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

[FredA]

I figured that was the case with HE9 Mk2 because I connected it to my Hegel 590 via RCA without any trouble. Will strip all the cables from R8HE and try again tomorrow. Thanks.

To my surprise I find the sound via RCA more analogue and pleasing than through any other connection (including ACSS). Go figure..

Really, it depends much on the cable you use. Acss shoud be more transparent given equal cables.

 

[AudioAlex]

Really, it depends much on the cable you use. Acss shoud be more transparent given equal cables.

In many cases this transparency comes at a price: more minute details distract attention from the big image.. and with RCA the image is definitely more sizable.. the timbre is more natural as well (at least in my case).. Also RCA removes a bit of brightness from my Susvara without any damage to details and resolution, which I like. The sound is very analogue... possibly, the most analogue I've ever heard from my AGD stack.
Of cause all the above is subject to getting the right RCA cables for each individual system.

Will strip all the cables from R8HE and try again tomorrow.

Everything works as advised. Thanks once again.

 

[Currawong]

Hello all, hope everyone is doing well.

I'm curious what suggestions you all may have for EQ options / solutions, given my setup: Zen Stream > DI-24HE > R27RE

Thanks in advance!

Roon's inbuilt EQ, for example, sounds lossy to me. It's easier if you have an external headphone amp, as you can just insert a Schiit Loki/Lokius/Loki Max in between them and that is much easier to manage, though you are limited to 4-6 bands, most of the time it's only bass you want to adjust anyway.

If you want to create a good EQ profile for your headphones, HQPlayer accepts convolution filters, and the digital filtering is a step above what is in the R27 as well.

 

[Daniel4IEM]

Roon's inbuilt EQ, for example, sounds lossy to me. It's easier if you have an external headphone amp, as you can just insert a Schiit Loki/Lokius/Loki Max in between them and that is much easier to manage, though you are limited to 4-6 bands, most of the time it's only bass you want to adjust anyway.

If you want to create a good EQ profile for your headphones, HQPlayer accepts convolution filters, and the digital filtering is a step above what is in the R27 as well.

Thanks for the tips, @Currawong !
I don’t have Roon anyway so that’s out, and R27 is dac amp combined so the hardware EQ like Loki is out too.

I’m not tracking how PC based software (I presume that’s where HQPlayet resides) is applicable in my setup. Maybe I’m misunderstanding

 

[AudioAlex]

I'm curious what suggestions you all may have for EQ options / solutions, given my setup: Zen Stream > DI-24HE > R27RE

I don't do EQ, so I would suggest playing with other things available in your setup:

1. Zen Stream responds quite well to replacing the stock PS with a LPS: may improve resolution / timbre.
2. Play with Parallel / Serial setting of your DI24HE. Install the latest Firmware.
3. Play with cables.

 

[Currawong]

I’m not tracking how PC based software (I presume that’s where HQPlayet resides) is applicable in my setup. Maybe I’m misunderstanding

It's software that does digital filtering and EQ at a potentially higher quality level than what most DACs can. It has a horrid interface, so usually people have their music player, often Roon, send audio through it where it then re-samples, converts or EQs it on the fly to send to your DAC.

 

[Daniel4IEM]

It's software that does digital filtering and EQ at a potentially higher quality level than what most DACs can. It has a horrid interface, so usually people have their music player, often Roon, send audio through it where it then re-samples, converts or EQs it on the fly to send to your DAC.

Thanks, but I’m still not clear where that software would live in my chain. Zen stream sends my music to Di24-HE so there is no computer in the mix. I guess maybe you’re proposing that I place it in between the two. Is that right?

 

[Currawong]

Thanks, but I’m still not clear where that software would live in my chain. Zen stream sends my music to Di24-HE so there is no computer in the mix. I guess maybe you’re proposing that I place it in between the two. Is that right?

No, it goes between your music player and the Zen Stream, which has a software receiver/transmitter called NAA, which receives the (re-sampled) audio from HQPlayer and outputs it to whatever DAC or digital converter is connected, in your case the Di24-HE.

 

[Daniel4IEM]

No, it goes between your music player and the Zen Stream, which has a software receiver/transmitter called NAA, which receives the (re-sampled) audio from HQPlayer and outputs it to whatever DAC or digital converter is connected, in your case the Di24-HE.

Thanks!
So in my case I’m streaming Tidal (via Mac app or iOS mobile app and sometimes Android) almost 100% of the time. Unless I’m still misunderstanding this implies putting HQPlayer on the Mac or iPhone

 

[Currawong]

Thanks!
So in my case I’m streaming Tidal (via Mac app or iOS mobile app and sometimes Android) almost 100% of the time. Unless I’m still misunderstanding this implies putting HQPlayer on the Mac or iPhone

Unfortunately it requires a dedicated computer. I do wish Jussi would make an iOS version that had all the up-sampling capabilities, or at least some of them, but options such as DSD up-sampling require serious computing power.

 

[Daniel4IEM]

Unfortunately it requires a dedicated computer. I do wish Jussi would make an iOS version that had all the up-sampling capabilities, or at least some of them, but options such as DSD up-sampling require serious computing power.

Thanks for the confirmation! That feels like a bit much at this point.

I am considering replacing Zen Stream with either Volumio Rivo (or the new +) or Eversolo DMP A6. Feedback welcome by anyone

 

[FredA]

Thanks for the confirmation! That feels like a bit much at this point.

I am considering replacing Zen Stream with either Volumio Rivo (or the new +) or Eversolo DMP A6. Feedback welcome by anyone

Volumio (the OS) is a bit buggy but works fine once you get used to it.. Avoid automatic updates both on the remote app and OS. There are occurrences of issues with which the app stops working all of a sudden. When this happens, you can use the web interface.

 

[Dnguyen926]

Delete

 

[Daniel4IEM]

Anyone tried Meze Liric 2 with R27RE? Would love to hear impressions as I am about to pull the trigger on one but have been told it is picky with amps

 

[Audiophiliac]

Listening to my newest addition to my R8 (2019) chain, a DI-20:
First, I2S wins a simply more clarity to our soundstage's presentation award, and finally gives us a trouble-free original presentation, but before that, coax shoves all your data through a big fat same $ single-cable pipeline. Returning to coax, also $20, my space got really messy from those 3 lines sharing, but the data line got the heft from diameter it will always appreciate. The other 3 lines are getting packed into that same 1, so goodbye that new 4 mini-cable offer, albeit with it's original presentation and soundstage simply intact award, but for now coax, for the required meat on it's body. Max $ on the data line's pipe is what some users would prefer, although a 2nd 3-smaller-cables addition could be our best 4-line I2S transmission option.
Please standardize a 3-lines AES cable connection + a single fatter coax cable for the data line I2S solution, with it's big fat pipeline, VS that tiny little hdmi crap I2S cable choice.
Back to currently, my music's meat is full of gaps, because it shared it's bandwidth with 3 other lines-worth of other data. It's not present in the HDMI cable.
Sony and Phillips did you a favour, letting the body have more underlying existence, this way. Engineers, please un-congest me by adding a 3-line cable for the 2nd-4th most important factors. For me, HDMI loses all of it's data's body, before correcting my new mess in the first place after that, so HDMI<Coax.