[Spamateur]

   
That is where D-S tricks people into believing what they are hearing is real detail. At the most extended high frequencies I could see a D-S DAC being more detailed, but macrodetail or the big picture of what you are hearing is going to be more convincing and analog on a quality R2R

Agree with this as well. The microdetail is almost eerie in how unnatural it sounds with the Sabre DAC I was using prior to the DAC-19/V220 setup I'm using now. It was almost like your attention was being forced as opposed to naturally being drawn to different instruments or voices. While it was fatiguing from being too bright for my ears, it was also fatiguing in that it wasn't an enjoyable or relaxing listen. I've used the term "melt" a lot, and it's a similar feeling to being at a concert and being able to indulge in the music washing over you. What a delight!

 

[evillamer]

 

  People has described this as being:
 
"rounder", "analog", "vinyl", "softer", "timbre", "texture"
 
R2R makes live concert music sound more real, especially if you notice the hand claps by the audience sound more real, with more skin texture and chamber like echo/decay. Strikes on the Pianos have more weight and heft. Shaker sounds more like beads shaking about rather than just a sandy grind.
 
If one never own or hear R2R before, they would have thought the Sabre sounded fine and never noticed the digital glare or the sigma delta harsh/sharpness.
 
The next logical upgrade for your dac-19 is usb to spdif/I2s converter. Do consider it. The VIA usb is the weakest link in the audio-gd system.

I might have to try that. Any recommended transports? I've heard good things about Audiphilleo products.
 
100% agree. I listened to Band of Horses' "Acoustic at the Ryman" earlier tonight and was quite impressed. What you said about hand claps is so interesting as I was noticing when there were a few scattered claps I could actually hear how cupped their hands were. "Texture" might be the best way to describe it. I didn't realize how used to the DAC-19 I had already gotten until I was listening to music in my car while stuck in traffic. I have a decent custom car audio setup (Audison front stage, Hertz rear stage, Pioneer deck, JL subwoofer) but I was a bit startled how flat the guitars on several songs were. 

 
Audiophileo is an expensive solution. So is OR5, Audio-gd DI or anything above the price of your dac.
 
Maybe you can consider the Gustard U12.(check out the thread in computer audio forum).
 
In the mean time, you should try out your DAC19 on other digital sources and see if it's better than the USB. That's your baseline for improving the sound.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Yes, but you cannot just "lump together" all R2R DACs as if they are created equal.

Some of the descriptors I am reading here correspond more closely to what has been said about AKM 1704 chips specifically, not just all R2R DACs.

As a friend of Stillhart, I genuinely am happy you are all cultivating the work of Audio-GD--a good company indeed

 

[lukeap69]

  Yup, Violectric V220 and LCD-X. I'm absolutely floored by this pairing.

That's a fantastic pairing indeed. I've heard the LCD-X with my Ragnarok and it kicked ass! I hope to hear an R2R DAC with my rig in the near future (still trying to decide which one to get.)

 

[snip3r77]

That's a fantastic pairing indeed. I've heard the LCD-X with my Ragnarok and it kicked ass! I hope to hear an R2R DAC with my rig in the near future (still trying to decide which one to get.)

You heard both v220 and raggy ?

 

[Stillhart]

Yes, but you cannot just "lump together" all R2R DACs as if they are created equal.

Some of the descriptors I am reading here correspond more closely to what has been said about AKM 1704 chips specifically, not just all R2R DACs.

As a friend of Stillhart, I genuinely am happy you are all cultivating the work of Audio-GD--a good company indeed

 
It's definitely true that not all R2R DAC's are created equal.  Moffet fans will have you believe that the filter is more important than the chip being used.  What I can say is that the three R2R DAC's I've heard all share a more "natural" presentation and tonality, most noticeable to me in the treble.    I know that in the price range of the DAC-19 and below, I haven't heard any D-S DAC that compares.

