[ajaipuriyar]

As an upgrade to my mScaler + Dave, I am seriously looking at either the Tube Dac or dCS Vivaldi (just the dac for now).

If anyone has heard both, would love to hear your opinion

Also do the Nagra dacs have Left / Right channel balance control?

Thanks.

 

[paulchiu]

As an upgrade to my mScaler + Dave, I am seriously looking at either the Tube Dac or dCS Vivaldi (just the dac for now).

If anyone has heard both, would love to hear your opinion

Also do the Nagra dacs have Left / Right channel balance control?

Thanks.

Did you get to try the Chord M Scaler with Nagra DACs?

 

[ajaipuriyar]

Did you get to try the Chord M Scaler with Nagra DACs?

No. Sold the Dave and mScaler before i started my quest for a new DAC.

 

[jvvita]

As an upgrade to my mScaler + Dave, I am seriously looking at either the Tube Dac or dCS Vivaldi (just the dac for now).

If anyone has heard both, would love to hear your opinion

Also do the Nagra dacs have Left / Right channel balance control?

Thanks.

I think I can help a bit. I just got out of a full Vivaldi stack to a Nagra HD X Dac. Before deciding on the HD X I also auditioned a Tube Dac.

What I can tell you:
- full Vivaldi x Tube Dac: to my taste, the tube Dac. The music flows more organically, and less clinical (Vivaldi sounds dry and clinical to me)
- full Vivaldi x HD X Dac: the show does not even start. The HD X is so much better in conveying the musical experience. It is so easy, without any type of exageration. The vocals are sublime.

To me, if you are contemplating a Vivaldi Dac stand alone vs a tube Dac, I believe you cannot go wrong with the tube Dac. And you will not fall victim of dcs complexity (upsampler+clock+ lots of cables and configuration).

 

[Ross]

I've just bought an HD Dac and have a couple of questions.

I've been through a lot of DACs over the last few years - Chord DAVE/Blu 2, Ayre QX5 Twenty, Mytek Manhattan II, Lumin X1 - and most recently I have spent a few days with a borrowed DCS Bartok to see if this could finally be "the one". Sadly, the Bartok was very disappointing - a detailed but rather dry, and uninvolving sound. I was ready to give up on finding a DAC I liked and my dealer suggested an HD DAC that had just been traded in on a new Tube DAC. I nearly didn't bother, and without much enthusiasm I took it home. When I did, I was stunned. It was exactly the sound I had been looking for. Where the DCS was dry and dull, the Nagra was rich, dynamic, liquid and emotional, without giving up any detail. So while it was still a very expensive purchase even second hand, I did not hesitate to buy it.

Now, my questions. Which input sounds the best? I am using an Ultrarendu and the USB input, since I think Nagra have obviously worked hard to produce a good sounding USB input. But do the AES/EBU or SPDIF inputs sound better? If so, I may need to invest in something like a DCS Network Bridge (pity I recently sold my Lumin U1 mini).

Do you leave the unit on 24/7, or switch it off when not in use?

 

[paulchiu]

I've just bought an HD Dac and have a couple of questions.

I've been through a lot of DACs over the last few years - Chord DAVE/Blu 2, Ayre QX5 Twenty, Mytek Manhattan II, Lumin X1 - and most recently I have spent a few days with a borrowed DCS Bartok to see if this could finally be "the one". Sadly, the Bartok was very disappointing - a detailed but rather dry, and uninvolving sound. I was ready to give up on finding a DAC I liked and my dealer suggested an HD DAC that had just been traded in on a new Tube DAC. I nearly didn't bother, and without much enthusiasm I took it home. When I did, I was stunned. It was exactly the sound I had been looking for. Where the DCS was dry and dull, the Nagra was rich, dynamic, liquid and emotional, without giving up any detail. So while it was still a very expensive purchase even second hand, I did not hesitate to buy it.

Now, my questions. Which input sounds the best? I am using an Ultrarendu and the USB input, since I think Nagra have obviously worked hard to produce a good sounding USB input. But do the AES/EBU or SPDIF inputs sound better? If so, I may need to invest in something like a DCS Network Bridge (pity I recently sold my Lumin U1 mini).

