So I really like my Soekris 1321 and Violectric v200 combo, but I was thinking about potentially getting a new r2r dac - something like an Ares II maybe - once I get a new job (hopefully by the end of the year!). Was curious if anyone else had some recommendations or if there is something else about my chain I should maybe upgrade first (all my gear should be in my profile as well).
Is it your intention to pair the V200 with the Ares II?
I think they work relatively well together granted you want a thicker and weightier sound while still proving a good amount of energy. FWIW I preferred the V200 with the 1321 because it did more to balance out the thicker sound of the V200.
What headphones do you have in mind for this upgrade?
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As of right now, my main headphones are the clears/nighthawks mostly. Was also thinking about getting a more bass-heavy headphone somewhat soon since most of the music I listen to is hip-hop/EDM at the moment
I should’ve also asked what you like about the V200/1321 and what you’d change when paired with the clears/hawks?
I’ll say though the V200/Ares II may not be ideal for you with the hawks as both the headphone and the chain lean in the same thick full weighty direction. Too much of a good thing perhaps. I personally wasn’t a fan.
To go much heavier in the bass than a nighthawk with that stack (I currently own this chain too), you might have to go to a Fostex/Emu/Denon or something like Cascades.
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Hmm I thought about these questions a bit today, but I honestly can’t really think of anything I would say I dislike about it. It’s quite punchy, a bit warm-leaning, and smooth - all qualities I generally like. I guess I am just curious/interested in trying some new things and I heard the Ares II was a great r2r dac from many people lol.
Maybe I should just invest in some more cans instead… I have a t50rp dekoni blue and I really like the bass on it, but if there is an upgrade I would be very interested in giving them a look. I know the tr-x00 series would be something I’m interested in, but finding them on the aftermarket can be a pain sometimes. Haven’t seen a whole lot about emu/denon/cascades (maybe like 1 video or article about each) so I’ll go research them a bit more.
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I own (and love) my Pendant. Wonderful with ZMFs and Focals (and Senns)…I have never experienced any environmental noise on high or low (knock on wood). I had some tube noise with one pair of EL84s but the moment I switched them out it was back to dead silent. I really like this amp but I have not heard a Current for more than 30 minutes so I can’t accurately compare. I do remember thinking the Current sounded very good,
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Cool, thanks for the feedback. I’d imagine the Current is higher-tier considering the price. Although higher doesn’t always mean better, most of the time that’s the case.
Ignoring technical ability, generally the ec stuff tends to lean a bit cleaner, dryer, and more forward on average as well, so typically a different signature from the more traditionally sweeter, warmer, and more relaxed stuff from a&s
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I know Bel Canto as a name in audio, but primarily for speakers. Does anyone have experience with their source gear? I just came across the Design DAC-3, and it looks kind of interesting.
So personally I’m not the biggest fan of their dacs. I tend to find them too warm, smooth, and mushy leaning for my personal tastes. I do think in some systems they can be good, but admittedly I’d likely pass, especially if they don’t have upgraded psu
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They do use Burr Browns, so if they follow the generalized character of the chip, that makes sense.
Edit: of course implementation matters more than the chip…
While the burr browns have leaned a bit more toward the warmer side of things, alot of the best burr brown implementations tend to be pretty deadpan neutral imo, so they can vary wildly in terms of signature. I do think some of the really bad burr brown stuff just turns into warm unpleasant mush, but this isn’t on that level, I just think they voiced it too strongly personally, and it could use a bit better technicality. The Bel stuff will still beat out any of the budget things, but it becomes less compelling to consider given what other options can be had imo
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The one burr-brown I have heard is in my Cowon Plenue S (Burr-Brown PCM1792A) and I would say it’s the warmer side of neutral but not as warm as forums would make you think.
The DAP scales and really sounds better with better headphones. Dynamics, details, and separation gets better but thankfully it never was overly mush.
I personally find the cowon stuff a bit more mid centric than warm tbh, but yes I’d agree it’s not as thickly laid on as some might say imo. Really like the Plenue L and the Plenue 2 mk2, both damn solid implementations too
At this point i think it is well documented my love for Cowon. I will always tout Cowons, especially if you are ok with and/or like using EQ.
You just have to accept that unless you catch one of their sales. Youre paying the same as other daps but theyre much more barebones and the screen and hardware is older (but they really optimized it) SQ is the emphasis, and for my preferences sub $1k daps cant compete.
They also use so many dac chips but seem to solve implementation of each one.
They have great dsp, like the higher end lotoo players do as well
I’d agree, I’d pretty easily take sq over features, but we are likely not the majority here lol
They tend to use cirrus (started with wolfson before that) and also the aforementioned BB designs in their older daps, but have stared to use AKM or ESS in their newer daps, and do a very good job with that too
I had the S9 and J3 (and original D2!), I know at least the J3 had the wolfson that people gushed over. I bought it for ~$300 used and it took much more to get a worthy upgrade. It was also, thin, light, and could fit in my front pocket and no one would know.
To make this relevant to the thread, my general source gear help comment is everyone should try one of Cowon’s nicer offerings.
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I posted my current desk setup earlier (Exogal → Quicksilver → Clear/Eikon) and I’m not itching to upgrade my chain tomorrow or anything, but since the Quicksilver is the least-expensive/least-recently-upgraded component in my system, I wanted to ask for future planning:
Questions! 1) Is the Quicksilver likely the biggest bottleneck in my system? 2) If it is, what are some potential amps (under $3K used) that I should be looking at when I’m ready to upgrade?
I really do love the Quicksilver, so in a way, I’d basically be in the market for something with a similar signature, but just another step up in technical performance. I’d be looking for something neutral-leaning, natural-sounding, plays well with ZMF/Focal/Senn/Beyer, but slightly smooth, slightly exaggerated space and dynamics. I don’t have enough frame of reference to know if part of what I like about the Quicksilver is specifically a tube sound, but in theory I’m okay with both tube and solid state options.
No and yes. I think I may actually want to consider going higher with headphones first imo, but you could still get more out of the clears with a higher end amp too, but higher tier headphones might make more sense
Well I should ask what headphones you plan to shoot for in the future first, but I’ve got a few ideas
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