Audio-GD

I haven't had any time yet to sit and listen. We just did a big move and now I'm on a flight, with my house full of boxes and s little baby inside (though not alone!). I'll definitely spend time this weekend so hopefully I'll have more updates soon!

 

I was wondering if you ever managed to do this comparison? Thanks.

 

Brand spankin' new to SBAF... Just wanted to say hello and announce my AGD fanboy status ha!
my somewhat new setup (also my first real desktop rig) consists of dac-19 10th, C-2C (being replaced by C-2 11th when it arrives in the next couple days), and Little Dot MK4se. (wanted tube and solid state option, both have their benefits and downsides) LOVE the AGD gear thus far...any combo sounds great with my hd650, dt990 600 ohm, and K7xx. Really dig the r-2r sound compared to the ess9018 in an Aune X1s i had for a few months before replacing it... After the C-2 11th upgrade and deciding on a pair of planars to take advantage of some of its power i better chill out on the spending for awhile! haha But i can't imagine it's going to be torture enjoying this setup for a year or so

 

sorry for the delay! i had some time to sit with the Gungnir Multibit and dac-19 10th anniv and...... honestly, it was extremely hard for me to tell them apart, especially blind with all the switching back and forth (forget about it). if i had to describe them-- which is tricky because it'll seem more polarizing than i felt they actually are to me-- i'd say the Gungnir Multibit is a bit more airy perhaps due to a touch more treble presence? Gungnir Multibit also had a slightly larger/wider soundstage. the dac-19 seemed a bit warmer and weightier, maybe slightly more rounded notes, but again, these dacs were more similar in their tonal balance than they were different to me. both are/were awesome dacs.

i ended up keeping the Gungnir Multibit, mostly for weird idiosyncratic/pragmatic reasons -- because i appreciated the flexibility of balanced vs. SE, because mailing Gungnir Multibit to schiit is easier than shipping the dac-19 to china, because audio gd is constantly upgrading their gear and i get lazy to keep up, and because i felt the Gungnir Multibit might be a better match for the Liquid Carbon that I'm currently using (and potentially with the incoming Crimson as well).

the dac-19 i had also had a slightly finicky USB and my laptop sometimes had a hard time recognizing it, whereas with the Gungnir Multibit it always picked it up instantly and never got disconnected from it. my dac-19 didn't have the amanero combo upgrade, so i can't comment on what that does to the thing. and perhaps my USB issue was due to that. but i also know other people that don't have the amanero on theirs and they didn't really have that issue, so it might be a laptop issue more than a dac issue. hope this helps!

 

I have zero problems with the amanero installed.

 

Yeah next time I'll be sure to pick one up with amanero or whatever usb updates exist!

 

Wooooo. My AGD C-2 11th Anniversary just arrived a couple hours ago, a day ahead of schedule...not exactly sure why it has been happening but love the fact that the last 3 packages i've received via USPS have shown up a day early!!
So far... DAC-19 10th + C-2 11th + HD650 =

 

nice man, congrats! i didn't know he was releasing an anniversary edition C-2, gotta go read about it now! let us know how you like it once you hang out with it more.

 

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/C22015/C22015EN.htm

It was released mid june 2015... at that point i wasn't looking into building a desktop headphone setup so i didn't stumble onto it until the end of the year... drooled over it for a few months while i got some decent headphones and a worthy dac...
Just peeked at your gear... i've been really wanting to hear some Cavalli Amp... had considered the Carbon as opposed to this C-2 but hadn't come across any for sale in quite a while... i told myself whichever ever one came up in excellent used condition i would get since i couldn't really make up my mind and i still had not heard any Cavalli gear... meanwhile i did enjoy the older C2-C I Have.
You also have a Liquid Crimson coming? Color me jealous! haha that's awesome...
How would you rate your current collection of cans? I've not yet gotten to hear the HD800... another item on my nearly formed and ever expanding headphone gear bucket list... I live about 5 hours away from chicago, used to live there, and have been looking for an excuse to go visit friends... the next time there is some sort of chicago area meet i think i will have to make it up so i can check some of this stuff out!

I'm enjoying the SBAF community thus far, seem like pleasant group of people and i'm glad i wandered in.

 

New NOS dacs coming from Audio-GD:

New product Preview

Base on a lot customers advise ,NOS version Master 7, Master 11 and DAC 19 will release in 1st April.

5 units of each model for pre-order get 5% OFF. (Before order you must learn the NOS DAC characteristic .)
new DSP software design built in !
two option NOS modes, support up to 768KHzinput, asynchronous clock , FIFO data process.

Built in PCM1704UK.

Please note : Limit by the Amanero USB input, support up to 384KHz now. In Simulation test , it can support up to 768KHz even 1536KHz input . In future if had the new USB interface , users can easy replace in the unit even without soldering.
Will offer the upgrade for all Audio-gd product users who own the DSP + PCM1704 product in near future!