 

[evillamer]

If you guys prefer a leaner presentation of sound. tried 1x (NOS) on the DSP Setting by placing a jumper on IPS0

 

[Downtheline1973]

Just got my DAC-19 and I am liking what I am hearing. Impressions are early yet. I am comparing to my old benchmark Dac-1 from Squeezebox Touch, on my main rig. Most noticeable is the increased bass and warmth in comparison to the Dac-1. Detail seems to be presented differently with Dac-1 having more detail, but annoying highs in some songs.
 
Thought I'd be able to hook up the DAC-19 to my Audio-gd Roc amp via ACSS - but my old balanced ACSS cables don't attach to the 3 pin ACSS on the DAC-19. I've asked Kingwa - but not really understanding the answers. Anyone have a thought?

 

[wmedrz]

What did he say? I was under the impression there cab be a modified 3 pin to 4 pin cable.

 

[Tom W]

  Just got my DAC-19 and I am liking what I am hearing. Impressions are early yet. I am comparing to my old benchmark Dac-1 from Squeezebox Touch, on my main rig. Most noticeable is the increased bass and warmth in comparison to the Dac-1. Detail seems to be presented differently with Dac-1 having more detail, but annoying highs in some songs.
 
Thought I'd be able to hook up the DAC-19 to my Audio-gd Roc amp via ACSS - but my old balanced ACSS cables don't attach to the 3 pin ACSS on the DAC-19. I've asked Kingwa - but not really understanding the answers. Anyone have a thought?

You probably need this cable which has the 'old' style on one end and the 'new' style on the other. I've used this to connect my DAC19-DSP to an older C-2 amp (Both are single ended).
 
I don't know if the SE gear and Balanced gear is compatible through ACSS but perhaps this might help clarify what Kingwa was saying.
 
 http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Cables/N-O.jpg

 

[Downtheline1973]

 
You probably need this cable which has the 'old' style on one end and the 'new' style on the other. I've used this to connect my DAC19-DSP to an older C-2 amp (Both are single ended).
 
I don't know if the SE gear and Balanced gear is compatible through ACSS but perhaps this might help clarify what Kingwa was saying.
 
 http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Cables/N-O.jpg

yes, this helps - I will order it.
Thanks!!

 

[manbear]

Has anyone tried the new DAC 19 and any of the Concero DACs? If so it would be great to hear some impressions.

I went from a Concero to an older DAC19 model (DSP 1). The differences are not huge but I prefer the Audio GD--it's more tuneful and refined, and it makes more of my music sound good (as opposed to harsh, flat, poorly recorded, etc.)

 

[JAGS]

 
yes, this helps - I will order it.
Thanks!!

 
If you require ACSS from SE to Balanced you the wiring is different and you need to confirm to Audio-GD you want to have an ACCS cable from SE to balanced. Best is to keep the system either SE or Balanced though.

 

[Downtheline1973]

Thanks, will be keeping it SE.
 
Further thoughts on DAC19-10th Anniversary: when I got my Gallo reference 3.5s I was struck by the immediacy and punch behind percussion, but voices seemed metallic. I thought both were due to the speakers, and I figured the metallic voices and upper treble were a tradeoff. Now with the DAC19 these speakers have really come together, retaining the performance on percussion, but the voices are smoothed out and natural sounding.

 

[JWahl]

I went from a Concero to an older DAC19 model (DSP 1). The differences are not huge but I prefer the Audio GD--it's more tuneful and refined, and it makes more of my music sound good (as opposed to harsh, flat, poorly recorded, etc.)

Was it a standard Concero, or HP or HD version?  I currently have a Concero HP and iFi iDSD Micro I'm hoping to sell and thinking of picking one of these DAC-19's up.  I really want a Schiit Yggy or PWD MkII but they're well out of my price range for now.  I've owned the A-GD SA-1 which used 4x 1704 but with the SA circuit instead of ACSS.  The rest of my setup is transparent enough now to where any DAC upgrade should make a difference.