Look here everyone, Lets give credit where credit is due. Glory, what DAC retails fr $3K that is even close to the engineering inside the Comet plus its very Analog presentation ? You are comparing it to a $10K DAC for Petes sake.Which by the way has plastic feet.. They are Apples and oranges. I know its nice to realize you are living in the Stratos, but to laugh at the Comet is not fair nor a comparison whatsoever. Methinks Ive got a $6500 DAC that is absolutely as good as and possibly better than Rockna to my ears in my room with whatever electromagnetic pull is at this GPS coordinate plus all my mental hangups about how audio "should" be or sound..aaaand OCD.. When Jeff first asked me about how I liked the comet I was like... mmmmmehh.. then said something about my $15K balanced differential 45 triode DAC and the 3 others, but after opening his piece up to inspect, I honestly called him Yoda. Exogal are freaking design Jedis. I have never once in my life seen a piece of gear so brilliantly laid out and put together. Its nothing short of a genius product. You called it a beginner DAC.. I think you nailed it. Its about the smartest market position I could think of with all us tweaky fogies going to pasture. We use "my dads stereo" not the cool, hip product for the times. These guys nailed it square in the kisser. Brilliant, I applaud the Comet and Ion. So I bought them.. Because they are so cool. and portable, and light, and clean..etc.. They are there to loan and or backup. I was going to buy them even if they were never used. Just to remind myself how to think when I design gear. So take a chill pill brother on whacking the company of guys that as far as I am concerned, started high end digital... didnt you ever hear some of those insane WADIA DAC’s ? dude...its one of the founding fathers.. Respect. Honestly If I were to go through the build with you and show you how and why things were dome a certain way... youd get it.. I called him yoda because as usual I was busting balls right off the cuff about certain elements.. one was the plexiglass bottom. Plexi holds static energy. not so good for DAC’s.. So as I was giving him a hard time I faintly remembered metal sphere feet, but my lips kept bumping.. then I said to him, dude, if you freaking set those metal marbles through the plexi into the ground plane, (which by the way is the ENTIRE bottom of the unit), I’m just calling you Yoda.. sure enough.. grounded .. OK, I surrender... I am your student oh Obi Wan.Teach me the ways of an audio CEO. So the Comet is the bomb little beginner DAC that will open this market to the people just starting the hobby... the fresh blood... While we all put on our Beaker glasses and I make some Beaker Wire and try to hear the difference between 68 degrees in my room and 68.3. Laugh at my ass man.. I’m the OCD purist freakster bozo.. These guys are the real deal. True smart businessmen taking our ridiculous hobby serious thank God.. So anywho... I’m off to plug in a magical voodo slab and listen for the leading edge of a music piece and try to determine if it was as defined as before, or did I hear it ever so slightly relax and move rearward. Then I’m going to contemplate if thats something that will keep me in my chair or if I’m going to get fatigued which would just be such a bummer.. but wait, perhaps I could open up the box and poke around in there and stick some stuff here and there...hmmmm lets see what material ???... I know ! Rare earth elements!! Yes ! Thats it ! I know from science class some of them react and shit, so let me go Google research that until the sun comes up and my eyes are bloodshot and Ive ordered hundreds of dollars of stuff from God knows where....LOL, laugh at me bro, laugh at me.. Not these guys..
The front panel display still blows though.. ;-)
The front panel display still blows though.. ;-)