Do you leave the unit on 24/7, or switch it off when not in use?

I tried the add-ons with mine from time to time. I like the way the HD DAC sounds with just a USB either straight from my Mac Pro 2019 or from the Roon Nucleus Plus.
The Chord DAVE sounds a tad better with Microrendu, but not with the Nagra. I power the HD DAC with Nagra MPS (battery inside). No, I do not recommend leaving the HD DAC on 24/7, in the case with any vacuum tubes.

I have been using dual 100% silver custom USB cords from two ports from my Mac into the Nagra single USB input. Tried other USB cords, like the Audioquest Diamond and some Crystal links. The Nagra really does not need that special of a USB cord, in my opinion. Other DACs, yes. Not the Nagra's.

 

[Ross]

Thanks, it does sound like the USB input of the HD DAC has been extremely well designed. It is sounding great with the Ultrarendu into the USB input, using a Furutech USB cable, so I will probably just leave it at that.

Good advice not leaving the dac on 24/7. I guess I will just have to allow it 30 minutes or so to warm up every time I listen.

 

[SurgeTO]

Yes I am very Satisfied by this combo. Nagra HD-DAC with focal Stellia works
also very good

I just took delivery of my Stellias and the Nagra Tube DAC is coming soon. Glad to hear the combo works well.

The Stellias look and feel ultra-premium. Certainly compared to anything else on the market, except for Stax.

 

[pspentax]

I think at this moment the Nagra DAC’s are the most musical, natural and mature sound and the new HD is a huge step up over the Classic
Normally in many systems I prefer them to the Chord/DCS/Esoteric ones
At this moment I’m playing with a Chord TT to an Stax 252+L300

 

[pspentax]

Let’s see how the Stax will work.
This HD DAC is second hand as we sell the new HD DAC X to the costumer

 

[SurgeTO]

Let’s see how the Stax will work.
This HD DAC is second hand as we sell the new HD DAC X to the costumer

Nice! What are you using in between the HD DAC and the Stax? The Woo Audio electrostatic converter?

 

[pspentax]

Nice! What are you using in between the HD DAC and the Stax? The Woo Audio electrostatic converter?

No, it will be the 700S and T8000.

 

[SurgeTO]

just received my new Tube DAC... the sound is jaw-dropping, even out of the box!
Mine had 69 hours on the clock - is that normal? Does the factory run them in for that long?

 

[bmichels]

just received my new Tube DAC... the sound is jaw-dropping, even out of the box!
Mine had 69 hours on the clock - is that normal? Does the factory run them in for that long?

I can't answer this. But I am happy you enjoy your new toy. The Tube DAC is definitively my next upgrade from My Denafrip's Terminator DAC.

Question if you don't mind: Have you tested the Headphone output of the Tube DAC ? Is is good quality or just here for convenience ?

Also, could you please tell us what Source, preamp (if any), amp & headphone you are using conected to the Tube DAC ?

and.... enjoy

 

[SurgeTO]

I can't answer this. But I am happy you enjoy your new toy. The Tube DAC is definitively my next upgrade from My Denafrip's Terminator DAC.

Question if you don't mind: Have you tested the Headphone output of the Tube DAC ? Is is good quality or just here for convenience ?

Also, could you please tell us what Source, preamp (if any), amp & headphone you are using conected to the Tube DAC ?

and.... enjoy

Yes, of course: I'm using a MacBook Pro and Roon as a source. Nothing else. A big driver to going with the Tube DAC was it's "all in one" solution. This is in my bedroom, and my wife would not have liked separate components!
The headphone amp seems to be very good quality - I cannot discern any weakness at this point. But I am using easy to drive Focal Stellias. I read in a review of the Tube DAC (or the HD DAC) that the headphone amp is of good quality, but for harder to drive headphones, it may not be the best. I know you can adjust the gain by changing jumpers in the DAC.
Question for the community - what is the best setting for low impedance headphones like the Stellia:
Default is No Attenuation, with options for -6 dB and "Limited Power Output"
Does it make sense to choose "Limited output"?