Anybody know what this piece of XI gear is?
It could be their new SAGRA DAC.
https://store.theevolutionofsound.com/products/eleven-audio-xiaudio-sagra-dac
The JPS Labs: Abyss AB-1266 Impressions Thread
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It could be their new SAGRA DAC.
https://store.theevolutionofsound.com/products/eleven-audio-xiaudio-sagra-dac
Delacaff
Member of the Trade: Headonist
Anybody know what this piece of XI gear is?
This is XI Audio DAC, named SagraDAC. It is based on R2R ladder conversion platform. R2R circuit provided by Soekris, all the rest is XI Audio. This model is already for sale on JPS Labs website. Not a lot of reviews. The only ones that I read are in japanese (Phileweb.com). Google translation from japenese to french was a poem. Maybe is the translation in english better.
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I think if you own a Phi CC, there is no rush to upgrade to TC or to be upset about the higher performance model. The reason is TC has so much resolution, it demands your gear (DAC & amp) to be at the same level or higher. There aren’t many gear on the market today that could maximize the performance of TC. IMHO, enjoy your Phi CC while you wait for the electronics to catch up.
I have OG 1266 and Diana Phi. My gear can barely match the performance of these two. If I upgrade to TC today, it would be like owning a Lamborghini rolling on all-season tires.
I have OG 1266 and Diana Phi. My gear can barely match the performance of these two. If I upgrade to TC today, it would be like owning a Lamborghini rolling on all-season tires.
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@HiFiGuy528 what gear do you think is up to the performance to match the TC? (Besides the WA33 which everyone needs and several people said was a best in show combo at canjam)
I'm hoping my M-Scaler -> DAVE -> Woo WA234 MONO MkII (w/ Takatsuki 274B with either WE300B or 2A3 monoplates etc.) chain is sufficiently up to the task of getting the best out of the TC ...
I'm not unduly affected (nor in anyway upset) by the release of the new TC model. Definitely interested to hear it and will buy a new one, or upgrade, as the situation warrants. And in the mean time will continue to enjoy my AB1266 Phi CC. So this is mostly just me having a bit of a chuckle ...
ra990
Headphoneus Supremus
I was pretty blown away by the Hugo TT2 driving the 1266 Phi from their balanced outs. Can't imagine how great it would be with an MScaler + TT2 combo.
matthewhypolite
500+ Head-Fier
I'll be running the TC from Msb Premier with fetmo clock into WA33 EE with NOS tubes.
Got the yddgrasil now, but plan to snipe the msb by year end.
ufospls2
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Dude your set up just keeps getting better and better. Truly jealous. Would love to hear it some day!
jlbrach
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that may be the new dac product that is being offered for use with the amp
About the release of the TC, I must confess that after the initial disappointment (the kind of emotional reaction "my toy is not the best of the shop anymore"), I am not looking at the positive side … i.e. that the AB-1266 is hopefully going to improve further!
Of course, I hope that the guys who just bought the CC and those in line for the Phi upgrade will find some kind of fair agreement with JPS Labs, otherwise it could be a serious hit to the credibility of the company and their customer care.
In my case, I own the Phi since December 2017, and I love them so much that I have basically built my whole rig around them (and the DAVE), investing in the Formula S + Powerman, CC Pads, aftermarket cables etc.
That said, everything can be improved, and if JPS Labs has worked on the areas where I feel I the Abyss Phi is not perfect (namely some treble brightness), I am ready to put my AB-1266 Phi in the classifieds and start saving for the TC!
By the way, I just received the Superconductor HP cable. Glorious to look at and to touch / feel, will post some impressions against my DHC Prion4 soon.
Of course, I hope that the guys who just bought the CC and those in line for the Phi upgrade will find some kind of fair agreement with JPS Labs, otherwise it could be a serious hit to the credibility of the company and their customer care.
In my case, I own the Phi since December 2017, and I love them so much that I have basically built my whole rig around them (and the DAVE), investing in the Formula S + Powerman, CC Pads, aftermarket cables etc.
That said, everything can be improved, and if JPS Labs has worked on the areas where I feel I the Abyss Phi is not perfect (namely some treble brightness), I am ready to put my AB-1266 Phi in the classifieds and start saving for the TC!
By the way, I just received the Superconductor HP cable. Glorious to look at and to touch / feel, will post some impressions against my DHC Prion4 soon.
