[Da5Id]

So, I got my Invicta yesterday and am going to have cans on my head all weekend thanks to it. I'll write a proper review later, but have to say that the headphone outputs of this thing are pretty damn impressive. I'm still getting the Stratus, but while waiting for it, I'll be thoroughly enjoying this kit. I thought everyone said that solid state wasn't all that great for HD-800's. Well, that would be wrong. Really beautiful stuff coming out of them, and my LCD-3's are happy too! 

 

[project86]

Quote:

So, I got my Invicta yesterday and am going to have cans on my head all weekend thanks to it. I'll write a proper review later, but have to say that the headphone outputs of this thing are pretty damn impressive. I'm still getting the Stratus, but while waiting for it, I'll be thoroughly enjoying this kit. I thought everyone said that solid state wasn't all that great for HD-800's. Well, that would be wrong. Really beautiful stuff coming out of them, and my LCD-3's are happy too! 

 
Glad to hear it! 

 

[Ditti]

I've been using the Ressy as my reference rig for half a year now and it never fails to impress with it's neutrality.  It works well with almost all cans including iems.  The coolest thing about it is, it's such an awesome tool for A/B comparisons because of the matched outputs.  There are many, many offerings out there but I have never heard a dac/amp do so many so well at once.
 
Sitting right next to the Ressy is an Apogee DAC and a Burson Soloist.  They are also very awesome products which I also love but the Ressy is the one I plug all my new phones in first.

 

[project86]

Quote:

I've been using the Ressy as my reference rig for half a year now and it never fails to impress with it's neutrality.  It works well with almost all cans including iems.  The coolest thing about it is, it's such an awesome tool for A/B comparisons because of the matched outputs.  There are many, many offerings out there but I have never heard a dac/amp do so many so well at once.
 
Sitting right next to the Ressy is an Apogee DAC and a Burson Soloist.  They are also very awesome products which I also love but the Ressy is the one I plug all my new phones in first.

 
 
Thanks for the comment!
 
I totally agree - with a bunch of other amps sitting here (most with 4 figure price tags) I still find myself just plugging straight into the Invicta most of the time. It's just so easy and so predictable - no messing with interconnects and whatnot. 

 

[evolutionx]

Has been listening to the Invicta for few days, and totally enjoying it with my TH900.   Brings it to another level of clarity and details, with less fatigue than my previous set-up.     Build quality is much better than the pictures in this forum suggest, everything works as it should with every buttons and controls build with precision.     Thanks to all the impressions in this forum, as it is really that good.    From USB audio to SD card audio, this thing really sings.   

 

[sphinxvc]

P86 already knows this (w/ the Linkwitz Orion experience) but, the Invicta really starts to show it's metal on a capable speaker rig.

 

[Radio_head]

Invicta is great with a speaker rig.  Not much of a metal listener myself, but it has shown its mettle to me with quite a few genres.

 

[sphinxvc]

There's the word I was looking for.  Interestingly Dictionary.com gives 'formative material, stuff' as it's 5th definition of the word metal.  I guess enough people have made that mistake for that to be on there, or maybe that means it's not a mistake at all.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I'm a Metal listener and have a speaker rig (well, sort of). Sounds like I should get one.
 
Quote:

Invicta is great with a speaker rig.  Not much of a metal listener myself, but it has shown its mettle to me with quite a few genres.

 

[Maxvla]

So, I got my Invicta yesterday and am going to have cans on my head all weekend thanks to it. I'll write a proper review later, but have to say that the headphone outputs of this thing are pretty damn impressive. I'm still getting the Stratus, but while waiting for it, I'll be thoroughly enjoying this kit. I thought everyone said that solid state wasn't all that great for HD-800's. Well, that would be wrong. Really beautiful stuff coming out of them, and my LCD-3's are happy too! 

When I was at RMAF in 2011, one of the most impressive rigs for me was HD800 from Invicta using the onboard amp. Impressive to say the least.

 

[RedBull]

Does anyone have any impression of comparison between Invicta and PWD MkII or Eximus DP1?

 

[ZagatoV12]

Quote:

Has been listening to the Invicta for few days, and totally enjoying it with my TH900.   Brings it to another level of clarity and details, with less fatigue than my previous set-up.     Build quality is much better than the pictures in this forum suggest, everything works as it should with every buttons and controls build with precision.     Thanks to all the impressions in this forum, as it is really that good.    From USB audio to SD card audio, this thing really sings.   

 
Glad to hear you're enjoying your Invicta. There's getting to be quite a few of us these days
 
Have you tried DSD quality files yet - even straight off the SD card? You'll love it - the best of the best!
 
Happy listening .....

 

[Da5Id]

New features coming next month with SW release 4.3.0!
 
February 18th, 2013: Software version 4.3.0 will include M3U playlist capability, folder playback (recursively playing all songs in a folder and subfolders) and more! The next version of our INVICTA software will be released in the month of March, 2013.

 

[project86]

Quote:

Does anyone have any impression of comparison between Invicta and PWD MkII or Eximus DP1?

 
Yes and no.... I've spent some time with both of those, but never directly compared to the Invicta. 
 
I loved and hated the PWD. Loved the sound, hated the marketing hype behind it. And the pricing - I thought my Anedio D2 was slightly better (though very similar overall) for significantly less cash. But taken on its own, without any preconceptions, it's a very very nice DAC. Better than most others I've heard regardless of price. Very much improved from the MkI which I thought was merely good but not great.
 
The Eximus didn't really do much for me. I thought the DAC section was good in a fun, casual sort of way, but I didn't really think it was doing much more than some cheaper units I've heard with similar signatures (like Yulong D18 and Wavelength Brick for examples). Very attractive enclosure though. The amp section was very disappointing to my ears. After hearing it was good enough to stand up to some nice stand alone amps, I figured we had an Invicta/Anedio type situation on our hands, where the integrated amp is so good that you might not need anything else. But when I heard it, it just sounded like a decent $400-500 amp at best. I don't mean to be condescending - there are plenty of good choices in that range. But when we're talking about something like "I sold my GS-X/V200/Balancing Act because the integrated amp was so good!" I don't feel the DP1 amp is anywhere near that level. Just too dark, murky, and undefined.
 
I realize that my opinions on these probably go against most other people. So make of this what you will. 

 

[RedBull]

Thanks for the impression P86. I've heard Invicta (2 weeks at home) and Eximus (briefly) but never heard pwd yet, i'd probably heard it next week at the store. It's good to know people's opinion first before i go listen. I never heard amp on Eximus though.

I am quite a detail freak (non fatiguing type one).
How would you think pwd mkii detail retrieval compared to Invicta and Audio Gd Ref. 7.1? I am trying to compare to something that I am familiar with.