[project86]

I think you'll be very pleased with the D18. The D100 was already competitive with the DA10, and superior in some ways (including price of course). But the D18 is a clear improvement to these ears. 

 

[slackman]

Quote:

I think you'll be very pleased with the D18. The D100 was already competitive with the DA10, and superior in some ways (including price of course). But the D18 is a clear improvement to these ears. 

Thanks, that would be so great
 
The price is really amazing for the D18.
I already ordered it for the normal price in Europe for €599 through Ebay (ships from Germany).
But I asked the seller if I could supply my registered VAT number (I have a music production company) so I won't have to pay the 19% VAT. Just got word back and that this is OK, so I got a refund for that.
So now I'm paying only €503 including shipping (DHL including insurance and tracking).
I've just sold the Lavry DA10 for €590 +shipping.. so I'm actually making a profit by selling a second hand DAC and buying a new DAC that's better
Spending time on head-fi pays off haha. Especially thanks to you Project86 for this one!

 

[Philharmoniker]

Quote:

Thanks, that would be so great
 
The price is really amazing for the D18.
I already ordered it for the normal price in Europe for €599 through Ebay (ships from Germany).
But I asked the seller if I could supply my registered VAT number (I have a music production company) so I won't have to pay the 19% VAT. Just got word back and that this is OK, so I got a refund for that.
So now I'm paying only €503 including shipping (DHL including insurance and tracking).
I've just sold the Lavry DA10 for €590 +shipping.. so I'm actually making a profit by selling a second hand DAC and buying a new DAC that's better
Spending time on head-fi pays off haha. Especially thanks to you Project86 for this one!

Can't wait to hear your initial impressions of the D18 with both headphones and speakers. Also congrats on avoiding the VAT!
 
 

 

[slackman]

Quote:

Can't wait to hear your initial impressions of the D18 with both headphones and speakers. Also congrats on avoiding the VAT!
 
 

Will post here once I get them.
They'll ship it after Christmas so hopefully end of next week.
 
Can't do a review with headphones anymore, I've sold all of them and don't have a headphone amp anymore (well actually I just remembered I still have a portable Zigis amp, will put it up for sale in the classifieds haha)
Sounds a bit like heresy here what I'm about to say.. but I've found that a good speaker system set up properly (freestanding, nearfield) in a good big with high ceiling well treated room (this is the main key) is better in almost all areas than a headphone system

But still like this forum better than the speaker people forums..

I think the average headphone system is much more honest and revealing than the average speaker system (which are usually extremely colored)
 
I'll post back here once the D18 arrive. I'll be silent now for a while as I've posted way too many messages in this thread already
 
 

 

[project86]

I completely agree about the average headphone system being superior to the average speaker setup. And we do tend to extend that to all systems, implying that a high end headphone rig can't be beat by speakers no matter what. Simply not true. As you said, with a proper room there are things that speakers can do which headphones simply can't (though headphones have a few advantages of their own). 
 
Anyway, I hope the D18 is everything you hope it to be. I'm confident that you will be more than happy with it. 
 
 

 

[Szadzik]

Hi All,
 
I am really happy to see so many owners of this DAC as it make it easier to hear opinions from different users.
 
I am trying to choose a DAC for my Woo Audio WA2 and Beyer T1s.  I am torn between D18, Onkyo DAC-1000 (no reviews yet, difficult to import and 100V only) and Anedio D1, that is out of stock.
 
Do you think D18 will be a good match for my system? I have both SPDIF on my current PC and will also be thinking about getting a USB>SPDIF converter at some point.

 

[Sonic77]

Looking forward towards your review. If you don't like it, you can blame project86

 jk
 
Quote:

Will post here once I get them.
They'll ship it after Christmas so hopefully end of next week.
 
Can't do a review with headphones anymore, I've sold all of them and don't have a headphone amp anymore (well actually I just remembered I still have a portable Zigis amp, will put it up for sale in the classifieds haha)
Sounds a bit like heresy here what I'm about to say.. but I've found that a good speaker system set up properly (freestanding, nearfield) in a good big with high ceiling well treated room (this is the main key) is better in almost all areas than a headphone system

But still like this forum better than the speaker people forums..

