[FredA]

So why aren't there more review(er)s about AGD then? Kind of "punches far above it's price point" type of reviews, right? like many of you are convinced of.
Enough devices too talk about also.

The reason is you have to pay to get your product reviewed. Buy ads. Kingwa does not necessarily want to go big. He likes the crowd he attracts..

 

[Jake2]

I wasn’t even aware of Audio-gd til after I got my R26 and joined HF*. It’d be cool to see the likes of IIWI Reviews (who is pretty balanced and measured in his approach) review, say, the R-8/HE with his points of reference of his R26 and Lampizator Baltic equivalent DIY DAC. I’d venture a guess such a review might generate some pretty good press for Audio-Gd. Anyone with one live near Srboljub..?

Edit - I may be slightly rewriting history for dramatic effect.. became aware of AG around the same time, was aware of the DI-20HE DSD incompatibility point highlighted by BB at the time of getting the R26, but my broader Audio Gd market profile point stands…

 

[gimmeheadroom]

So why aren't there more review(er)s about AGD then? Kind of "punches far above it's price point" type of reviews, right? like many of you are convinced of.
Enough devices too talk about also.

Many of the companies give away gear to be reviewed, so there is a cost to it as @FredA mentioned it.

One company I know of expects people to pay shipping both ways, and does not give the reviewer the device, and apparently still has people wanting to participate.

I don't understand how it works and I don't care, since I seldom see any good reviews.

 

[OCC7N]

So why aren't there more review(er)s about AGD then? Kind of "punches far above it's price point" type of reviews, right? like many of you are convinced of.
Enough devices too talk about also.

Thats actually a great point. My local dealers also said something in the same regard.

"Why aren´t there many sellers in europe if that brand is so great huh?" - I was speechless actually, I repeated and said it subconsciously out loud "yeah why aren´t there?"

___

Besides from all PR talk and NOT paying reviewers to promote, we can look at some other points thats also has to be counted into the commitment.

its size
its looks ..

/disable overhype: - true
/end
run script

I think Its hard as a brand, looking like it does and sounding like it does to prevail when every other brand looks more attractive but also sound great.

To me the whole AGD/R2R sound is for the minority that likes a traditional representation, balanced and good leveling of instruments(no nonsense), relaxed authentic. In short very mature but also very technical performing at the same time, without sounding too fast/energetic. I understand this sound will put some off, because its laidback for them. I hope it stays a minority and the underdog to me. I would not like everybody having it to be honest

However to be able to judge the sound you will have to go all-the-way to get the last "5%" details/informations. For me the R8HEmk2 is not that special by itself, after I have heard the whole system. It´s not a sound I would place much over a twice as expensive dac = my ears. I would still buy the twice as expensive over the R8 if I were only to choose a dac only because its much more practical in size.

As an reviewer you will have to understand the whole chain of AGD to get the picture, its like Kingwas own eco system and it does start with DI20HE(+masterclock), then there is the ACSS connection from the dac to the amp.

No yt reviewer has convinced of buying Audio-gd it was certain people in this thread/forum I took the risk to trust. I am glad I did.
__

Respons to @FredA under this post- I meant youtube reviewer. I have read the review you are referring to and it was very good indeed

 

[FredA]

Thats actually a great point. My local dealers also said something in the same regard.

"Why aren´t there many sellers in europe if that brand is so great huh?" - I was speechless actually, I repeated and said it subconsciously out loud "yeah why aren´t there?"

___

Besides from all PR talk and NOT paying reviewers to promote, we can look at some other points thats also has to be counted into the commitment.

its size
its looks ..

/disable overhype: - true
/end
run script

I think Its hard as a brand, looking like it does and sounding like it does to prevail when every other brand looks more attractive but also sound great.

To me the whole AGD/R2R sound is for the minority that likes a traditional representation, balanced and good leveling of instruments(no nonsense), relaxed authentic. In short very mature but also very technical performing at the same time, without sounding too fast/energetic. I understand this sound will put some off, because its laidback for them. I hope it stays a minority and the underdog to me. I would not like everybody having it to be honest

However to be able to judge the sound you will have to go all-the-way to get the last "5%" details/informations. For me the R8HEmk2 is not that special by itself, after I have heard the whole system. It´s not a sound I would place much over a twice as expensive dac = my ears. I would still buy the twice as expensive over the R8 if I were only to choose a dac only because its much more practical in size.

As an reviewer you will have to understand the whole chain of AGD to get the picture, its like Kingwas own eco system and it does start with DI20HE(+masterclock), then there is the ACSS connection from the dac to the amp.

Do you think you could sell this as an reviewer to the viewer - no matter how hard you tried? - the mainstream buyer would choose the AIO/streamer (no offense). The whole AGD system is not cheap either, it´s still serious money to risk. Im gonna test a AIO/streamer that cost a little more than my AGD system, hopefully soon.



No reviewer has convinced of buying Audio-gd it was certain people in this thread/forum I took the risk to trust. I am glad I did.
__

There are still some reviews out there though, the most famous being the Stereophile review of the r7he mkii. Most are extremely positive. Audio-gd can't be sold everywhere, Kingwa runs an artisanal shop. Not meant for doing volume.

 

[Jandu]

There are still some reviews out there though, the most famous being the Stereophile review of the r7he mkii. Most are extremely positive. Audio-gd can't be sold everywhere, Kingwa runs an artisanal shop. Not meant for doing volume.

