[FredA]

Hey guys,

I am interested in getting R8. Can anyone tell me does the R8 need to be stay power "ON" 24/7 even after the initial burn-in in order for it to be good sounding. I had been told that the Schiit Yggdrasil need to be stay up 24/7 because the warm up time for it is couple hours.

If it is like the r7, which i would tend to assume cause it utilizes the same conversion boards, it needs from 12 to 24 hours to sound at its best. Warm up is most likely faster if the room is on the warm side. Get the Accusilicon option if you choose to buy.

 

[Whitigir]

Are you on the Accusilicon band wagon too? Today, Kingwa offers them as an option. I would advise anyone considering a dac over the basic range consisting of the r2r 11 and nfb11.28 to get the option.

For now, I am out of AudioGD for a while

 

[ForSure]

If it is like the r7, which i would tend to assume cause it utilizes the same conversion boards, it needs from 12 to 24 hours to sound at its best. Warm up is most likely faster if the room is on the warm side. Get the Accusilicon option if you choose to buy.

Humm, I only turn on my gear 1~2 hours per section. How different are we talking about when comparing cold start vs warm up.

 

[FredA]

Humm, I only turn on my gear 1~2 hours per section. How different are we talking about when comparing cold start vs warm up.

The difference is big enough that i would never consider turning my dac off. It's not just the conversion board, the output stages need 5-6 hours to sound properly.

 

[DACLadder]

I'm going to have to rethink leaving power on the DACs 24/7. My system took about 4 hrs to warm up (before Accusilicons). But in the past several weeks leaving power on the M7S and R7 and Instant good sound without the wait. And Gustard U16 works much better leaving power on as well.

But the warm-up experience is nothing like the Yggy v1. Audio GD products never really sound bad cold - just better when warm.

 

[DACLadder]

The R2R DAC board change announcement now expands to include the DA8 resistor DAC module.

Take a look at the last line in the announcement....
----------------------
DA7 V2 & DA8 V2 released
Since 7th Dec. 2018, the DA7 & DA8 module had upgraded to V2.

It has the hardware upgraded, that included the circuit upgrade and ladder resistors parameter changed.
In audition, the upgrade had improved a bit on transparency and detail, more real like on sound stage.
In measure the DA7 V2 THD improved over 10DB and DA8 V2 improved 6DB.

 

[comzee]

I asked Kingwa about upgrading my Master 7 to Master 7 Singularity. He said the boards were $300 to ship to me.
He said I'd need to know how to solder well and not screw up wiring, or I could fry the DAC.

My experience in soldering is rolling coupling capacitors, I'm not a complete novice, but not an expert by any means.
Has anybody done this upgrade themselves, how easy is it?

 

[FredA]

I asked Kingwa about upgrading my Master 7 to Master 7 Singularity. He said the boards were $300 to ship to me.
He said I'd need to know how to solder well and not screw up wiring, or I could fry the DAC.

My experience in soldering is rolling coupling capacitors, I'm not a complete novice, but not an expert by any means.
Has anybody done this upgrade themselves, how easy is it?

@DACLadder did it. You need more experience than you have i believe. I am more experienced than you are and would not attempt it. A solution is to send your dac to either audio-gd or magna hifi.

 

[DACLadder]

@comzee Several people have successfully swapped digital boards. Requires some skill and takes time to perform correctly. The biggest skill needed is desoldering and resoldering the many wires neatly and without melting the insulation. And there is no written procedure but have a few photos and can give you guidance. PM me and we can discuss.

And be sure to upgrade the XOs to Accusilicon.

 

[ForSure]

Friends,

I am on the edge of buying the R8 to pair with my SET amp. I currently using the OPPO 205 as the streamer and CD player (streamer mostly). OPPO sounds good but not as smooth as my vinyl and I am looking for a much more analog sound from my DAC. The R8 will be connected with the computer thru USB. The main concern will be power consumption. Since each of my listening section will only be 1 to 2 hours per day, I don't want the DAC to be on 247. The computer is my ROON controller and will use it as a MQA decoder. Will the R8 able to decode MQA in the future or support ROON?

 

[FredA]

Friends,

I am on the edge of buying the R8 to pair with my SET amp. I currently using the OPPO 205 as the streamer and CD player (streamer mostly). OPPO sounds good but not as smooth as my vinyl and I am looking for a much more analog sound from my DAC. The R8 will be connected with the computer thru USB. The main concern will be power consumption. Since each of my listening section will only be 1 to 2 hours per day, I don't want the DAC to be on 247. The computer is my ROON controller and will use it as a MQA decoder. Will the R8 able to decode MQA in the future or support ROON?

You can setup a RaspberryPi as a Roon enpoind for peanut. Search the net. The r8 will most likely never support Roon by itself. Power consumption is not so high, less than you typical light bulb. I would keep it on 24/7. Again, take the Accusilicon option if you order.

 

[ForSure]

Friends,

How's the resale value of the Audio-GD products? I know I can get at least 60% back if I purchase the Schiit Gungnir or Yggdrasil.

 

[FredA]

Friends,

How's the resale value of the Audio-GD products? I know I can get at least 60% back if I purchase the Schiit Gungnir or Yggdrasil.

Should be very good on the r-8 as it is an outstanding value to start with. My master-7 was still worth 50% after 4 years of ownership.

I would have no problem dropping 1k and more on a used r-8.

 

[FredA]

Speaking of value: the Master-3. After about 2 weeks of burn-in, and it's probably not 100% done, it trounces my class-d. Even bass has got better with it. I am using an acss cable i made myself for 45$, which beats my silver xlr cable costing 170$, which in turn was as good as 1k cables i owned in the past.

It is as you would expect a perfect match with the r-7 and m-1. It is beyond excellent, my setup has never been so analog, imaging never had so much depth, or timbres, such richness.

It's first class amplification, period. Pardon my excessive enthusiasm: the Big One calls for it.

 

[Chopin75]

Friends,

I am on the edge of buying the R8 to pair with my SET amp. I currently using the OPPO 205 as the streamer and CD player (streamer mostly). OPPO sounds good but not as smooth as my vinyl and I am looking for a much more analog sound from my DAC. The R8 will be connected with the computer thru USB. The main concern will be power consumption. Since each of my listening section will only be 1 to 2 hours per day, I don't want the DAC to be on 247. The computer is my ROON controller and will use it as a MQA decoder. Will the R8 able to decode MQA in the future or support ROON?

There should be huge difference since I also won an Oppo, though older version - 95. CD sounds amazing (if you still plan to spin CDs) and is still better than 16/44hz files. Also you should make sure they have the new DA7 board or equivalent for R8. This board should improve sound and especially correct DSD noise issue.