[ToTje]

   
The difference is that the DACs you mention have all been heard by many Head-Fiers over an extended period of time - Yggdrasil hasnt. 

Fair point! 

Then again; some of the reviews that I have seen of it, sometimes do compare it to a few of those others that I have mentioned here.

 

[mikek200]

  The first quarter ends March 31. Schiit should have Yggy at CanJam - March 28-29 - in CA : I'm guessing that all will be revealed by March 30. It's currently 12:52am on March 1st here in Thailand - not long to wait at all

Thanks for the correction-Estreeter...

 

[kugino]

i was set on picking up an audio-gd reference 10.32. but now i'm thinking i'll put that money toward an yggy. end game dac for just a few more bills...and i'm sure i can find an amp at least as good as the 10.32 for relatively cheap. 

 

[ToTje]

  i was set on picking up an audio-gd reference 10.32. but now i'm thinking i'll put that money toward an yggy. end game dac for just a few more bills...and i'm sure i can find an amp at least as good as the 10.32 for relatively cheap. 

If a tube amp is an option for you, I wholeheartedly can recommend the Decware Taboo MK III. 

 

[kugino]

  If a tube amp is an option for you, I wholeheartedly can recommend the Decware Taboo MK III. 

yeah, i've heard the decwares are really nice...i think i'm leaning toward SS, though. too much work maintaining tube amps (i've had various ones in the past) and i don't want to get sucked into all the tube rolling...

 

[ToTje]

 
yeah, i've heard the decwares are really nice...i think i'm leaning toward SS, though. too much work maintaining tube amps (i've had various ones in the past) and i don't want to get sucked into all the tube rolling...

I like it that you have influence on the sound with a tube amp. With a SS you get what you get. So far the only SS (besides my Onkyo receiver) was an Objective2 and that was just a huge disappointment for me. I want some warmth in the sound.

 

[Argo Duck]

I thought this. FWIW, my Taboo didn't need much rolling at all to sound 'right'. A good feature: stratospherically priced tubes not required.

yeah, i've heard the decwares are really nice...i think i'm leaning toward SS, though. too much work maintaining tube amps (i've had various ones in the past) and i don't want to get sucked into all the tube rolling...

 

[ToTje]

I thought this. FWIW, my Taboo didn't need much rolling at all to sound 'right'. A good feature: stratospherically priced tubes not required.

Haha, I think I should give the stock tubes a try some day soon to hear what they sound like! 

 I bought mine pre-owned with a bunch of nice tubes, but as far as I've understood, the stock tubes indeed already so sound amazing!

 

[Argo Duck]

^ I was surprised how good stock sounded. They 'opened up' my LCD2r1 in ways I didn't expect. But TBH the driver and rectifier did need change to get the neutral-leaning and transparent sound I like.

I have not changed the 2 power tubes from stock. These are very good

 

[kugino]

so the taboo is marketed towards planar headphones. how do they fare with the hd800 and the easier to drive th900?

 

[Argo Duck]

Decware itself doesn't recommend it for high impedance phones. For comparison (I don't have the HD800) I much prefer the Beyer T1 from Decware's CSP2 amp. OTOH others tried and liked the 800 from Taboo III.

Annnd...I just saw what thread this is. We are straying OT! There are good threads (not too long!) with Decware Taboo III and CSP3 impressions...

 

[kugino]

Decware itself doesn't recommend it for high impedance phones. For comparison (I don't have the HD800) I much prefer the Beyer T1 from Decware's CSP2 amp. OTOH others tried and liked the 800 from Taboo III.

Annnd...I just saw what thread this is. We are straying OT! There are good threads (not too long!) with Decware Taboo III and CSP3 impressions...

haha. yes, we're off topic. but thanks for the info.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  I like it that you have influence on the sound with a tube amp. With a SS you get what you get. So far the only SS (besides my Onkyo receiver) was an Objective2 and that was just a huge disappointment for me. I want some warmth in the sound.

Luckily there are so many SS designs out there that you are bound to find one with some warmth. The Yulong A18 was nicely warmed I thought, but that is of course highly subjective.

 

[manbear]

 
Luckily there are so many SS designs out there that you are bound to find one with some warmth. The Yulong A18 was nicely warmed I thought, but that is of course highly subjective.

+1

SS amps don't all sound the same (including "transparent" ones). There are some warm ones. The NuForce HA-200 is fairly warm for example. 

I'd suggest looking into SS designs that have one or more of: zero or low feedback, single-ended output stage, class A.

 

[TheGoldenEars]

I don't have the opportunity to listen to this and without an audition it's hard to justify the premium compared to mid-range amplifiers...