DTrewwye
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Review: Resonessence Labs Invicta - new high end DAC/amp/playback system
- Thread starter project86
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sphinxvc
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4 more days till the Invicta lands.
burnspbesq
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OK, very early impressions. (note: the signal chain is G-Technologies G-RAID - Audioquest Cinnamon FireWire - MacBook Pro (Amarra 2.4.1 in cache mode) - WireWorld Starlight USB - Concero - Audioquest Diamondback - Bryston BHA-1 (SE inputs) - Sennheiser HD 800 w/Cardas balanced cable).
Great combination of accuracy and musicality. Instruments sound the way they're supposed to sound (e.g., on the tracks on Joni Mitchell's Blue that have both acoustic guitar and hammered dulcimer, there's no doubt which is which - the dulcimer attack transients are there).
Bass extension: check. Bass pitch definition: check. Bass presence: check. I've heard a lot of decent systems on which Edgar Meyer's bowed bass part that starts about 2:30 into "Macedonia," from the Strength in Numbers album The Telluride Sessions, gets buried in the left channel behind Sam Bush's mandolin and Bela Fleck's banjo. With the Concero/Bryston combo, it's in the background, but clearly audible and you can follow the line if you're of a mind to figure out the fingering.
As I said, very early impressions. But very positive early impressions. I've been listening to mostly hi-res so far, so I've had no opportunity to play with NOS vs. IIR filter vs. apodizing filter on 44.1/16 files).
A lot more listening to do (next up: the Baltimore Symphony recording of the Dvorak "New World" Symphony). And Saturday's meet in Coronado should be interesting; there will be a wide variety of DACs at every price point to listen to (everything from Dragonfly, to Bifrost, to Concero, to Gungnir, to PS Audio Perfect Wave II, to EMM Labs DAC2).
But so far ...
Impressions!
OK, very early impressions. (note: the signal chain is G-Technologies G-RAID - Audioquest Cinnamon FireWire - MacBook Pro (Amarra 2.4.1 in cache mode) - WireWorld Starlight USB - Concero - Audioquest Diamondback - Bryston BHA-1 (SE inputs) - Sennheiser HD 800 w/Cardas balanced cable).
Great combination of accuracy and musicality. Instruments sound the way they're supposed to sound (e.g., on the tracks on Joni Mitchell's Blue that have both acoustic guitar and hammered dulcimer, there's no doubt which is which - the dulcimer attack transients are there).
Bass extension: check. Bass pitch definition: check. Bass presence: check. I've heard a lot of decent systems on which Edgar Meyer's bowed bass part that starts about 2:30 into "Macedonia," from the Strength in Numbers album The Telluride Sessions, gets buried in the left channel behind Sam Bush's mandolin and Bela Fleck's banjo. With the Concero/Bryston combo, it's in the background, but clearly audible and you can follow the line if you're of a mind to figure out the fingering.
As I said, very early impressions. But very positive early impressions. I've been listening to mostly hi-res so far, so I've had no opportunity to play with NOS vs. IIR filter vs. apodizing filter on 44.1/16 files).
A lot more listening to do (next up: the Baltimore Symphony recording of the Dvorak "New World" Symphony). And Saturday's meet in Coronado should be interesting; there will be a wide variety of DACs at every price point to listen to (everything from Dragonfly, to Bifrost, to Concero, to Gungnir, to PS Audio Perfect Wave II, to EMM Labs DAC2).
But so far ...
DTrewwye
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Sounds pretty awesome! Although I do have a request if possible, should a DACport pop up at Coronado this weekend - would you mind giving your impressions of the Concero vs DACport?
Thanks!
Thanks!
burnspbesq
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OK.
Detail retrieval and resolution: check!!! Listening to the Dvorak on the Concero is the next best thing to having the score open in front of you.
OK.
Detail retrieval and resolution: check!!! Listening to the Dvorak on the Concero is the next best thing to having the score open in front of you.
Wfojas
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Coolness. Seeing that you've just sold your Ayre QB-9, would you say that the Concero was close to that, being that its $600, vs. $2500 for the Ayre?
burnspbesq
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I don't know if I'm ready to make that assertion based on five hours of listening time. What I will say is that I don't miss the Ayre. And you can buy a pair of HE-500s and a Cary HH-1 for the price difference, with some bucks left over for beer.
Wanna come over and hear it for yourself?
I don't know if I'm ready to make that assertion based on five hours of listening time. What I will say is that I don't miss the Ayre. And you can buy a pair of HE-500s and a Cary HH-1 for the price difference, with some bucks left over for beer.
