Hey y'all,
In need of a good DAC and after reading the glowing reviews in this thread, I recently purchased a D100 from eBay seller wsz0304. I received the unit a few days ago.
For the most part, I am very happy with the purchase. I am using it with the USB connection on my laptop to feed a Matrix M-Stage into HD580 and K701 phones right now. I have been running it often since I received it and I have a few impressions and questions.
The DAC section is pretty impressive. I think it is noticeably better than my iBasso D4. Of course, I have been playing 24/96 recordings as well as the usual Redbook Audio stuff. It is a very clean sounding DAC when heard through the M-Stage. The difference is when I listen through the on-board amp in the D100. The D100 amp section (through both phone ports) is slightly grainier and noticeably thinner sounding than the M-Stage. I would say the amp section is still fairly decent but not as "meaty" or full-sounding as my Matrix amp. This differs from some others' impressions in this thread regarding the close similarities of the sound between the D100 amp section and the M-Stage. I should mention that I have the OPA627AP with Class A biasing mod installed in my M-Stage which may account for the differences as well.
Also, I noticed when I received the package that I could hear a distinct rattle inside the case of my D100. At first, I thought a capacitor or transistor had broken off or come loose during shipping and wondered if this might be the cause of the sonic "thinness." Today, I found my allen key set and opened the cover to investigate. The rattle was there but I could not spot any visible loose pieces inside the case. Instead, by sound and feel of the rattle, I believe I've localized it to the small plastic enclosure inside the case where the power cord attaches.
My question is: do you think whatever is causing the rattle is affecting the performance of my unit? The unit performs admirably as a DAC which was my primary reason for getting it but I would be bummed if the amp section is less than what it could be. Also, is the rattle something I should be worried about in terms of future reliability? I don't relish the thought of dealing with returning and international shipping (especially if there is nothing substantially wrong with the unit) but I don't want to end up with a failing bricked box a few months from now.
Anyway, I love the DAC a lot and I am having a blast listening to 24/96 rips of vinyl recordings through it. I can't wait for my Woo Audio 2 to arrive so I can hear that through the D100. In fact, I am loving the high res recordings so much that I just ordered an Audinst HUD-mx1 to replace my iBasso D4 so I can listen to 24/96 on the go with my portable setup.