MayaTlab
1000+ Head-Fier
I'm not sure a lot of active speakers have unbalanced inputs. Possibly a bit of an issue with the Concero.
Resonessence Labs Concero discussion/review thead
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project86
Headphoneus Supremus
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I have both the HP and the HD coming next week. I intend to review the HP at InnerFidelity, and the HD over at Part Time Audiophile, where I'll be contributing on a fittingly-part-time basis.
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MMMM, ATC..... Droooool. Very very nice stuff.
Anyone got their Concero hd yet
I have both the HP and the HD coming next week. I intend to review the HP at InnerFidelity, and the HD over at Part Time Audiophile, where I'll be contributing on a fittingly-part-time basis.
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MMMM, ATC..... Droooool. Very very nice stuff.
Funklezen
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Fantastic looking forward to it 
sooo many new interesting dacs in the 1k range...
sooo many new interesting dacs in the 1k range...
mcullinan
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Compared the original Concero with the EE Minimax Plus with Dexa Discretes... It didn't do terribly, the Minimax is twice the price and uses the high end Sabre Chip. The Minimax was much warmer and inviting (used tube mode), greater bass slam and more detail. The Concero had a nice sized sound stage and you wouldnt notice these things as lacking without comparison.
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Well I just got my Resonessece concero and I thought that it was only fitting that write my first impressions about it to give back to the community a bit. Also excuse my writing as it is not that great and I am not very good at describing what I hear in words.
Just a note but I got it used off a fellow head-fier.
Today was the day that the package was supposed to arrive and I found myself checking the tracking info on my package every 5min. Then finally the magical "your package has been delivered" text popped up on my screen so I rushed downstairs to grab my package to open it up and inspect the goodies inside. The DAC came in a fairly plain looking black box with a sleeve that had a picture of the concero on the top. after opening the box the DAC was nicely packed in between two styrofoam pieces and was enclosed in a black pouch. Taking the Concero out of the pouch I was surprised at how small it was and also equally surprising was how heavy this small DAC was.
The build quality is fantastic on this little thing. Nothing about it stands out but handling it one can tell how much care was put into it to make such a beautiful product. It is a plain black box with the Resonessece Labs logo on the front backed by an LED which turns magenta, blue or red depending on what the DAC is doing and the word Concero on the top of the DAC, and an USB, S/PDIF and a pair of RCA connectors on the back. Handling the Concero one would not be able to tell that this small beauty costs only $600. After doing a once over I finally plugged it in and downloaded all the drivers and software updates.
Now the part of what it sounds like. Please forgive me in advance for not being able to describe what I hear well. The first thing I did was compare to my DIY AMB Labs Gamma 2 DAC. Immediately after plugging it in it was apparent that the Concero was on a whole new level compared to the Gamma two. Everything about it seemed to be just as good if not more refined than the AMB Lab's DAC. Immediately I noticed the difference in imaging and base slam. The Concero has more precise imaging and a slightly larger soundstage. The base presentation was more tight and had a nice punch to it. After marveling at the differences I turned my focus to the mids and highs. My ears are very sensitive to treble energy and rolled off highs so the next thing I noticed was that the highs where not overly bright, very controlled and non-fatiguing. The mids sounded smoother and had to my ears a nice grain to them. Vocals had never sounded better and Slash's guitar never sounded so good. Small details seemed to become more apparent and I could hear things in the recordings that I never thought where there. Finally it was time to bust out the apple remote that came with the DAC to change the digital filters, act as a play/pause button, next/back button, and USB to S/PDIF, USB to Analog, or S/PDIF to Analog. After playing around with the filters I determined that I could barely tell the difference between the first two and had an even harder time picking out the difference between the last two. Ultimately, I ended up liking the second one best but honestly they all sounded very close if not the same to my ears. At this point there was only one thing left to do: loose myself in the music and sit back and relax as the sounds from my Audeze's hypnotically took over my entire body.
Just after listening to this little box for a couple hours I can confirm that it is worth every penny of my money. It was a significant upgrade to my Gamma 2 and also one of the best DACs I have ever heard. The only complaint I would have with the Concero is that I wish there was a filter change button on the DAC itself instead of having to purchase an apple remote to do it.
Mind you this is only what I think, and is therefore an opinion. Also these are impressions after listening for only a couple of hours.
Thank you for reading
Just a note but I got it used off a fellow head-fier.
Today was the day that the package was supposed to arrive and I found myself checking the tracking info on my package every 5min. Then finally the magical "your package has been delivered" text popped up on my screen so I rushed downstairs to grab my package to open it up and inspect the goodies inside. The DAC came in a fairly plain looking black box with a sleeve that had a picture of the concero on the top. after opening the box the DAC was nicely packed in between two styrofoam pieces and was enclosed in a black pouch. Taking the Concero out of the pouch I was surprised at how small it was and also equally surprising was how heavy this small DAC was.
