@fastcat95 , i've been hesitant to give listening impressions, because I can not guarantee what I'm hearing now, is what the unit will sound like tomorrow, and I wouldn't want to be irresponsible toward any potential buyers, and give out bad information that is not representative toward the final product...
...but, I also acknowledge, that if I were on the other side, interested in a device, I would want to know what it sounded like, even if, and especially, if it changed over time. So, let me do that. I'll give a week in impression.
Like I said, day 6 was when I started to feel like the unit was sounding coherent. Tonally, it changed ever so slightly that day and through the night, going from slightly emphasizing the leading edge, to having a mostly balanced sound, with a great balance of snap, space, and decay.
Soundstage is gigantic. Like bigger than anything I've heard through my system. And that space is filled with precise locations of singers, drums, instruments in recorded space, and emanates from dead silence.
Energy wise, it's more relaxed than energetic, without sounding boring.
Tonally, it's pretty well balanced, top to bottom, probably more well balanced than any DAC I've listened to. Bass has terrific weight without sounding bloated. Midrange has begun to fill out, making instruments feel dense and material, and the highs are almost great. There's a touch of hardness in the transition between upper mids to highs. On tracks like Somebody, by Depeche Mode, atmosphere is lovely, piano is gorgeous, Martin Gore's voice, which sits right in that upper mid/high range, sounds a little out of joint. I hope further run in sorts this out.
The overall sound is very spacious, slightly dark, but not fat, thick, or bloated. There's plenty of extension and air in the highs, and the bass is full and tight. Mids have gone from tidy but slightly withdrawn, to well balanced with excellent texture, just from day 6 to 7.
As it sounds, right now, it's one of the most listenable DAC's I've ever had. More over, again based on how it sounds right now, it would be one of the easiest DAC's to recommend to anyone. It ticks all the audiophile checkboxes, soundstage, depth, air, extension, a you are there experience with music, while having a tonal character that doesn't come with any noticable deficiencies. It's dense without sounding fat or thick, pleasant without sounding boring, and sounds wide open whituout sounding thin or clinical. The sound is very, very even, and very easy to listen to.
I'll probably wait another week to give a listening impression, but if there are any dramatic changes in the coming days, I will note them.
I hope it simply continues to settle in at this point, because it is very good as I write this. If that changes for any reason, I will let you know.
p.s. I have settled on OS mode, sharp filter, phase set to on, via USB. NOS sounds pretty good, but alot of soundstage magic dissapears while using it, while not adding enough to make up for that loss. Slow filter initially sounded good, but made music sound a little indistinct, and off time. No pops or clicks in any mode, NOS or OS.
