[vapman]

So the latest V2.1 is Available for sale on eBay right?

2.1 does not exist,  and there is nothing to suggest one is in the works at this moment, so just get a V2 if you want it.
 
 

  I'm also thinking of ordering a couple opamps along with it, do you guys have any recommendations for a even more warmer, bassy sound?

Still rocking the stock opamp but when I have more time with it I will start swapping opamps and post some of my thoughts...
 
 

Below is the link, and quickly reading as I'm making lunch for the fam...it reads like V2 IS the upgrade with newer caps.

http://www.mistertao.com/v2/pages/item/542124740337.html

I will clear this up very soon, by opening my walnut and looking for the Nichicon gold capacitors. If I have them then we have upgrade units. If I don't have them we have plain V2's. Like TRANCE suggests it is not worth reading too much into the translation. 
The other thing is the upgrade unit should run at 16V instead of 15V.
 
 

  Is it a description of what was upgraded in v2 over v1? Better caps in v2?

The V1 has dual volume knobs, independent left and right volumes. V2 only has one volume knob. So I think the plain V2 is what most of us probably have, unless the Ali/eBay sellers only got the upgrade versions (seems unlikely)
 
 

  please post the walkthrough, im sure many are just hesitant like me to use taobao because of those complexities even though they often offer some nice price.  and please post your thought about walnut and zishan when the later arrives 

Haha ok man. I see a lot of people want the walkthrough so I'll make one, post it here and add it to the first few posts

 

[vapman]

Spoiler: How to Order from Mistertao

Ordering from Taobao using Mistertao
 
1. Find the items you want to buy.
Mistertao supports either browsing style (like Aliexpress, Amazon, etc) or directly going to Taobao links. If you already know your item by its Taobao page - for instance here is the Walnut's - you can copy and paste the taobao URL into the search bar and you will see the item you want translated into English.
 

 

 
2. Check out once you have everything in your cart.
Mistertao is a forwarding service which means they buy your items on Taobao for you, ask the seller any questions you want to know, and ships the stuff to you after they get it. The way it goes is you pay for your items during checkout as well as shipping within China, Mistertao orders them for you, and when everything makes it in, they re-package it, weigh that package for you, and tell you how much it's going to be to ship it to you. Then you pick your method of shipping from China, do the second payment (shipping fee + small commission), and they will send it.
 

 
You can see here the "add money" button - they like it if you put in a ton of money and use it up, since you don't make direct payments every time but rather fill up your Mistertao balance and use that to buy your stuff. What I did to not have extra money sitting in Mistertao was to only add money during the checkout process and only the exact amount I needed to pay. I picked the Credit Card processing service with the lowest fee (three are available, one seems to be primarily Russian - they all look sketchy but are safe to use, I have several times) 
 
3. Wait for your stuff to get in
Now you can go to your account page to watch your order and the status of it being purchased, received, and repackaged for shipping. This is a screenshot of an order that has been completed with its second payment and has been sent to me. You will get an alert by email when your last thing makes it in to the Mistertao facility, and shipping has been calculated to your destination.
 

(The "shipped" status means second payment has been made and it's been sent to you. I don't have any screenshots from when it was processing)
 
4. Pay the second payment (shipping from China to you) and wait!
Once you are notified that it is time to make the second payment, you'll be able to use Mistertao's shipping calculator to find out the best option for you. You will be told how much you owe for commission (less than $3 on a $50 order I made) and shipping, so you can easily add that exact amount to your Mistertao wallet. Note that by default it is set to automatically make needed payments when you add money, so it should automatically pay your second payment for you. If it doesn't then simply press the "pay" button.
 
The shipping calculator is awesome and lets you plug in your order amount so you can know exactly how much you'll be spending.
 
NOTE: Singapore Post ships registered mail and as such a signature is required for delivery (at least in the USA!)
 

 

---

 
That's all there is to it. It is pretty simple. Just don't forget to make your second payment when you have to and it will be all good =)

 
 
@neog007
@groucho69
@akroy
@hqssui 
 
P.S. when you sign up they'll ask if you were referred by someone. Don't have to fill it out, but you can put my email in there if you want
 
Edit: I don't know what 12.12 Shock is.... but I'm gonna wait until then to buy my Walnut, in case things are cheaper.

 

[hqssui]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Quote:

 

Spoiler: How to Order from Mistertao

Ordering from Taobao using Mistertao
 
1. Find the items you want to buy.
Mistertao supports either browsing style (like Aliexpress, Amazon, etc) or directly going to Taobao links. If you already know your item by its Taobao page - for instance here is the Walnut's - you can copy and paste the taobao URL into the search bar and you will see the item you want translated into English.
 

 

 
2. Check out once you have everything in your cart.
Mistertao is a forwarding service which means they buy your items on Taobao for you, ask the seller any questions you want to know, and ships the stuff to you after they get it. The way it goes is you pay for your items during checkout as well as shipping within China, Mistertao orders them for you, and when everything makes it in, they re-package it, weigh that package for you, and tell you how much it's going to be to ship it to you. Then you pick your method of shipping from China, do the second payment (shipping fee + small commission), and they will send it.
 

