[Shahrose]

The R7 has been in the market for a few years already.
Is there any post-R7 flagship is coming up?
Plan to buy a DAC flagship from Kingwa, want to know there will be any new DAC coming in the near future.

I asked Kingwa the same thing and this was his reply. I don't think he'd mind me sharing:

"Dear Shahrose,
The R7 HE is different design to the REF7.1.
The R7 HE built in all parts with programmable chips, from digital inputs to the DA parts outputs, that can only improve on the firmware (codes) and just same as improve on the hardwares.
So we don't need change the hardware design every year, just improve and release the new firmware is enough."

 

[nicks25]

Anyone using an Innuos ZenMini Mk 3 running Roon Core with either the R-7 or R-8? I want to make sure there are no issues with Roon before proceeding. Audio-gd is not listed on the Roon web site.

Thanks

Nick

 

[nicks25]

I should have noted that I will be using the USB interface. Current DAC is a Benchmark DAC3.

 

[comzee]

I haven't posted to this thread in awhile, but I think I have some information that's worth posting.
I was turned on to Signalyst HQPlayer a few months ago. Essentially it's software based oversampling, with a plethora of different filters to choose from.

What makes this really ideal with the AGD R2R dacs, is you can put them in NOS mode. This is the ideal scenario for any DAC you want to use HQplayer with, you don't want the internal DAC oversampling to be active. You want it in NOS mode, so the oversampling from HQPlayer can have it's full benefit.

HQPlayer filters (I like sync-L and sync-M the most) do sound noticeably better to me, than King-Wa's internal DSP oversampling.
It's $250 software, but you can download the full version to test out all the filters for free, only restriction is that the software stops working every 30 minutes, so you have to restart it. Plenty enough time for testing impressions tho.

If you want to squeeze out the last bit of performance from your AGD R2R dac, I'd highly recommend trying it out. Just remember to have your DAC in NOS mode (not the " class technology NOS mode", but the true NOS mode)

 

[Jackula]

I haven't posted to this thread in awhile, but I think I have some information that's worth posting.
I was turned on to Signalyst HQPlayer a few months ago. Essentially it's software based oversampling, with a plethora of different filters to choose from.

What makes this really ideal with the AGD R2R dacs, is you can put them in NOS mode. This is the ideal scenario for any DAC you want to use HQplayer with, you don't want the internal DAC oversampling to be active. You want it in NOS mode, so the oversampling from HQPlayer can have it's full benefit.

HQPlayer filters (I like sync-L and sync-M the most) do sound noticeably better to me, than King-Wa's internal DSP oversampling.
It's $250 software, but you can download the full version to test out all the filters for free, only restriction is that the software stops working every 30 minutes, so you have to restart it. Plenty enough time for testing impressions tho.

If you want to squeeze out the last bit of performance from your AGD R2R dac, I'd highly recommend trying it out. Just remember to have your DAC in NOS mode (not the " class technology NOS mode", but the true NOS mode)

Sinc-M is my favourite too, it's also the closest to m scaler. Unfortunately my current streamer can't handle it as it does need quite a beefy CPU. Currently setting up a Renoir 4700u just for sinc-M, with Roon as the controller.

I already have Roon, so the total cost for me is about US$1k, still heck of a lot cheaper than m scaler though.

 

[sajunky]

Foobar 2000 with SoX if you want usampling on the PC. All free. I don't need filters for my R2R11.

 

[Jackula]

Foobar 2000 with SoX if you want usampling on the PC. All free. I don't need filters for my R2R11.

My favourite Foobar resampler is SSRC which I prefer over both SoX and PPHS, but it does cost a bit more CPU compute.

HQ Player is a completely different beast, even with the default filters it sounds much better than SSRC. The sinc-M filter is a special type of filter that produces a more accurate digital signal, but the catch is it's high latency as the algorithm needs to know and analyse what's coming.

The default Roon upsampler also sounds better than SSRC or SoX, but I suppose they are the best *free* upsamplers.

My current streamer, an Intel NUC can handle SSRC, SoX, Roon upsampling etc but it cannot handle sinc-M without glitches every other second. My desktop PC can handle sinc-M and it sounds glorious. I don't want to use my desktop PC, ideally I need it switched off so it doesn't interfere with other sensitive audio equipment, i.e. DAC.

 

[sajunky]

@Jackula. Do you adjust quality in SoX options? Changing from normal to best makes a difference. I leave passband and phase respone default and select the option "Allow aliassing".

But most frequently I don't upsample, as most of my source files are 88.2kHz or higher.

 

[Jackula]

@Jackula. Do you adjust quality in SoX options? Changing from normal to best makes a difference. I leave passband and phase respone default and select the option "Allow aliassing".

But most frequently I don't upsample, as most of my source files are 88.2kHz or higher.

I honestly don't remember, I do remember that after trialing Roon, I tried to get Foobar sounding as good as Roon and the closest I got was with Resampler-V + SSRC. Probably got to 80-90% of Roon. Going by the same methodology, sinc-M on HQ Player is probably 60-80% better than Roon.

 

[uncola]

Hey guys how long does it usually take audiogd to build dacs? I ordered an R27 with built in R8 and Master 19 because I needed both a dac and headphone amp..

 

[JaMo]

Hey guys how long does it usually take audiogd to build dacs? I ordered an R27 with built in R8 and Master 19 because I needed both a dac and headphone amp..

Hi,
When You got the price-quote answer... there is usually also a "lead time" -value. The R27 will have a factory burn in period of 100 hours. I am sure they will deliver asap.
Expect a couple of months of playing and slowly maturing.
/Jan

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I got the impression Kingwa has gear on the rack burning in at all times and then he pulls one off, checks it and sets it up how you want, and ships within a couple of days.

 

[uncola]

The only mod I asked for was continuous volume change when I hold down volume buttons on the remote. I mostly use speakers so that will be preferred.. odd that the default is changing one level at a time..

 

[anroj]

ACSS cables connect the ACSS amplification circuits together, bypassing the current-to-voltage conversion in the DACs, and the voltage-to-current conversion in the amps. The ACSS circuit doesn't exist in his "diamond differential" designs, and wouldn't work in a tube amp as it is designed to remove distortion, and tubes add distortion and provide voltage (not current) gain, so it would have no purpose.

@Currawong: I am also considering an HE-1. I have seen the review from hometheaterhifi, but wanted t know if you have had a chance to listen to it in your system.

 

[Currawong]

@Currawong: I am also considering an HE-1. I have seen the review from hometheaterhifi, but wanted t know if you have had a chance to listen to it in your system.

No, unfortunately.