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matthewhypolite
500+ Head-Fier
By the way, I just received the Superconductor HP cable. Glorious to look at and to touch / feel, will post some impressions against my DHC Prion4 soon.
Please do.
Delacaff
Member of the Trade: Headonist
About the release of the TC, I must confess that after the initial disappointment (the kind of emotional reaction "my toy is not the best of the shop anymore"), I am not looking at the positive side … i.e. that the AB-1266 is hopefully going to improve further!
Of course, I hope that the guys who just bought the CC and those in line for the Phi upgrade will find some kind of fair agreement with JPS Labs, otherwise it could be a serious hit to the credibility of the company and their customer care.
In my case, I own the Phi since December 2017, and I love them so much that I have basically built my whole rig around them (and the DAVE), investing in the Formula S + Powerman, CC Pads, aftermarket cables etc.
That said, everything can be improved, and if JPS Labs has worked on the areas where I feel I the Abyss Phi is not perfect (namely some treble brightness), I am ready to put my AB-1266 Phi in the classifieds and start saving for the TC!
By the way, I just received the Superconductor HP cable. Glorious to look at and to touch / feel, will post some impressions against my DHC Prion4 soon.
Same for me: I own Formula S + Powerman to pair with Phi CC. I look forward to having your feed-back re: the Superconductor since the Amp is very straightforward and clean, and don’t help to tame the treble brightness
FLTWS
Headphoneus Supremus
I've had my Phi since 12/17 also (CC'd when the pads released in mid 2018), with SE SC IC (from Yggy) to Formula S + Powerman + SC HP Cable (took advantage of 15% off Black Friday last Nov big time), It's a treat for me, even though I still dabble with the tubes in a lot in my other gear and I do like the Phi with my LYR3 and the right tube. (Someday I'm going to buckle under and most likely acquire one of the Woo's, LOL).
Together they are a very synergistic combination for my listening tastes which are mostly classical and more older (AAD and ADD) recordings than new (DDD) and it starts at the recording, the sound will never be any better than the quality of the source. And I'm CD's only, nothing exotic and found the Yggdrasil gave me the best sound from my CD's (I have not entertained Dave, just too much, $25 grand for a player and DAC and then I might still need an amp - it's not about loud it's about dynamic swings and reaching that sweet spot volume wise which varies from one recording to the next.
So for me the key is getting the best sound I can with standard 2 channel CD's (and I'm HP's only, no quality 2 channel speakers in use). The Abyss for me, with all the other trimmings I have, gives me a more reasonable result compared to what I hear in the concert hall. I find most recordings to be on the bright side compared to the "cleanness" of how highs (or bass for that matter) get reproduced in the concert hall. No boom, no sizzle, the ease with which sounds comes through in the concert hall is well beyond any reproduction system I've yet heard. Maybe its the true 0.000000... distortion factor, LOL.
I find this combination to be very satisfying sounding especially since adding the SC HP cable. I currently have the stock cable which is clean, clear, accurate, crisp maybe a touch dry (these traits maybe to a fault but by a very small amount), the Dana Cable Lazuli Ultra is warmer, richer in bass and midbass, maybe a bit more high frequency energy balance than "I" prefer. but the SC is so different from either. At first I thought it was rolled off in the highs but maybe that's because I'm conditioned to or used to highs being a bit stronger than I prefer by virtue of the norm in so called "Hi-Fi" sound over the 5 decades I've been an audiophile. The SC with the Abyss is a different sound for sure. It has been mentioned that the SC HP excels in voices, and it does that in in spades, very believable. The SC HP is definitely worth auditioning with the Abyss, I found it to be something completely different than the usual or what I expected. Not being big on "bright", I listen for a chain of components that can deliver a sound that is transparent, transiently alive, and capable of handling dynamic shifts with a sense of ease.
It is also nice to have a change of pace with a couple of HP cables.
The Formula S is also a nice piece, Class A, dual mono back to the separate Powerman (I think), and an SE design that is a bit different from most of the HP amps I own and have auditioned which tend to be FET, MOSFET and / or Tube Hybrid designs in that XI Audio went with Bi-Polars and it's sounds very good to my ears, very resolving. Many of the amps I own have balanced in/out available, but I'm finding a lot more goes into a good sounding component than whether it's balanced or SE. Although I really do dislike the standard 1/4 inch plugs and much prefer XLR's even if the signal is SE. They just seem to hook in better and make less noise, pop or click wise, when inserted or removed, they just feel more substantial.
