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The Compass Thread (New)
Jul 26, 2009 at 10:26 PM Post #391 of 981
Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif
What ever happened to all the hype about 'buy it now before it goes up to $500' and that it was priced so low as an introductory offer?
Looks like the upgraded version has gone up $60 over the original super low introductory price.


Perhaps folks are finding out that the Compass is not the second coming of Christ. The price I paid for mine (original price) was fine for what I got. The current price of the Compass is borderline. At $500...no way.

Of course, this is all based on my experience with the Compass.
 
Jul 26, 2009 at 10:52 PM Post #392 of 981
My opinion reflects Doug's. I don't find the Compass to be the end-all of DAC/AMPs, but for the original price it was a pretty good value. However, for a bit more than what a Compass costs now you can get something significantly better than a Compass. For example, I feel that my PPAv2 with STEPs power supply is a much better amp than my Compass was even if it was just running it off my portable. If I hooked it up to a better source, my front end would be much superior to a Compass for not that much more money. I actually just saw a Sonic Frontiers TransDAC yesterday for only $150 on ebay that is likely significantly better than the Compass DAC section. Now, that's an amazing deal that is rather unlikely to find, but it should be rather easy to find a DAC for $300 or less that is better than the Compass DAC. You just have to be a bit patient.
 
Jul 27, 2009 at 3:41 AM Post #394 of 981
Quote:

Originally Posted by jakebot /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i'm lost. what's a compass?


LOL....

Peete.
 
Jul 28, 2009 at 8:09 AM Post #395 of 981
some guys with a lot more headphone and amp listening experiences talk about and compare my compass from our local meet up over the weekend here in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/se...ssions-436604/

they even inspected the internals and were incredibly surprised at the quality for the price and made mention of what they thought it'd run $-wise had it been an american part or even the price of gear you'd have to upgrade to in order to make a noticeable gain.

i'm even happier with it now after the meet with many thousands of dollars of gear in one room than i was before! i had no idea haha.
 
Jul 28, 2009 at 2:17 PM Post #396 of 981
Quote:

Originally Posted by Optional /img/forum/go_quote.gif
some guys with a lot more headphone and amp listening experiences talk about and compare my compass from our local meet up over the weekend here in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/se...ssions-436604/

they even inspected the internals and were incredibly surprised at the quality for the price and made mention of what they thought it'd run $-wise had it been an american part or even the price of gear you'd have to upgrade to in order to make a noticeable gain.

i'm even happier with it now after the meet with many thousands of dollars of gear in one room than i was before! i had no idea haha.


That's the same impression I got when I received mine. I've heard and owned gear that cost considerable more that fell short in performance. It's not the "ultimate" in dac combos. Well maybe it is as combos are concerned. There are combos that have better amps with the dac as an afterthought, and some with better dacs with the amp being an afterthought, but I had come across any that did both equally well. Neither the amp nor the dac in it is outstanding, but they both are quite good. IMO in order to surpass it you would have to 1) spend more money, and 2) purchase separates. Also keep in mind that this is the cheapest component on audio-gd's menu. So it don't suppose to be considered an "audiophilie" piece of equipement, but even at the current price, it's very good for the money.
 
Jul 28, 2009 at 9:26 PM Post #397 of 981
It's a solid entry level combo device.

IMO of course.

Peete.
 
Jul 29, 2009 at 8:37 PM Post #398 of 981
Well today I am going to switch to the sun, after 436 hours on the moon it is really sounding great!

The other day I had a friend playing some games on my computer and he said he was totally amazed of the depth that the compass gave him when playing. He said, "it was like you can hear everything all around you exactly like in real life. The sounds are not all right next to you either and you can distinguish between the distance of the sound. It was overwhelming at first but I can see how this gives you a huge advantage."

So for those of you thinking about gaming with the compass it is more than up tot the task and from what I see will do a better job than any sound card money could buy.
 
Jul 30, 2009 at 5:00 PM Post #401 of 981
I emailed Kingwa and he said I could purchase the Compass through either him or his agent in the US, Pacific Valve. With shipping included, it seems to be about $30 cheaper through Pacific Valve. I know nothing of them - does anyone have experience with these guys, either good or bad?
 
Jul 30, 2009 at 7:45 PM Post #402 of 981
Quote:

Originally Posted by bgstern /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I emailed Kingwa and he said I could purchase the Compass through either him or his agent in the US, Pacific Valve. With shipping included, it seems to be about $30 cheaper through Pacific Valve. I know nothing of them - does anyone have experience with these guys, either good or bad?


Joe and Vic of Pac Valve are stand up guys that back what they sell. I've dealt with them before and they are terrific.

Peete.
 
Aug 1, 2009 at 3:07 AM Post #404 of 981
Is there a thread on compass opamps, or are those impressions buried within the 100's of pages between the 2 threads?
tongue.gif


I find the earth and moon too thick and dark sounding in the compass. I've read that the sun is brighter, but I'm wondering if anyone has other suggestions? I did find an opamp that I liked, but its max voltage rating is lower then the compass's output so I took it out.

Biggie.
 
Aug 1, 2009 at 6:26 AM Post #405 of 981
How many hours on your Compass? You do get a stage where the treble drops out for about 50 hours around the 230 hour mark.

There's also the "bright" jumper too you can put in or remove (I just forgot which).
 
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