[Vangelis]

Nikos I can tell you the Holo May KTE dac is killer with more to come as it runs in ,.....However Id like to give credence to the AudioByte Vox ,this one bit FPGA design dac is no slouch , my initial interest in the Audiobyte Vox was its dedicated headphone section it’s compact neat and tidy appearance with a up and coming matching third piece to complete this digital stack a streamer named the Hub which as I understand has not been released yet.

Being new to using headphones initially all I wanted was something to keep everyone including myself happy in our household .
Our new home can’t accommodate my main system also my family don’t care to hear any of my music so until I can come up with a solution I’m happy to say my experience with listening with headphones has been a very positive one .

I noticed have a balanced DAC and you’re running a balanced cable into the Aries. Have tired a single ended cable? I’ve been wondering how cable would influence things since the Aries is a single and a design.

 

[Palyodgree]

I noticed have a balanced DAC and you’re running a balanced cable into the Aries. Have tired a single ended cable? I’ve been wondering how cable would influence things since the Aries is a single and a design.

Yes the Aries is single ended design and I use XLR from the May dac . I’m guessing however I don’t think there would be a world of differences if the Aries was full balanced , i believe if signal ended is implemented to the highest degree it works exceptionally well , Lamm and others use single ended exclusively with some of their mono block amplifiers and preamplifiers to very good success.

 

[project86]

I appreciate having both options, despite the Aries only having a 1/4" output. That's because some DACs are far better via their balanced outs, while in other cases it doesn't matter. If using a DAC that sounds best via XLR, you can still take full advantage.

 

[Vangelis]

I am not at all concerned that that Aries is a single end circuit design. My only thought is was, plugging in a balanced cable that’s being resummed back to single ended might not be a improvement over using a single ended cable and possibly a single ended cable might be the better choice. The wiring, boards and circuit paths to resum to single ended can have a influence on sonics. Even if the you plug a balanced input in the Aries, the signals are combined back to single ended, so even a fully differential balanced DAC that generally sounds better out of its balanced outputs may not realize that benefit into the Aries. One reviewer mentioned that the Aries was actually quieter from it’s single ended input which is confusing. This is conjecture and speculation and will take some time to do the listening. I have balanced and single ended cables, unfortunately they are not from the same cable company so I may have to purchase a matching cable terminated to make the comparison to determine the best approach, however the cable topic is not what I’m focused on this morning.

Ok I’m excited, I just received my Aries and booted it up minutes ago. Oh my, this not a good amp, It’s a great amp. Right cold out of the box, listening to my HiFiman HE-1000se, it totally crushed the Headamp GS-X mini in every audio parameter. This thing has scads of detail and space. Can’t wait to introduce my best power cord, an Orange fuse and my new my power conditioner to the Aries. Does the Aries improve much from days of warm up and break in?

 

[Palyodgree]

Good purchase Vangelis now it will be up to you too investigate the XLR and single ended questions however I’m sure Project86 and or one of the other professional reviewers could help answer your question .

As for burn in / running in components I think 50 to 100 hours with most components including wire to settle in , though we all have our own ideas about this ,..

 

[Nostoi]

I am not at all concerned that that Aries is a single end circuit design. My only thought is was, plugging in a balanced cable that’s being resummed back to single ended might not be a improvement over using a single ended cable and possibly a single ended cable might be the better choice. The wiring, boards and circuit paths to resum to single ended can have a influence on sonics. Even if the you plug a balanced input in the Aries, the signals are combined back to single ended, so even a fully differential balanced DAC that generally sounds better out of its balanced outputs may not realize that benefit into the Aries. One reviewer mentioned that the Aries was actually quieter from it’s single ended input which is confusing. This is conjecture and speculation and will take some time to do the listening. I have balanced and single ended cables, unfortunately they are not from the same cable company so I may have to purchase a matching cable terminated to make the comparison to determine the best approach, however the cable topic is not what I’m focused on this morning.

