Edoardo
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2009
- Posts
- 856
- Likes
- 23
Hello, a couple of weeks ago it happened that the Hi-Fi guy of a music store nearby asked me to tell him what I thought about a new piece of gear he had in demo.
Hey, no financial interest of any kind here, I am just a good client of his, he wanted to be sure the dealer did not give him a hoax and asked me for impressions... So we have spent 3/4 hours of our afternoon with the following rig
...my personal iPod Classic containing ALAC tracks ripped from my original CDs
...a Marantz CD player with USB input - cannot remember whether it was the 5003 or the 6003 - connected to the iPod via USB
...The Onix DAC 25A, fed by the CD player coaxial out
...My personal HD650 and a pair of k702 the store had in demo.
Though it is a DAC/PreAmp/HeadAmp combo, I cared only about the Headphone part.
That is what both me and my new friend were more curious and concerned about, and that's why I'm writing in this section of the Forum.
Actually, I was the most worried one, after having seen online a few pictures of the insides in which I could spot just an IC headphone section...
Before the listening impressions, I have to say that yes, this piece of gear is as beautiful as it looks in picture, and that it is much bigger, at least in depth, than it looks in the most of the pictures I have seen of it.
So... If you are willing to buy it, mind it is as deep as, if not more deep than most DVD or BRD players... it will hardly fit on the shelves of a library...!
Let's speak about music... I've fed it with some of my mainstream favourites, including Kate Bush, Eric Clapton, Stravinsky, Coltrane, Tom Waits, Chopin, David Gilmour, J S Bach, Bill Frisell, Bob Dylan, Villalobos, Miles Davis, Albeniz, The Allman Brothers, John Lee Hooker, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Big Bill Broonzy and some others I can't recall... No electronic music of any kind, sorry
Is it powerful? Yes, It's enough powerful to make your ears bleed with a pair of HD650 and the volume knob beyond 1 or 2 o'clock.
HD650 veil? I'd say it's gone!
Does it drive the k702 properly? Well, the k702 can do better, I'd say this amp cannot show us their accuracy fully, but it is certainly able to fill them all over the spectrum.
Sound signature? A very warm one. I have personally found it really coloured in the mids.
Mind I am not saying that the mids were pronounced or louder, but that they were somehow coloured. not exactly tube-like, but coloured.
Of course, electric instruments are its daily bread, but for instance, if you are a piano player or an aficionado of this instrument, I cannot suggest you the DAC 25A as an amp. It can be very clear and airy at some points, but can't make such instruments sound as percussive as they are, and you will probably find their timbre too unnatural - at least, i did.
I appreciated the way it slightly turned on every other plucked instrument, though. Maybe it's because they're not as harmonically rich.
On the other hand, human voices, especially the feminine ones, are extremely life-like in the soundstage, even on the HD650... I really can't tell what it does, but human beings here stand out in the instrumental crowd, though never being "in your head". Cute feature.
And... If you are worrying about that, strings sound surprisingly well.
Then I must say it's very silent, very dynamic and quite detailed amp overall.
But mind it... Detailed, not transparent!
So...
Well, priced at 550/600 Euros, this combo can be a great deal for a newbie.
I wish it came out before I bought my 300-buck combo... I would have been happy of spending the double on this one, really...
It has its weak points, but the headphone out here, though cheap-looking, is certainly not one of the "utility" type, and featuring a 24/96 USB input and a preamp, this toy can surely make a lot of people - and their wallets - happy for a long time.
Hey, no financial interest of any kind here, I am just a good client of his, he wanted to be sure the dealer did not give him a hoax and asked me for impressions... So we have spent 3/4 hours of our afternoon with the following rig
...my personal iPod Classic containing ALAC tracks ripped from my original CDs
...a Marantz CD player with USB input - cannot remember whether it was the 5003 or the 6003 - connected to the iPod via USB
...The Onix DAC 25A, fed by the CD player coaxial out
...My personal HD650 and a pair of k702 the store had in demo.
Though it is a DAC/PreAmp/HeadAmp combo, I cared only about the Headphone part.
That is what both me and my new friend were more curious and concerned about, and that's why I'm writing in this section of the Forum.
Actually, I was the most worried one, after having seen online a few pictures of the insides in which I could spot just an IC headphone section...
Before the listening impressions, I have to say that yes, this piece of gear is as beautiful as it looks in picture, and that it is much bigger, at least in depth, than it looks in the most of the pictures I have seen of it.
So... If you are willing to buy it, mind it is as deep as, if not more deep than most DVD or BRD players... it will hardly fit on the shelves of a library...!
Let's speak about music... I've fed it with some of my mainstream favourites, including Kate Bush, Eric Clapton, Stravinsky, Coltrane, Tom Waits, Chopin, David Gilmour, J S Bach, Bill Frisell, Bob Dylan, Villalobos, Miles Davis, Albeniz, The Allman Brothers, John Lee Hooker, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Big Bill Broonzy and some others I can't recall... No electronic music of any kind, sorry
Is it powerful? Yes, It's enough powerful to make your ears bleed with a pair of HD650 and the volume knob beyond 1 or 2 o'clock.
HD650 veil? I'd say it's gone!
Does it drive the k702 properly? Well, the k702 can do better, I'd say this amp cannot show us their accuracy fully, but it is certainly able to fill them all over the spectrum.
Sound signature? A very warm one. I have personally found it really coloured in the mids.
Mind I am not saying that the mids were pronounced or louder, but that they were somehow coloured. not exactly tube-like, but coloured.
Of course, electric instruments are its daily bread, but for instance, if you are a piano player or an aficionado of this instrument, I cannot suggest you the DAC 25A as an amp. It can be very clear and airy at some points, but can't make such instruments sound as percussive as they are, and you will probably find their timbre too unnatural - at least, i did.
I appreciated the way it slightly turned on every other plucked instrument, though. Maybe it's because they're not as harmonically rich.
On the other hand, human voices, especially the feminine ones, are extremely life-like in the soundstage, even on the HD650... I really can't tell what it does, but human beings here stand out in the instrumental crowd, though never being "in your head". Cute feature.
And... If you are worrying about that, strings sound surprisingly well.
Then I must say it's very silent, very dynamic and quite detailed amp overall.
But mind it... Detailed, not transparent!
So...
Well, priced at 550/600 Euros, this combo can be a great deal for a newbie.
I wish it came out before I bought my 300-buck combo... I would have been happy of spending the double on this one, really...
It has its weak points, but the headphone out here, though cheap-looking, is certainly not one of the "utility" type, and featuring a 24/96 USB input and a preamp, this toy can surely make a lot of people - and their wallets - happy for a long time.
