driftingbunnies
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The Audio-gd Compass (Was: Designing an alternative to the Zero DAC/amp)
- Thread starter Currawong
- Start date
ecclesand
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
I don't think any of the recent shipments were replacements of the damaged Compasses from last week.
| Originally Posted by driftingbunnies /img/forum/go_quote.gif
|
I don't think any of the recent shipments were replacements of the damaged Compasses from last week.
Quote:
Email and ask is the best bet. Note that they don't carry stock of their products, they build them from scratch for the most part from what I understand, so they can't just grab something off a shelf, box it and mail it.
| Originally Posted by driftingbunnies /img/forum/go_quote.gif
|
Email and ask is the best bet. Note that they don't carry stock of their products, they build them from scratch for the most part from what I understand, so they can't just grab something off a shelf, box it and mail it.
Krackatus
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Quote:
Some good points. Thanks for the reply.
| Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm that's a mixed bag. I haven't read that anyone has a Pico with a Compass yet. Ask yourself this. If the Pico could replace Desktop solutions, would HeadAmp keep selling their Gilmore Lite? No because for a full sized, desktop amplifer, Gilmore Lite is the recommended Amplifier compared to the Pico. For the DAC? Maybe you want to take a look at Compass DAC. Just one capacitor is bigger than Pico's entire DAC! |
Some good points. Thanks for the reply.
Clok
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Quote:
Not good.
Should have ordered earlier
| Originally Posted by oldschool /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got this email from Cherry. Guess its because the damaged units some of you guys received. Mine is also shipping with DHL. |
Not good.
Should have ordered earlier
les_garten
Headphoneus Supremus
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Quote:
I suspect that is around his break even point on the box, he wants to make sure he doesn't get soaked again.
.
| Originally Posted by oldschool /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got this email from Cherry. Guess its because the damaged units some of you guys received. Mine is also shipping with DHL. |
I suspect that is around his break even point on the box, he wants to make sure he doesn't get soaked again.
.
direcow
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Looks like Kingwa removed the offers for the power cable and the OPAs already.. or did someone else already notice that?
ExtraNice
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A man's gotta make a livin'.
godluvsxs
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Quote:
I was thinking to upgrade to either DAC200 or DAC19MKIII too, but after I seen some comment by Kingwa himself regarding users' complain about lack of musicality in his machine "To get more musicality out of neutral and monitor like sound, you could still get it fix with tuning of cable, but to get neutral and monitor like sound out of musical machine, honestly you wont get it!"
These words helped me make my decision
Hope that it does helps you too!
| Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't need USB input. "Less digital sound" sounds good though. DAC19Mk3 would use PCM1704UK which should be one of the best DAC chips out there (right?). Then again, the sound description says it's very neutral and monitor like sounding. I'm not sure if that's what I'm looking for. |
I was thinking to upgrade to either DAC200 or DAC19MKIII too, but after I seen some comment by Kingwa himself regarding users' complain about lack of musicality in his machine "To get more musicality out of neutral and monitor like sound, you could still get it fix with tuning of cable, but to get neutral and monitor like sound out of musical machine, honestly you wont get it!"
These words helped me make my decision
Quote:
So your decision was to stick with Compass?
Kingwas words are true though. Musicality and monitor like sound are pretty much the opposite things (to me at least). People should remember that musicality doesn't always mean warm and relaxed sound. It means many things. Actually every people perceive musicality differently. It has its own meaning to each one of us.
I very much like the sound of Compass' DAC section. Still sometimes I miss mellower and easier sound. I still haven't made up my mind. DAC200 or DAC19Mk3, but which one. DAC19's Burr Brown PCM1704UK is just so tempting. Many high end DACs use this chip and it'd be interesting to hear what it's capable to do.
| Originally Posted by godluvsxs /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was thinking to upgrade to either DAC200 or DAC19MKIII too, but after I seen some comment by Kingwa himself regarding users' complain about lack of musicality in his machine "To get more musicality out of neutral and monitor like sound, you could still get it fix with tuning of cable, but to get neutral and monitor like sound out of musical machine, honestly you wont get it!" These words helped me make my decision
|
So your decision was to stick with Compass?
Kingwas words are true though. Musicality and monitor like sound are pretty much the opposite things (to me at least). People should remember that musicality doesn't always mean warm and relaxed sound. It means many things. Actually every people perceive musicality differently. It has its own meaning to each one of us.
