[AustinIsWierd]

Dbs,

Thanks for the support. Kingwa agreed with you. Perhaps, just a bad switch or wiring to the preamp switch.

Dale

 

[B00MERS00NER]

OK I feel like a dumb *****, I didn't realize I could use a fiberoptic cable (with 3.5mm adapter) out of my onboard SPDIF. Much better than my static USB. Thanks for the help Peete.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by B00MERS00NER /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK I feel like a dumb *****, I didn't realize I could use a fiberoptic cable (with 3.5mm adapter) out of my onboard SPDIF. Much better than my static USB. Thanks for the help Peete.

Glad you were able to find a satisfactory solution. Nothing is more maddening than trying to track down noise and such (in audio gear, comp's included).

Peete.

 

[les_garten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by B00MERS00NER /img/forum/go_quote.gif OK I feel like a dumb *****, I didn't realize I could use a fiberoptic cable (with 3.5mm adapter) out of my onboard SPDIF. Much better than my static USB. Thanks for the help Peete.

Heh, that must seem like pennies from Heaven!

.

 

[K3cT]

About 130 hours in and I notice a drastic smoothening of the treble. Is burn-in supposed to be such a roller-coaster ride?

 

[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif About 130 hours in and I notice a drastic smoothening of the treble. Is burn-in supposed to be such a roller-coaster ride?

Yes, its quite a ride from what i have read from Compass owners, its a pity I couldn't experience that phenomenon as I did not have a decent HP or amp for my speakers.. both just arrived a couple of days back (HD600), and since the Compass was put to burn in all this while (nearly 2 months), when I heard the other day, things seem to have really settled down very nicely since I last heard through the speakers..

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandchak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, its quite a ride from what i have read from Compass owners, its a pity I couldn't experience that phenomenon as I did not have a decent HP or amp for my speakers.. both just arrived a couple of days back (HD600), and since the Compass was put to burn in all this while (nearly 2 months), when I heard the other day, things seem to have really settled down very nicely since I last heard through the speakers..

Ah, that's such a pity.

A few pages back I was complaining how forward the Compass sounded but I guess with the current state of the treble I could live with Neutral setting.

 

[sandchak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah, that's such a pity. A few pages back I was complaining how forward the Compass sounded but I guess with the current state of the treble I could live with Neutral setting.

Yes, the strange thing is that it keeps evolving, doesn't always mean getting better or more like what you would prefer, so you might as well hang on for a while before finally deciding which setting suits you most.. in fact if I recollect, not many of the first 18 did a thorough testing with different settings..

 

[Currawong]

The sound goes all over the place for the first 350 hours. I was burning in unused HDAMs in my Zero at the same time as the Compass was being burned in, and, for example, at 250 or so hours, the treble dropped very noticeably for a couple of days. It was a good period to give the Sun a good run while the Earth and Moon were in their dull stage. At least you wont get bored!

 

[dBs]

Im starting to wonder if Kingwa maybe burned these in a bit longer since they were shipped out a day or two later than 220V versions, because I havent noticed any significant changes to the sound of mine in the last 2-3 days. I have only the very, absolute tiniest inkling that the bass was more pronounced today than it was yesterday. Otherwise, it sounds the same as far as I can tell. Thats not a bad thing mind you, it sounds very, very good. Im just wondering why my experience so far hasnt been very equatable to those before me. I certainly havent gotten the "all over the place" sound that was described. In the beginning it went from very strong bass with diminutive highs to well balanced with only slight bass emphasis and now, if you count the tiny inkling, well balanced with a slight bit more bass emphasis.

So, Im starting to wonder if, because of that delay in shipping, maybe they were burned extra time over those day/s which would put me ahead. I dunno.

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dBs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im starting to wonder if Kingwa maybe burned these in a bit longer since they were shipped out a day or two later than 220V versions, because I havent noticed any significant changes to the sound of mine in the last 2-3 days. I have only the very, absolute tiniest inkling that the bass was more pronounced today than it was yesterday. Otherwise, it sounds the same as far as I can tell. Thats not a bad thing mind you, it sounds very, very good. Im just wondering why my experience so far hasnt been very equatable to those before me. I certainly havent gotten the "all over the place" sound that was described. In the beginning it went from very strong bass with diminutive highs to well balanced with only slight bass emphasis and now, if you count the tiny inkling, well balanced with a slight bit more bass emphasis.

I don't know, I think experiences will vary quite a bit with different people. Personally, I didn't really notice any 'huge swings' either when burning in the Earth (which hadn't seen any burn-in in my case). There were significant changes mainly in the first 50 hours, after that things started to level off. Changes kept occurring until about 250 hours (as far as my memory of them can be trusted), but not comparable to the first 50 hours.
I think the extent to which you notice all these changes will have a lot to do with how sensitive you are to changes in the frequency response.

 

[K3cT]

I just switched to OPA Earth just for the kick of it and the different is pretty apparent especially in piano and cymbal. The Earth's highs are not as rolled off compared to Moon and as the result, delivers a clearer presentation. The Moon still has the superior soundstage though. Mids are slightly more forward in the Earth but not as expansive as the Moon.

I rather like it with my Denon. The Earth's mids presentation seems to suit the Denon well.

 

[Currawong]

Just for fun, I played with OPAMPs today in the Compass. Here's what I heard, using it just as a DAC for my Stax rig:

LME49710NA: Amazingly sounds just like the Earth. Very bright though, but not annoyingly so. I wondered at first if they had been designed to sound bright to sound high quality, but switching to the Earth shows this isn't the case. Some A/B'ing shows them to be slightly less detailed and resolving compared to the Earth though.
OPA627BP: Smooth, very lovely and smooth. A good reminder of why this is one of the most popular OPAMPS. Still a bit of detail sacrificed compared to a HDAM though.
OP27G: Similar to the 627 but not quite as smooth or detailed. I'm not sure how much burn-in they require though, as they haven't even got an hour on them. Bit darker sounding too. Lovely mids.
LM4562: The sound-card upgrader's favourite. Meh, nothing special here.

 

[direcow]

brought my compass out for a ride around the island of Singapore today, and off to a headphone meet.

long story short, I feel pretty pleased with it, people were praising the looks (solid built) and also the sound quality esp irt the quality to price ratio.

Got a hooked up comparison like so:

CD Transport>Compass>Yamamoto>ATH-W1000
vs
CD Transport>Cambridge DACmagic>Yamamoto>ATH-W1000

and the compass was preferred. Looks like we have a winner here!

Someone didn't really like the presentation with the AKG K702, but it might be due to burn in or sound settings. He said the mids sounded weird. But still, his words: Quote:

compass audio is a pretty slick dac i must say and pretty good pre amp

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by direcow /img/forum/go_quote.gif brought my compass out for a ride around the island of Singapore today, and off to a headphone meet. long story short, I feel pretty pleased with it, people were praising the looks (solid built) and also the sound quality esp irt the quality to price ratio. Got a hooked up comparison like so: CD Transport>Compass>Yamamoto>ATH-W1000 vs CD Transport>Cambridge DACmagic>Yamamoto>ATH-W1000 and the compass was preferred. Looks like we have a winner here! Someone didn't really like the presentation with the AKG K702, but it might be due to burn in or sound settings. He said the mids sounded weird. But still, his words:

Nice, man. I also have a gathering next week but the damn thing is so heavy! I'm a bit lazy to bring it there. Some dude is bringing an EF1 so it would be interesting to compare the Compass to it.