillhart]

 
Hey there, interested in hearing your impressions on the combination of the DAC-19 and the C-2 Class A, seems like it might be a great combo for the money!

 
Well my initial impressions are that the ACSS connection gives benefits that feel like going balanced.  ACSS soundstage is notably bigger with nice separation.  For an SE DAC into an SE amp, it's a nice step up.  It's also bigger than the DAC's SE into the balanced amp, which is nice!
 
That said, it's not quite as big or open as the Theta's balanced connection into the balanced amp.  If you recall, I find the Theta and DAC-19 to be very very similar when comparing both with SE.  I'd put the heirarchy something like this:
 
Bal into Bal > ACSS into SE > SE into Bal > SE into SE

 

[Spamateur]

My DAC-19 arrived today in perfect condition. Looks like the friendly customs folks in China opened up the package to check the contents when it went from mainland to Hong Kong, but they taped the hell out of the box after checking. 
 
Have it feeding my Violectric V220 and am loving the combination outputting to my LCD-X thus far. There is a very noticeable difference between this and all the delta-sigma DACs I've heard. It's much smoother, notes have have a more rounded quality, with a more natural decay. It's like I had been watching one of these NBA playoff games on TV and then went and sat courtside for the first time. Music no longer sounds "all the same" with instrument timbre much more lifelike.

 

[Stillhart]

What was your most recent previous DAC?

 

[Spamateur]

What was your most recent previous DAC?

The Oppo HA-1, so it really feels like I'm going from one extreme to the other. The harsh digital Sabre sound to this much more analog-sounding DAC. To say I'm impressed by Kingwa and his company is an understatement.