[regal]

I'm more interested in the two other PMD100 DAC's the 3SE & 9MK3, can't decide if they are near the ref 1 level or worth the $'s over the 19MK3

 

[jeffjazz]

Also curious about the 3se vs the 19MK3. The Ref 1 is out of my price range. I think the 19MK3 is a new design, than the 3se, not sure though. Anyone compared them???

 

[regal]

I asked AudioGD if they could build a DAC-3 DV with a PMD100, most interested in the diamound output stage. The 9MK3 looks very similiar to the ref one just without the DSP1 which doesn't interest me anyhow. 90% of my music is Grateful Dead and Joni Mitchell all HDCD encoded.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Funny you should mention the Ref 1. I was testing a DAC19MK3 for a local customer and plugged it into the Phoenix. After listening for a while, I switched to the Ref 1. The jump was shocking, as if the soundstage had gone from a studio to concert hall. Not at all subtle. This even if I was using speakers with the little Parasound Zamp. I reckon though the DAC19MK3 would give a Benchmark DAC1 a run for its money though, going by the time I compared the Compass with it. Much of what impresses people with the Benchmark is its brightness.

Currawong, did you try both dacs with the same rca interconnects ? I found out that moving from the sharkwire interconnect (or other budget interconnects) to the "Ultimate Silver Dream" RCA interconnects opens up dramatically the soundstage in width, depth and height. (I did a comparison here)

Also, I was wondering since you have listened to the Compass, the dac-19mk3 and the Ref-1, which is the biggest jump in sound performance : dac-19mk3 vs Compass or Ref-1 vs. dac-19mk3 ?

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by regal /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... The 9MK3 looks very similiar to the ref one just without the DSP1 which doesn't interest me anyhow. 90% of my music is Grateful Dead and Joni Mitchell all HDCD encoded.

Yes! I think the main difference is that 9MK3 uses DIR9001 as digital receiver, while the Ref1 has a dedicated board for it, the DSP1. I wonder whats the difference in sound quality if you use a really good low jitter transport. Probably not much (if any).

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gevorg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes! I think the main difference is that 9MK3 uses DIR9001 as digital receiver, while the Ref1 has a dedicated board for it, the DSP1. I wonder whats the difference in sound quality if you use a really good low jitter transport. Probably not much (if any).

Both units use the DIR9001 as a digital receiver.
The main difference is that the Ref-1 uses the DSP1 as a digital filter and the DAC-9MK3 uses the DF-1704 digital filter instead.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Currawong, did you try both dacs with the same rca interconnects ? I found out that moving from the sharkwire interconnect (or other budget interconnects) to the "Ultimate Silver Dream" RCA interconnects opens up dramatically the soundstage in width, depth and height. (I did a comparison here)

I was using Van Den Hul The Orchid, which arguably gives you Nordost Valhalla performance at 1/10th the price. Balanced, there was almost nothing in it between my custom ACSS cables and them.

Quote:

Also, I was wondering since you have listened to the Compass, the dac-19mk3 and the Ref-1, which is the biggest jump in sound performance : dac-19mk3 vs Compass or Ref-1 vs. dac-19mk3 ?

The jump to the Ref 1, most likely because of the switch in the Phoenix to its fully balanced mode, was the largest. It's the same as if I switch my HD-800s to balanced -- the difference is not at all subtle. Down the track I plan to build an Elekit amp and then I'll compare them single-ended.

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif The jump to the Ref 1, most likely because of the switch in the Phoenix to its fully balanced mode, was the largest. It's the same as if I switch my HD-800s to balanced -- the difference is not at all subtle. Down the track I plan to build an Elekit amp and then I'll compare them single-ended.

Thanks for the info Currawong, I guess I should start saving money for the Ref-1 ...

 

[regal]

What about modding (replacing) the USB input with the Hiface board, would that be something folks would be interested in?


I'm also looking at the analog filter but Audio-GD wont give me the schematics so it will take a while?

 

[Patu]

I contacted Kingwa about possible upgrades and updates for DAC19Mk3 in near future. Nothing in sight ATM. He said that it's very difficult to make any upgrades if he wants to keep the case as same size.

It would probably need a whole different design to upgrade with same size case. Bel Canto DAC3 is in a smaller case than DAC19Mk3 and IMO it definitely was a better DAC than DAC19Mk3.

 

[regal]

There is room to replace the USB input with the Hiface, the advantage is the asynchrous USB and no SPDIF.


As a side note I was oking around and was amazed to see that pin 19 of the PMD100 was set for +5V. This is a feature only the highest quality PMD100 DAC's used in the past where the attenuation 20 bit vs 16 bit is done in the analog domain instead of reducing resolution to 15 bit. This is a good company and I rarely ever think that about an audio equipment vendor. Man, I really want to hear the 9MK3.

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim.a /img/forum/go_quote.gif Both units use the DIR9001 as a digital receiver. The main difference is that the Ref-1 uses the DSP1 as a digital filter and the DAC-9MK3 uses the DF-1704 digital filter instead.

Aha! Thanks!

 

[JulioCat2]

I think i need your advise to really undestand the difference between a Digital Receiver, Digital Filter and a DAC Chip (i thought that the DF-1704 was a DAC Chip).

 

[vlach]

Ok folks, my DAC19Mk3 arrived this morning, looking beautiful (i asked Kingwa to put a silver selector knob to match the on/off power switch instead of the stock black).

My preliminary A/B testing using a wide variety of music genres show a significant improvement in SQ over the DacMagic; everything is bigger, wider & deeper. This is already starting to look like one of the biggest returns on any of my audio investments to date (approx. $250 out of pocket after selling my DacMagic). I can see the advantage of going "manufacturer direct"...companies like Benchmark, Cambridge, PS Audio etc. should be worried...

Special thanks to Fraudrei for pushing me in the Audio-GD direction

 

[JulioCat2]

Welcome to the Club vlanch, great idea for the silver selector nob!!!! i have a P2 preamp with that silver nob and they look way better than the one in my Dac19Mk3.

I change from DACMagic to and i think the same way than you, just wait until your DAC19Mk3 burns in.