New Audio-gd R-7, R-7HE R-8, R-27, R-27HE, R-28 Flagship Resistor Ladder DACs and DAC/amps

[AudioAlex]

There is no award or debate.. It could be as simple as this: I have the combo, use XYZ headphones most of the time and consider the synergy good for jazz, vocal music, etc.. It is understood that the info is 100% subjective and should be used with a grain of salt..

 

[Currawong]

Single ended is not inferior to balanced as far as sound quality. Kingwa explained to me on the old Master 7 that the analog channels are balanced until the output driver stage where the two channels of D/A are summed at the output driver stage. The output driver stage then forms the (+) and inverted compliment (-) signals to drive the cables.

So the DAC analog stages are not true balanced all the way through. Kingwa said summing the +/- analog channels at the output stage has the same advantage of balanced DAC but prevents distortion in a true balanced design if both +/- signals gains are not very strictly matched. He said think of the output stages as only cable drivers.

Used both singled ended and balanced and sound great. Balanced output still has the advantage common mode rejection of noise in the cable. I would not recommend using both balanced and single ended simultaneously as the RCA output is just the balanced (+) signal. Not isolated.

So are the outputs summed now in the newer DACs?

 

[DACLadder]

@Currawong Assume so… at least in the higher end differential DACs. The old product summaries used to state that single ended outputs employed all decoding stages. And have seen no product statements recently touting “straight thru” analog design. So assume Kingwa is using his patented ACSS audio decoding coupled to low impedance Class A output driver stages.

 

[FredA]

@Currawong Assume so… at least in the higher end differential DACs. The old product summaries used to state that single ended outputs employed all decoding stages. And have seen no product statements recently touting “straight thru” analog design. So assume Kingwa is using his patented ACSS audio decoding coupled to low impedance Class A output driver stages.

I have emailed Kingwa about this. He confirmed all dac rca outs are subtracting the two balanced phases. I have not asked about balanced dac/pres...

 

[PLGA]

Hi guys
I've got a little lost here.

If I use the RCA and XLR outputs of my HE-1 at the same time, am I affecting SQ?

I may need to do that as I'm thinking about adding an extra pair of subs, but I wouldnt like to compromise SQ.

 

[FredA]

Hi guys
I've got a little lost here.

If I use the RCA and XLR outputs of my HE-1 at the same time, am I affecting SQ?

I may need to do that as I'm thinking about adding an extra pair of subs, but I wouldnt like to compromise SQ.

No. The rca out is normally a tad noisier, that's all. Given the low output impedance and very little current drawn downstream, there is no degradation. Rca is perfect for bass. Just beware of ground loops.

 

[PLGA]

Well, my valve amp has RCA, so I was thinking about connecting it to the RCA outputs of the HE-1. I will have to try

 

[DACLadder]

Concerning the HE-1 mk2 preamp outputs. Each output is isolated…

“3 outputs: XLR / RCA / ACSS (ACSS and XLR/RCA have the separate output circuit design so they can connect 3 units power amp simultaneously.”

 

[AudioAlex]

Anyone using Hifiman Arya (the latest version) with the R7HE Мк2 + HE9 combo? Kindly share your experience.

 

[borrego]

For years Kingwa has been using the J74/K170 JFET transistors for the output buffers of his master series DAC and Preamp. As the J74/K170 pairs had been out of production a few years ago and Kingwa's stock beginning to run low, it became more difficult for him to do good enough transistor matching to use the remaining JFETs in push-pull output design, so he changed the output buffer circuit design to single ended (in the sense of single ended/push-pull, not single ended/balanced), so he can use just either one type (P channel J74, or N channel K170) JFETs in each half of the output buffer. The result is actually better distortion performance (single ended always have less distortion than push-pull design)

It was stated in the Chinese description of the M7S, but not in English description.

I believe the "summing" was referring to the push-pull design in the old M7 and M1 designs.

 

[FredA]

I got the HE9 MK2. I have created a new thread

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-gd-he-9-mk2.963544/

 

[AudioAlex]

Is my question related to usage of headphones with Audio GD equipment irrelevant to this thread? Any other thread that may address that kind of questions??

 

[FredA]

Is my question related to usage of headphones with Audio GD equipment irrelevant to this thread? Any other thread that may address that kind of questions??

I guess nobody does use your combnation. The closest match i know is a fellow who uses a Master-19 fed by a Mastee-7, itself fed by a di20he clocked by a Morion. Try this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-gd-he-series-he-9-he-7-he-1-he-350.750318/

 

[AudioAlex]

I guess nobody does use your combnation. The closest match i know is a fellow who uses a Master-19 fed by a Mastee-7, itself fed by a di20he clocked by a Morion. Try this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-gd-he-series-he-9-he-7-he-1-he-350.750318/

The combination that I mentioned was R7 HE (Mk2) + HE9. Is it not the set up you personally had until you replaced HE9 with HE9 Mk2? Going through the thread I was under the impression that this set up is the most common amongst Audio GD aficionados . It is only logical to assume that people who own an amp with a headphone section are likely to use some sort of headphones with it.. I'm not to open a debate which set of headphones is the best with Audio GD equipment, I just asked people to share personal experience as to which set of headphones they consider a good match.. So, if nobody else bothers to reply, may I ask what headphones you personally use most with your system?

Thanks

 

[slazhx]

I am one of AGD fans who own a R7HE/DI-20HE/HE9 combo. My current phones are HE6 and HEKV2. All I can comment is I am quite satisfied to what this set gives. HE9 can drive HE6 OG nicely and I would say it is among top tier of headamps that can drive HE6. (Not mentioning about speaker amps which can bring this beast to the extreme level)

However, I cannot comment about Arya as I have no direct experience to share but I am definitely sure HE9 has enough power to drive it. Whether you like it or not will depend on your music taste also.

That's just my two cents.