Been listening to this DAC for about a week and thought i might write about my experience with it.
Let it be said that this is my first standalone DAC. Furthermore im quite the new headfier, so my vocabulary in describing my impressions might be a little lacking. Bear with me.
I am going from a x-fi ->cheap cable -> headfive -> hd595
to
x-fi -> digital coax cable Teflon: Belden 89259 cables (
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/RCA-mini-spdif.html ) -> Yulong Crystal DAC -> a pair of Pro Audio Grade cables (
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/s...io_cables.html ) -> headfive -> hd595
I am not sure how much difference going from cheap analog to using digital coax and better analog cables might do, not worse i guess.
Impressions:
As mentioned before i have lost all my data on hardisk, so my flacs are gone. The first album I loaded up using the Yulong was Modern Times by none other than Bob Dylan, 320kbs. The first thing i thought was that i loved the new sound. It appeared more detailed and clearer. It was as if my ears were overwhelmed by all this new "information". The bass appeared kickier, not bloated or overpronounced. But with more snap, timing and accuracy than before. Much appreciated with the, imo, low bass of the hd595.
After my first listening for a couple of hours i felt fatigued for the first time ever after listening to music. The hd595 is a very non fatiguing pair of headphones. Well, to be honest im never listened to a pair of Grados or similar headphones that supposedly are fatiguing.
The first day of listening i had very positive sentiments, altho i hoped i wouldnt be feeling tired after listening to the setup. Fortunately this came true, i didnt become fatigued from listening to it later. It might be that i had to become accustomed to this new level of detail.
I have been listening to mostly mp3s at high quality and two albums in flac, namely Sam's Town by the Killers and Room on fire by the Strokes. The Killers has been a favorite of mine for quite some time and i know their two albums very very well.
What can I say, if i close my eyes i can feel the breath of Brandon Flowers. Being the cynic i am i thought this was a little teenage crush that would fade away, but it is still there after a week. Yes, i feel the new level of detail provided by the Yulong DAC compared to my x-fi extrememusic is very good. Worth the money.
I love the new sound and feel it is a very good product, still i would like to declare my experience is to be taken for what it is.
Namely i am not comparing to other standalone DACs, so i would not know how it goes against other in the same price class. Also, Fan said he thought the Zhaolu is better.
I do not want to appear like im hyping a product (beresford, cough cough)
, only to hear from senior headfiers that the product is inferior.
Listening and enjoying is a subjective thing, and in the end my opinion is what matters the most for me. And i like the Yulong DAC and i feel i am anjoying the music more. Hence I recommend the product because of my positive experience.
Sorry not being able to provide descriptive words, if you ask me about something specific and define the words i will to the best of my ability try to provide an answer.
Concluding, i would just like to say using the Yulong makes it harder to listen to higher volumes. I like to listen to low to medium volumes (i guess what is low and medium differs to each person, eh). Lately i have found that the more detailed the song (the material itself and the quality of the rip/original) the less volume i use.
Please provide feedback on my first mini-review