Differences are what you can get at the same price point without the cost of advertising and most of the dealer markup. You pay for a product which has a way higher value in the design and components. Combined that with some good designs and dedicated minds, it has the right combination to succeed.

 

[Currawong]

Part of it may be the "hand built" vibe. That may be popular in China, but Westerners want things to look machine-finished perfect. I tried to persuade Kingwa to get all the ports flush with no visible screws, and all the sockets mounts on the boards, and there has been progress, but only somewhat.

Your average Western audiophile is going to see pictures of the insides of the Audio-gd DACs, then see the pristine layout of the Holo models, and choose the latter. It doesn't matter what we know about the inside of either, or the immense effort Kingwa has made over the years to improve every aspect of his designs, it just is what it is.

But he seems to be doing well, but not so well that he ends up compromising quality, which I've seen happen often with Chinese manufacturers.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Part of it may be the "hand built" vibe. That may be popular in China, but Westerners want things to look machine-finished perfect. I tried to persuade Kingwa to get all the ports flush with no visible screws, and all the sockets mounts on the boards, and there has been progress, but only somewhat.

Your average Western audiophile is going to see pictures of the insides of the Audio-gd DACs, then see the pristine layout of the Holo models, and choose the latter. It doesn't matter what we know about the inside of either, or the immense effort Kingwa has made over the years to improve every aspect of his designs, it just is what it is.

But he seems to be doing well, but not so well that he ends up compromising quality, which I've seen happen often with Chinese manufacturers.

I agree the outside is industrial (and for a lot of us that is part of its charm) and the UI is a nightmare (we live with it) but when I compare the guts vs. Holo, it's obvious the Audio-gd gear is built much better in all respects.

Board-mounted sockets? Just no...

 

[gimmeheadroom]

There are still some reviews out there though, the most famous being the Stereophile review of the r7he mkii. Most are extremely positive. Audio-gd can't be sold everywhere, Kingwa runs an artisanal shop. Not meant for doing volume.

That was my thought also. It's a boutique operation. To complain about not having more dealers shows very clearly that the salesman who asked that has no idea what he's talking about.

How many Holo/Kitsune dealers are there that actually have anything in stock?

Kingwa selected dealer/distributors where pretty much anybody, living anywhere, can get good service.

 

[ChJL]

As an reviewer you will have to understand the whole chain of AGD to get the picture, its like Kingwas own eco system and it does start with DI20HE(+masterclock), then there is the ACSS connection from the dac to the amp.

Do you think you could sell this as an yt reviewer to the viewer - no matter how hard you tried? - the mainstream buyer would choose the AIO/streamer

not your shiney, beside your PC screen type of device. Maybe William from the HP experience, kinda funny and no bs guy.
"It's about synergy" is said by many, right? Brand synergy not so easy to find in HP then 2 channel.

Your average Western audiophile

probably doesn't get it like most average guys don't.

Been cycling a lot over the last 10 years and I get the feeling AGD is more like a bespoke titanium bike then your big name brand carbon bike "sold" by pro riders.

BTW I suspect your average audiophile is sitting too may hours... go for a ride some time

 

[dougms3]

That was my thought also. It's a boutique operation. To complain about not having more dealers shows very clearly that the salesman who asked that has no idea what he's talking about.

How many Holo/Kitsune dealers are there that actually have anything in stock?

Kingwa selected dealer/distributors where pretty much anybody, living anywhere, can get good service.

Before I went with the r8mk2, I had considered the holo may.

I bought some other stuff on their site and had to cancel one of the items. After a few hours of placing the order, I emailed them, no response, emailed again the next day, and the day after that, then called, no answer. I decided to just cancel the whole order since they were ignoring me. Had to get paypal involved.

I would never buy anything from them again. Unless you're someone important they treat you like a beggar.

I had the chance to demo the may at canjam and I'm really glad I didn't get it. While it does sound good, I'd say its about on par with the r8, better in some aspects not as good in others. I don't think its worth that price. Granted canjam is not the ideal environment to test equipment but I highly doubt it'd outperform the r8mk2 on my home setup.

Kingwa or magna hifi, respond within 24 hours or less to all my stupid questions.

 

[Currawong]

So why aren't there more review(er)s about AGD then? Kind of "punches far above it's price point" type of reviews, right? like many of you are convinced of.
Enough devices too talk about also.

I don't believe that Audio-gd products necessarily punch above their price point. Sure, you get value in the amount of tech that is inside them (ie: They aren't just shoving switching PSUs and generic circuits in boxes as other manufacturers do) but the result is a different flavour.

The reason is you have to pay to get your product reviewed. Buy ads. Kingwa does not necessarily want to go big. He likes the crowd he attracts..

Not necessarily true. On somewhere like 6moons, yes, but not in the headphone world.

 

[nikko510]

I have never met such a manufacturer of equipment with such good contact and help as Kingwa. Whenever I had a problem, he tried to help me as soon as possible. This is a very big plus for me.
The sound is very good, technically well built, and the appearance is of secondary importance to me.

 

[OCC7N]

Heads up:

The AVplay cable I bought from Alixpress is too loose for the i2s connectors.

Today I got very weird crackling noise. I thought it was from the auto-dim.

Then I thought it was ground loops. It was so bad I thought my system was broken.

I changed back to AQ PEARL-48 = problem solved. Fits real snug

I really hope the Tubulus Concentus V2 is not that loose as AVPlay, Its on the way

 

[PeterCraig]

The AVplay connector could definitely be better.