2. digital
  3. 1126769860

Reference DACS: An overall perspective

There has been many threads the last few months regarding the sonic signature of some of the highest regarded reference DACS (Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) here on the GON. I have been very fortunate to audtion many of these wonderful pieces in my home or friend's systems. I wanted to share, in a systematic way, my impressions/opinions with you GON members for a two reasons: 1)That my experiences might be helpful to fellow members interested in audtioning these DACS. 2)Starting an interesting discussion regarding the different "sonic flavors" of these reference digital front ends. I totally agree with the statement, "if you have not heard it you don't have an opinion". Therefore, I have no comments regarding DACS from Weiss,Goldmund,Audio Aero and Burmester because I have never had the pleasure of audtioning them. I would love to hear from members who have and share their experiences with us. My overall impression is that these DACS(Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) can be grouped into two molar categories regarding their overall sonic signature. By the way, all of them can throw a large/deep soundstage with excellent layering in the acoustic space with "air" around individual players on that stage. However, than they start to part company into two major categories. Category #1) These DACS "flavors" revolve around pristine clarity, fine sharp details,speed,very extended top/bottom frequencies,and great PRAT. These DACS never sound "etched" or "in your face" but are more "upfront" then "layed back" in their presentation. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Dcs,Ensemble,Meitner. My personnal favorite in this group is the Ensemble, which I owned for two years. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Wilson,Thiel,Dynaudio, Focal/JM Labs. Category #2) These DACS "flavors" revolve around a "musical/organic" sense, natural timbres,and an easy flowing liquidity. Their "less forward" presentation my give the impression of less detail, but I think in this case its an illusion fostered by their more relaxed/organic manner. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts. I did find that the tube DACS did not have the top/bottom frequency extenstion and PRAT of the SS DACS in this bracket. For me, the Accustic Arts DAC1-MK3 gave me the best of both categories, therefore it is now the resident DAC in my system. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Magnepan,Von Schweikert,Sonus Faber. Well, it's all just my opinion regarding these digital pieces, but I hope this post was at least informative/somewhat interesting and would lend itself to other GON members sharing their impressions, not about what DAC is the "BEST" in the world, but your personnal taste and synergy with your system.
teajay
bill_k
887 posts
 
Bodhi - Interesting post, but as they say there are always (at least) two sides to every story. I'd like to hear Mike's response to your claims here.
bodhi
49 posts
 
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
985 posts
 
Bodhi,
This is interesting. Tell us more about the VA Signature dac and how it sounds compared to other dacs in the same league. Thanks in advance.
Jon.
bodhi
49 posts
 
Jon, with the preamble there is no such thing as "best" as there is so much great sounding gear out there, in general Vitus gear sounds natural/organic, resolving and non-fatiguing. The first thing which strikes you is the timeless Danish industrial design and build quality which are second to none.

The SCD-025 spinner is essentially a full Signature Series dac built around a heavily modified Philips Pro 2 LF transport. There was a major update to this player in Q1, 2015 incl: a new, upgradeable master clock, new I/V converter, new analogue modules etc and is basically a whole new beast. The upgrades were so successful Hans upgraded the Masterpiece Series transport and dac with the same filter UP components!

Sound wise, my player only has about 35hrs on it so far, but is already sound very resolving and musical. I am amazed how much information this player can pull off an RBCD. No kidding, it makes RBCD's sound like SACD's! Dynamics and bass are excellent, no doubt helped by the 4 UI-core power supplies. The sound is very smooth and liquid. It has a real finesse with strings and percussion.

I have owned a couple of good dacs before; a Vimak DS-1800 Mk2 and heavily modded/re-tubed Ayon CD-5s. The Vimak for its day was remarkably resolving and very composed (and thus similar in that way to the Vitus), though its quirkiness in operation was annoying. In comparison, the SCD-025 is simply better across the board & handles files up to Quad rate DSD via its DSD USB board.

The Ayon was a very nice tube dac with matched NOS 6h30DR's & discreet HD op amps. Bass was excellent and about on par with my Vitus. There were also tube virtues of holography, sweetness and a touch of warmth. The Ayon uses excellent Mundorf Supreme Silver/Gold/Oil caps which improve sound stage depth as well as chokes & big polypropylene filtering caps (similar to Conrad Johnson). The Ayon in this modified form was also a very nice linestage which paired very well with my Boulder 1060. But you pays, you gets as they say. And the Vitus is simply in a different league. It is like comparing a Volkswagen Passat to a BMW 5 series.

I know you asked how the Vitus sounds compared to dacs in the same league, though i'm reluctant to compare dacs which I haven't owned and used in my system. With that said, i've heard the Soulution 540 sacd player which sounds very smooth and resolving. That is a nice sacd player, though it did not sound as good as the (then previous spec) SCD-025 on RBCD. (The current spec player is about 50% better). I'd love to hear the 2-chassis Soulution 746 or 760 dac. Though we're getting into Rolls Royce territory.

The Vitus so far is the best single box dac i've heard, though the new Soulution 541 player could be a compelling alternative if you listen to a lot of sacd's. Btw you have a nice system which is well sorted with excellent attention to detail. Good show!
jon2020's avatar
jon2020
985 posts
 
Bodhi,

Thanks for your detailed post.
What sort of retail pricing are we into here?

Rgds. J.
More to discover