Ok I’m excited, I just received my Aries and booted it up minutes ago. Oh my, this not a good amp, It’s a great amp. Right cold out of the box, listening to my HiFiman HE-1000se, it totally crushed the Headamp GS-X mini in every audio parameter. This thing has scads of detail and space. Can’t wait to introduce my best power cord, an Orange fuse and my new my power conditioner to the Aries. Does the Aries improve much from days of warm up and break in?

Good choice. I can't say I noticed much in the way of burn in myself, but what I do find is that the Aries continues to surprise and please me. I'm always fascinated to try a new source or a new headphone on it, because it always brings something out of those components that I've not heard before. It seems to "upscale" everything. It's a great amp, indeed. I've had mine for a year or so now and continue to love it.

 

[Palyodgree]

Good choice. I can't say I noticed much in the way of burn in myself, but what I do find is that the Aries continues to surprise and please me. I'm always fascinated to try a new source or a new headphone on it, because it always brings something out of those components that I've not heard before. It seems to "upscale" everything. It's a great amp, indeed. I've had mine for a year or so now and continue to love it.

Well said ,,. the Aries pre is my new drug ,..

 

[Traiguen]

I have been using my Aries for the past 3 weeks with the Chord Mojo as a DAC which has worked out pretty good. I am thinking to replace the Mojo with the Qutest to have a desktop setup I can leave plugged in and forget about charging the battery. Anybody can share their experience with the Aries + Chord Qutest? Anybody using an Audeze LCD-4 with Aries? Is it powerful enough to drive it well?

 

[Nostoi]

I have been using my Aries for the past 3 weeks with the Chord Mojo as a DAC which has worked out pretty good. I am thinking to replace the Mojo with the Qutest to have a desktop setup I can leave plugged in and forget about charging the battery. Anybody can share their experience with the Aries + Chord Qutest? Anybody using an Audeze LCD-4 with Aries? Is it powerful enough to drive it well?

I have the Mojo and the Hugo 2 (aka the Qutest on wheels). The Hugo 2 is a big step up from the Mojo and pairs absolutely superbly with the Aries. I'm super happy with this combo.

 

[Traiguen]

I am using the Aries with a Chord Qutest which has a 1V, 2V or 3V output option. Would anybody know which one is best for the Aries?

 

[TTRR]

Hi all, I recently took the plunge and bought an Aries. I was set on the Benchmark HPA4 before I auditioned the two and when I did I was blown away by the SparkoS. Its a brilliant amp and whilst perhaps lacking the 'bling' factor of some other amps it does what's important....gets out of the way and lets you enjoy the music.

I just wondered, for those of you with an analogue front end what interconnects are you using between the Aries and your source?

 

[Traiguen]

Hi all, I recently took the plunge and bought an Aries. I was set on the Benchmark HPA4 before I auditioned the two and when I did I was blown away by the SparkoS. Its a brilliant amp and whilst perhaps lacking the 'bling' factor of some other amps it does what's important....gets out of the way and lets you enjoy the music.

I just wondered, for those of you with an analogue front end what interconnects are you using between the Aries and your source?

Chord Qutest

 

[Nostoi]

Hi all, I recently took the plunge and bought an Aries. I was set on the Benchmark HPA4 before I auditioned the two and when I did I was blown away by the SparkoS. Its a brilliant amp and whilst perhaps lacking the 'bling' factor of some other amps it does what's important....gets out of the way and lets you enjoy the music.

I just wondered, for those of you with an analogue front end what interconnects are you using between the Aries and your source?

You mean for the front input? I use a Plussound 3.5mm interconnect to connect to a DAP. For RCA at the back, I use kimber cables to connect to a Hugo 2.

 

[TTRR]

Sorry I should have been more specific. I am looking at interconnect from dac/TT to Aries (back). Thanks for your suggestion

 

[Nostoi]

Sorry I should have been more specific. I am looking at interconnect from dac/TT to Aries (back). Thanks for your suggestion

Then it's really a case of what fits your budget. You could also look to upgrade the power cable to get the most of the amp.