Wanna come over and hear it for yourself?
DTrewwye
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That just made me wish I was still in Playa Vista doing my Internship in LA!
That just made me wish I was still in Playa Vista doing my Internship in LA!
project86
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Good impressions so far! Mine is on the way now, got a tracking number today and I'm excited to give it a go. I like that pic of the unit next to the iTouch - so tiny in context.
DTrewwye
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Look forward to your initial and detailed impressions!
athenaesword
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Why are you using the Bryston BHA-1 headphone Amp ? Have you tried the Invicta internal headphone amp ? Is it really less good than the BHA -1 ( in SE mode) ? I am asking this because i was considering the Invicta because of ite "all in one" package, but if I need to add an headphone amp to get à Good résult...
Also, hâve you tested reading the High-res files directly out of the SD card reader ? Again, this is part of the "all in one" approach that apealed to me.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Bertrand
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I will emphatically "second" the very high quality of the Invicta's own headamp. I used to have a Headamp GS-X (balanced) and felt that the Invicta amp, even though it is only SE, sounded much better with my HD800s. I'm not sure why this should be, given the very high quality of the GS-X, but it may be due to better synergy between the HD800 and Invicta amp. Also since the DAC and HP amp are designed more or less as a single unit in the Invicta, you have in effect removed a layer of external circuitry between the DAC and amp, which could contribute to a subtle but real diminution in resolution, which would be noticeable in a DAC like the Invicta. On another note, I've become an avid user of the SD reader in my Invicta, which is far more convenient to use than either an external source - CD transport, laptop, etc. I also think there "could be" a very slight advantage quality-wise over external sources but this is hard to say since all sound incredibly good.
Why are you using the Bryston BHA-1 headphone Amp ? Have you tried the Invicta internal headphone amp ? Is it really less good than the BHA -1 ( in SE mode) ? I am asking this because i was considering the Invicta because of ite "all in one" package, but if I need to add an headphone amp to get à Good résult...
Also, hâve you tested reading the High-res files directly out of the SD card reader ? Again, this is part of the "all in one" approach that apealed to me.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Bertrand
I will emphatically "second" the very high quality of the Invicta's own headamp. I used to have a Headamp GS-X (balanced) and felt that the Invicta amp, even though it is only SE, sounded much better with my HD800s. I'm not sure why this should be, given the very high quality of the GS-X, but it may be due to better synergy between the HD800 and Invicta amp. Also since the DAC and HP amp are designed more or less as a single unit in the Invicta, you have in effect removed a layer of external circuitry between the DAC and amp, which could contribute to a subtle but real diminution in resolution, which would be noticeable in a DAC like the Invicta. On another note, I've become an avid user of the SD reader in my Invicta, which is far more convenient to use than either an external source - CD transport, laptop, etc. I also think there "could be" a very slight advantage quality-wise over external sources but this is hard to say since all sound incredibly good.
sphinxvc
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He doesn't have Invicta. But that's great to hear about the success you've found w/ the internal amp. He's talking about Concero.
burnspbesq
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Quote:
As Sphinx correctly noted, I'm talking about the Concero, which is only a DAC. I took my Concero/BHA-1 system to the meet in Coronado yesterday, and it was interesting to hear a couple of people comment about how the two units "tamed" or "calmed down" the HD 800. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear the latest iteration of Anaxilus' HD 800 mods on my own system, but that's another option if you find the HD 800 too hot to handle.
I have thought about the Invicta. I am continuing to think about the Invicta.
Maybe it's time to move the Concero discussion to its own thread.
Why are you using the Bryston BHA-1 headphone Amp ? Have you tried the Invicta internal headphone amp ? Is it really less good than the BHA -1 ( in SE mode) ? I am asking this because i was considering the Invicta because of ite "all in one" package, but if I need to add an headphone amp to get à Good résult...
Also, hâve you tested reading the High-res files directly out of the SD card reader ? Again, this is part of the "all in one" approach that apealed to me.
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Bertrand
As Sphinx correctly noted, I'm talking about the Concero, which is only a DAC. I took my Concero/BHA-1 system to the meet in Coronado yesterday, and it was interesting to hear a couple of people comment about how the two units "tamed" or "calmed down" the HD 800. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear the latest iteration of Anaxilus' HD 800 mods on my own system, but that's another option if you find the HD 800 too hot to handle.
I have thought about the Invicta. I am continuing to think about the Invicta.
Maybe it's time to move the Concero discussion to its own thread.
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