Eventually I'll audition the TC side by side and hear what the what is for myself.
Others, I'm certain, may hear things differently and in many cases differences can be so small, but that SC HP cable is a difference maker, "if" one likes the resulting sound, so YMMV..
Together they are a very synergistic combination for my listening tastes which are mostly classical and more older (AAD and ADD) recordings than new (DDD) and it starts at the recording, the sound will never be any better than the quality of the source. And I'm CD's only, nothing exotic and found the Yggdrasil gave me the best sound from my CD's (I have not entertained Dave, just too much, $25 grand for a player and DAC and then I might still need an amp - it's not about loud it's about dynamic swings and reaching that sweet spot volume wise which varies from one recording to the next.
So for me the key is getting the best sound I can with standard 2 channel CD's (and I'm HP's only, no quality 2 channel speakers in use). The Abyss for me, with all the other trimmings I have, gives me a more reasonable result compared to what I hear in the concert hall. I find most recordings to be on the bright side compared to the "cleanness" of how highs (or bass for that matter) get reproduced in the concert hall. No boom, no sizzle, the ease with which sounds comes through in the concert hall is well beyond any reproduction system I've yet heard. Maybe its the true 0.000000... distortion factor, LOL.
I find this combination to be very satisfying sounding especially since adding the SC HP cable. I currently have the stock cable which is clean, clear, accurate, crisp maybe a touch dry (these traits maybe to a fault but by a very small amount), the Dana Cable Lazuli Ultra is warmer, richer in bass and midbass, maybe a bit more high frequency energy balance than "I" prefer. but the SC is so different from either. At first I thought it was rolled off in the highs but maybe that's because I'm conditioned to or used to highs being a bit stronger than I prefer by virtue of the norm in so called "Hi-Fi" sound over the 5 decades I've been an audiophile. The SC with the Abyss is a different sound for sure. It has been mentioned that the SC HP excels in voices, and it does that in in spades, very believable. The SC HP is definitely worth auditioning with the Abyss, I found it to be something completely different than the usual or what I expected. Not being big on "bright", I listen for a chain of components that can deliver a sound that is transparent, transiently alive, and capable of handling dynamic shifts with a sense of ease.
It is also nice to have a change of pace with a couple of HP cables.
The Formula S is also a nice piece, Class A, dual mono back to the separate Powerman (I think), and an SE design that is a bit different from most of the HP amps I own and have auditioned which tend to be FET, MOSFET and / or Tube Hybrid designs in that XI Audio went with Bi-Polars and it's sounds very good to my ears, very resolving. Many of the amps I own have balanced in/out available, but I'm finding a lot more goes into a good sounding component than whether it's balanced or SE. Although I really do dislike the standard 1/4 inch plugs and much prefer XLR's even if the signal is SE. They just seem to hook in better and make less noise, pop or click wise, when inserted or removed, they just feel more substantial.
Eventually I'll audition the TC side by side and hear what the what is for myself.
Others, I'm certain, may hear things differently and in many cases differences can be so small, but that SC HP cable is a difference maker, "if" one likes the resulting sound, so YMMV..
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GU1DO
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Also please do comparison with the Stock cable, Thanks.About the release of the TC, I must confess that after the initial disappointment (the kind of emotional reaction "my toy is not the best of the shop anymore"), I am not looking at the positive side … i.e. that the AB-1266 is hopefully going to improve further!
Of course, I hope that the guys who just bought the CC and those in line for the Phi upgrade will find some kind of fair agreement with JPS Labs, otherwise it could be a serious hit to the credibility of the company and their customer care.
In my case, I own the Phi since December 2017, and I love them so much that I have basically built my whole rig around them (and the DAVE), investing in the Formula S + Powerman, CC Pads, aftermarket cables etc.
That said, everything can be improved, and if JPS Labs has worked on the areas where I feel I the Abyss Phi is not perfect (namely some treble brightness), I am ready to put my AB-1266 Phi in the classifieds and start saving for the TC!
By the way, I just received the Superconductor HP cable. Glorious to look at and to touch / feel, will post some impressions against my DHC Prion4 soon.
mt-hifidelity
500+ Head-Fier
I just got the Superconductor cable for the Diana Phi. My initial take is that it does provides a fuller and more refined sound vs the stock cable (as you would expect). In particular the bass is more textured and there is more quantity overall. I need to spend more time with it and will report back.
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