The build quality is fantastic on this little thing. Nothing about it stands out but handling it one can tell how much care was put into it to make such a beautiful product. It is a plain black box with the Resonessece Labs logo on the front backed by an LED which turns magenta, blue or red depending on what the DAC is doing and the word Concero on the top of the DAC, and an USB, S/PDIF and a pair of RCA connectors on the back. Handling the Concero one would not be able to tell that this small beauty costs only $600. After doing a once over I finally plugged it in and downloaded all the drivers and software updates.
Now the part of what it sounds like. Please forgive me in advance for not being able to describe what I hear well. The first thing I did was compare to my DIY AMB Labs Gamma 2 DAC. Immediately after plugging it in it was apparent that the Concero was on a whole new level compared to the Gamma two. Everything about it seemed to be just as good if not more refined than the AMB Lab's DAC. Immediately I noticed the difference in imaging and base slam. The Concero has more precise imaging and a slightly larger soundstage. The base presentation was more tight and had a nice punch to it. After marveling at the differences I turned my focus to the mids and highs. My ears are very sensitive to treble energy and rolled off highs so the next thing I noticed was that the highs where not overly bright, very controlled and non-fatiguing. The mids sounded smoother and had to my ears a nice grain to them. Vocals had never sounded better and Slash's guitar never sounded so good. Small details seemed to become more apparent and I could hear things in the recordings that I never thought where there. Finally it was time to bust out the apple remote that came with the DAC to change the digital filters, act as a play/pause button, next/back button, and USB to S/PDIF, USB to Analog, or S/PDIF to Analog. After playing around with the filters I determined that I could barely tell the difference between the first two and had an even harder time picking out the difference between the last two. Ultimately, I ended up liking the second one best but honestly they all sounded very close if not the same to my ears. At this point there was only one thing left to do: loose myself in the music and sit back and relax as the sounds from my Audeze's hypnotically took over my entire body.
Just after listening to this little box for a couple hours I can confirm that it is worth every penny of my money. It was a significant upgrade to my Gamma 2 and also one of the best DACs I have ever heard. The only complaint I would have with the Concero is that I wish there was a filter change button on the DAC itself instead of having to purchase an apple remote to do it.
Mind you this is only what I think, and is therefore an opinion. Also these are impressions after listening for only a couple of hours.
Thank you for reading
Theogenes
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Nice review, Zash!! Thanks for sharing man!!
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+1 Great write up Zashoomin. I'm also on Filter 2, telling them apart has gotten easier over time and I've definitely settled on the Apodizing Filter. I'm still very deeply in love with the Concero. For the first time in my audiophile life I don't have any urge to upgrade my source. I feel like my amp or headphone is the weak link now which is pretty sweet.
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Thanks
+1 Great write up Zashoomin. I'm also on Filter 2, telling them apart has gotten easier over time and I've definitely settled on the Apodizing Filter. I'm still very deeply in love with the Concero. For the first time in my audiophile life I don't have any urge to upgrade my source. I feel like my amp or headphone is the weak link now which is pretty sweet.
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Thank you. I can't get my ears away from the desk since yesterday. As for the upgrade though. Ever since the Concero HD came out I have been itching to try it out.
. My next upgrade is definately going to be my amp though. I am currently using a speaker amp and it is great because it pushes enough power into my LCD2's but I would love to get a dedicated amp for my headphones to clean my desk a bit. Then eventually if I can scrape up enough money I might upgrade my headphones.
Thank you. I can't get my ears away from the desk since yesterday. As for the upgrade though. Ever since the Concero HD came out I have been itching to try it out.
kcee
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Ordered an HD today, should have it in a few days.
Going to compare it to the Original and then decide which one works better for me. I sold my original, but have a friends here to compare. I really like the original alot so I am thinking I will have to be blown away to think the HD is 250 dollars better. DSD is not enough for me to keep it if it is only slightly better. We'll see.
I am thinking there should be some comparisons/reviews coming soon since its been out for a bit now ?
Going to compare it to the Original and then decide which one works better for me. I sold my original, but have a friends here to compare. I really like the original alot so I am thinking I will have to be blown away to think the HD is 250 dollars better. DSD is not enough for me to keep it if it is only slightly better. We'll see.
I am thinking there should be some comparisons/reviews coming soon since its been out for a bit now ?
Nick Dangerous
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Funklezen
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Great looking forward to your findings
kcee
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