 
You can see here the "add money" button - they like it if you put in a ton of money and use it up, since you don't make direct payments every time but rather fill up your Mistertao balance and use that to buy your stuff. What I did to not have extra money sitting in Mistertao was to only add money during the checkout process and only the exact amount I needed to pay. I picked the Credit Card processing service with the lowest fee (three are available, one seems to be primarily Russian - they all look sketchy but are safe to use, I have several times) 
 
3. Wait for your stuff to get in
Now you can go to your account page to watch your order and the status of it being purchased, received, and repackaged for shipping. This is a screenshot of an order that has been completed with its second payment and has been sent to me. You will get an alert by email when your last thing makes it in to the Mistertao facility, and shipping has been calculated to your destination.
 

(The "shipped" status means second payment has been made and it's been sent to you. I don't have any screenshots from when it was processing)
 
4. Pay the second payment (shipping from China to you) and wait!
Once you are notified that it is time to make the second payment, you'll be able to use Mistertao's shipping calculator to find out the best option for you. You will be told how much you owe for commission (less than $3 on a $50 order I made) and shipping, so you can easily add that exact amount to your Mistertao wallet. Note that by default it is set to automatically make needed payments when you add money, so it should automatically pay your second payment for you. If it doesn't then simply press the "pay" button.
 
The shipping calculator is awesome and lets you plug in your order amount so you can know exactly how much you'll be spending.
 
NOTE: Singapore Post ships registered mail and as such a signature is required for delivery (at least in the USA!)
 

 

---

 
That's all there is to it. It is pretty simple. Just don't forget to make your second payment when you have to and it will be all good =)

 
 
@neog007
@groucho69
@akroy
@hqssui 
 
P.S. when you sign up they'll ask if you were referred by someone. Don't have to fill it out, but you can put my email in there if you want

 

 
 
Thanks a mil @vapman.  Please pm me your email when you get a minute. I would add you as my referrer.

 

[Thomas De Brito]

Thanks a mil @vapman
.  Please pm me your email when you get a minute. I would add you as my referrer.

thanks so this applies for other taobao products too

 

[vapman]

thanks so this applies for other taobao products too

Yes sir! Anything your heart desires....

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

2.1 does not exist,  and there is nothing to suggest one is in the works at this moment, so just get a V2 if you want it.

I will clear this up very soon, by opening my walnut and looking for the Nichicon gold capacitors. If I have them then we have upgrade units. If I don't have them we have plain V2's. Like TRANCE suggests it is not worth reading too much into the translation. 
The other thing is the upgrade unit should run at 16V instead of 15V.


The V1 has dual volume knobs, independent left and right volumes. V2 only has one volume knob. So I think the plain V2 is what most of us probably have, unless the Ali/eBay sellers only got the upgrade versions (seems unlikely)

Honestly there is nothing to clear up, you have clearly misinterpreted the listing, there is no upgrade version, all sellers have the same V2 walnut, which is apparently 16v. And like I said curent V2 does use Nichicon FW caps... Which are nothing special btw, the Elna Silmic II also used in the walnut are better.

 

[rockingthearies]

Btw does 12/12 applies to aliex as well or just taobao?

 

[vapman]

Honestly there is nothing to clear up, you have clearly misinterpreted the listing, there is no upgrade version, all sellers have the same V2 walnut, which is apparently 16v. And like I said curent V2 does use Nichicon FW caps... Which are nothing special btw, the Elna Silmic II also used in the walnut are better.

Yes I have asked Mistertao to ask the taobao seller about this for me and am waiting for a response but a simple test with my multimeter reveals 16V. It is the walnut v1 that ran at 15V. 
 
 

Btw does 12/12 applies to aliex as well or just taobao?

Just taobao IIRC? Haven't seen anything on Ali about it.

 

[waynes world]

Any chance of a flac playing walnut down the road?

 

[vapman]

  Any chance of a flac playing walnut down the road?

The processor in it might not be strong enough to decode in realtime.

 

[frusciantees]

I've pulled my trigger, I hope this is the best decision
@vapman sorry I mean a local seller, the seller only take an online order, but its one day order, it just take about two hours to deliver to my place.

thanks guys for your kind advice,

this is my first dap, I hope this it will give me a positive experience hehe

cheers

 

[Razornova]

As I don't see a digital input, I'm guessing this can't be used as a DAC/AMP for laptop/desktops?

 

[vapman]

  As I don't see a digital input, I'm guessing this can't be used as a DAC/AMP for laptop/desktops?

No it can not take a digital input. The USB is only for charging or firmware updates.

 

[Razornova]

  No it can not take a digital input. The USB is only for charging or firmware updates.

Thanks! Pity, thought I'd found an excuses to try out external DAC/AMP for my laptop.
 
Cheers

 

[neog007]

 

 
@neog007
@groucho69
@akroy
@hqssui 
 
P.S. when you sign up they'll ask if you were referred by someone. Don't have to fill it out, but you can put my email in there if you want
 
Edit: I don't know what 12.12 Shock is.... but I'm gonna wait until then to buy my Walnut, in case things are cheaper.

 
Wow very useful information thanks a lot. I will put your email when I create my account just give it to me by pm.