I very much like the sound of Compass' DAC section. Still sometimes I miss mellower and easier sound. I still haven't made up my mind. DAC200 or DAC19Mk3, but which one. DAC19's Burr Brown PCM1704UK is just so tempting. Many high end DACs use this chip and it'd be interesting to hear what it's capable to do.
nv88
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Quote:
It's the first try for me. I ordered early April 2nd.
| Originally Posted by ecclesand /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is this a replacement? |
It's the first try for me. I ordered early April 2nd.
sandchak
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Quote:
Well if you already have a Compass, it really makes little sense for going in for DAC200, they are pretty much the same apart from some fine tunings, I have both the Compass and DAC19SE (older/bigger version), and I can make out the difference very easily.
I bought the DAC19SE for my HP listening as I am not much into it yet, for my main gear I will go for one of the Reference series - I believe the higher end of gear in Audio GD's line up are the best value for money/performance.
You save hundreds when you buy Compass, but when you buy the REF1 or 2 you save thousands !!.. IMHO.
| Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I very much like the sound of Compass' DAC section. Still sometimes I miss mellower and easier sound. I still haven't made up my mind. DAC200 or DAC19Mk3, but which one. DAC19's Burr Brown PCM1704UK is just so tempting. Many high end DACs use this chip and it'd be interesting to hear what it's capable to do. |
Well if you already have a Compass, it really makes little sense for going in for DAC200, they are pretty much the same apart from some fine tunings, I have both the Compass and DAC19SE (older/bigger version), and I can make out the difference very easily.
I bought the DAC19SE for my HP listening as I am not much into it yet, for my main gear I will go for one of the Reference series - I believe the higher end of gear in Audio GD's line up are the best value for money/performance.
You save hundreds when you buy Compass, but when you buy the REF1 or 2 you save thousands !!.. IMHO.
chesebert
18 Years An Extra-Hardcore Head-Fi'er
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I am officially calling this FOTM
Quote:
The Compass I have is my friend's unit. I don't need the headamp section because I'm very happy with my Lehmann BCL. Compass' headamp didn't quite match its performance. The DAC-section is what I'm interested about. I can't fit those full size DACs on my equipment rack at the moment. I want something to fit nicely next to my Bel Canto.
| Originally Posted by sandchak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well if you already have a Compass, it really makes little sense for going in for DAC200, they are pretty much the same apart from some fine tunings, I have both the Compass and DAC19SE (older/bigger version), and I can make out the difference very easily. I bought the DAC19SE for my HP listening as I am not much into it yet, for my main gear I will go for one of the Reference series - I believe the higher end of gear in Audio GD's line up are the best value for money/performance. You save hundreds when you buy Compass, but when you buy the REF1 or 2 you save thousands !!.. IMHO. |
The Compass I have is my friend's unit. I don't need the headamp section because I'm very happy with my Lehmann BCL. Compass' headamp didn't quite match its performance. The DAC-section is what I'm interested about. I can't fit those full size DACs on my equipment rack at the moment. I want something to fit nicely next to my Bel Canto.
rx7mark
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Quote:
I love my Compass and D2000 combo, but like you this is my first hi-end headphone so I can't compare with many others except Grado 60's. I needed a closed can so was limited on options. I did partial Mark L mods recently and would recommend you look into this, there are a couple of threads on how to do it. I had no problems once I got the cups off. It does improve the soundstage and settles the base down quite a bit.
Also the Moon Hdam has quite a bit more sound stage than the Earth, if you ordered one and have not tried it yet. I am burning in the Moon now, and think there is a lot of synergy with the D2000's in bright mode. I am waiting untill I have at least 400 hrs on both before I do some A/B comparisons to see what my final preference is. I haven't even tried the Sun v2 yet, boy this burn in proccess takes a long time!
Mark
| Originally Posted by Sganzerla /img/forum/go_quote.gif A friend come to my house today with D2000 and what I heard with Compass was a very good sound: deep bass, very SWEET highs and warm mids - I even heard things with some music I never did before. It is a very good match in my opinion, except for its lack of soundstage. |
I love my Compass and D2000 combo, but like you this is my first hi-end headphone so I can't compare with many others except Grado 60's. I needed a closed can so was limited on options. I did partial Mark L mods recently and would recommend you look into this, there are a couple of threads on how to do it. I had no problems once I got the cups off. It does improve the soundstage and settles the base down quite a bit.
Also the Moon Hdam has quite a bit more sound stage than the Earth, if you ordered one and have not tried it yet. I am burning in the Moon now, and think there is a lot of synergy with the D2000's in bright mode. I am waiting untill I have at least 400 hrs on both before I do some A/B comparisons to see what my final preference is. I haven't even tried the Sun v2 yet, boy this burn in proccess takes a long time!
Mark
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