I think the average headphone system is much more honest and revealing than the average speaker system (which are usually extremely colored)
 
I'll post back here once the D18 arrive. I'll be silent now for a while as I've posted way too many messages in this thread already
 
 

 

 

[Philharmoniker]

Quote:

Looking forward towards your review. If you don't like it, you can blame project86

 jk
 


 

we will all blame project86 XD

 

[project86]

Yep, we will hold him responsible!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wait a minute......

 

[slackman]

Received the D18 today!!
 
Hooked it up, and well.. from the very first notes it was clear that this is a compleeeetely different DAC from anything I've had before.
And yes it totally beats the DA10. All the things that were bothering me with the DA10 are gone, and I've gotten more of everything in return.
 
Yet.. I'm not going to keep it.
It is too warm and smooth in the treble for me for studio work (including mastering). Things that should sound bad don't.
This makes it a hi-fi DAC in my opinion, not a studio DAC (or at least not when coupled with my speakers who I belief to be very neutral).
But no regrets at all I'm glad I got to hear the D18, and now know I'll gladly get a Sabre based DAC that's tuned brighter (probably will get the Anedio D1 when it comes out)
 
I'll give a more detailed review later.
And if anybody in Europe is looking for a D18 let me know
 
 

 

[yfei]

Glad to hear that, that's in line with the official description of D18: "韵味中不失细节" - charm, flavor and rhyme with full details revealed
You mean Anedio D2?  Seems there is no update on when it will come out.     Have you tried Wyred DAC-1 / DAC-2? They are both based on the same Sabre and I didn't see any reviews mentioning them to be creamy.
 
 
Quote:

It is too warm and smooth in the treble for me for studio work (including mastering). Things that should sound bad don't. This makes it a hi-fi DAC in my opinion, not a studio DAC (or at least not when coupled with my speakers who I belief to be very neutral).
But no regrets at all I'm glad I got to hear the D18, and now know I'll gladly get a Sabre based DAC that's tuned brighter (probably will get the Anedio D1 when it comes out)

 

 

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Quote:

Received the D18 today!!
 
Hooked it up, and well.. from the very first notes it was clear that this is a compleeeetely different DAC from anything I've had before.
And yes it totally beats the DA10. All the things that were bothering me with the DA10 are gone, and I've gotten more of everything in return.
 
Yet.. I'm not going to keep it.
It is too warm and smooth in the treble for me for studio work (including mastering). Things that should sound bad don't.
This makes it a hi-fi DAC in my opinion, not a studio DAC (or at least not when coupled with my speakers who I belief to be very neutral).
But no regrets at all I'm glad I got to hear the D18, and now know I'll gladly get a Sabre based DAC that's tuned brighter (probably will get the Anedio D1 when it comes out)
 
I'll give a more detailed review later.
And if anybody in Europe is looking for a D18 let me know
 
 

I saw this coming, good luck on the next one.
 

 

[Philharmoniker]

Great impression!
Are you using XLR or RCA out? I think the designer made a point to mention that the RCA out gives a more "hi-fi" sound while the XLR gives a more technical sound, and the difference is due to the combining of the hot and cold ends on the RCA.
Waiting to hear more from your review.
 
Quote:

Received the D18 today!!
 
Hooked it up, and well.. from the very first notes it was clear that this is a compleeeetely different DAC from anything I've had before.
And yes it totally beats the DA10. All the things that were bothering me with the DA10 are gone, and I've gotten more of everything in return.
 
Yet.. I'm not going to keep it.
It is too warm and smooth in the treble for me for studio work (including mastering). Things that should sound bad don't.
This makes it a hi-fi DAC in my opinion, not a studio DAC (or at least not when coupled with my speakers who I belief to be very neutral).
But no regrets at all I'm glad I got to hear the D18, and now know I'll gladly get a Sabre based DAC that's tuned brighter (probably will get the Anedio D1 when it comes out)
 
I'll give a more detailed review later.
And if anybody in Europe is looking for a D18 let me know
 
 

 

 

[Sganzerla]

I think one should burn in at least a couple hundred hours any unit before deciding what to do with it.
I'll wait for more reviews to see if it is what I'm looking for, specially after my new amp arrives, as my DT880 recabled is a little bright to begin with.
Any comments about its soundstage and 3D feeling?
 

 

[Somnambulist]

*a wild UK poster intent on buying a D18 appears!*
 
Hi.