 

I had the Audio-gd C-2 (11th Annivesarry) before I sold it when I got the Liquid Carbon, also used with Audio-gd DAC-19 (10th Annivesarry). If you ever get the chance I would highly recommend the Carbon. Warren has said they might make another run with them at some point.

 

I have yet to get a chance to hear any Cavalli gear, but i'd really like to! What do you like about the Carbon above the C-2?

So i'm going to throw out a couple of topics that i've been thinking about and doing a little research on lately...

USB Sources:
More specifically... cleaning up USB sources for use with NOS dacs... i'm very interested in trying my dac-19 in NOS mode but from everything i've been reading you need a nice stable clean source... and i'm guessing just coming from a desktop computer it isn't going to do the trick. (not worried about the power side so much as the AGD dacs do not use any of the source usb power for anything) SO... a moderately priced usb reclocker that has had quite a few complimentary words said about it... bring me to Uptone Regen... seems to be the best in the price range. Was also looking at the Wyred 4 Sound Recovery but after talking with a few people i am leaning towards the regen.

Power: leave on/turn off
After searching around a bit i have found lots of mixed opinions. Some say having class a power supplies, if you can afford to leave the dac and amp on all the time do it. Read that the dac-19 sounds its best after being on for 120+ hours so i have just been leaving it on all the time. Some say the power on and off process is the hardest on the components in the long run. I don't really have to worry much about brown outs in my area. Now as far as my solid state class a C-2 amp goes, i have a feeling based on general info i've read on solid state class a headphone amps (not specifically the C-2 11th) that they get up to optimal temp and sound their best after an hour or two at most? So thats not a huge concern...can turn it on soon as i get home from work and be sounding it's best by the time i usually hop on at night. My concern is (mainly with the amp) more the in the long term...power on power off process... better to just leave it on all the time? OR on when i get home and off before bed?

Just looking for thoughts, opinions, personal practices, experiences.

Anyh00t.... thanks!

 

The Carbon was pretty good when I tried it, but it was a tad too warm for me. It paired with a lot of headphones very well from the short time I tried.

 

I have a question about the Audio-gd nos 7 dac. How does it handle DSD? does the dac pass it through as DSD or does it convert the DSD to PMC?

 

It doesn't handle DSD. Amanero might accept it, but PCM1704 chips don't do DSD. You'd have to convert it on your machine or a USB->S/P-DIF converter to play them.

 

Thanks for the fast reply.

 

I happened to have a Liquid Carbon to be traded for a dac19 anniversary edition. Especially if you live in the L.A. area...

 

I might buy a Gungnir Multibit and compare it to the DAC-19 with the amanero. Will wait for a black version though, if that ever happens.

 

I owned a DAC-19 10th Anniversary for the better part of a year, and then replaced it with a Gungnir Multibit in March. As of today, I am shipping off my Gungnir Multibit to a Head-Fi buyer (along with my Mjolnir 2) and have a used Master 11 on the way.

Quick thoughts on the DAC-19 vs. Gungnir Multibit:

Another user in this thread said that he could barely tell the difference between the two DACs, but I had a very different experience. I've always had trouble distinguishing differences between delta-sigma DACs (once did a direct comparison between a Uberfrost and Oppo HA-1 and they were virtually indistinguishable via multiple headphones). However, going from the DAC-19 to the Gungnir Multibit was a pretty shocking change in overall sound signature, the extent of which surprised me as I was previously leaning towards the "DACs sound mostly the same" school of thought. My comparisons took place with both DACs feeding the exact same amp (a Violectric V220 that I've since sold) and using both an HD650 and an LCD-3.

The DAC-19 was much warmer and smoother, with a lush midrange, subdued treble, and a bass section that was prominent but rather indistinct. I wouldn't call it "softer" but it's fairly laid-back and has a thicker note presentation. In comparison, the Gungnir Multibit's sound signature was more neutral, although most folks would probably say it's on the slightly warmer side. Mids were significantly drier than the Audio-GD, treble was much more prominent and direct, with slightly better extension, and bass was significantly stronger, better defined and punchy, almost the equivalent of adding a subwoofer to your car's stock stereo. Overall note presentation was slightly thinner than the DAC-19, but still thick enough to lend an accurate timbre to instruments.

If I had one word to describe each, the DAC-19 would be "romantic" while the Gungnir Multibit would be "intense" or "direct." Listening to any sort of harder material on the Gungnir Multibit was a downright face-melting experience compared to the easygoing nature of the DAC-19.

In any case, I enjoyed the Gungnir Multibit a lot. I would argue in many ways it is technically more competent than the DAC-19, but after only a few months I'm selling it because I miss the "sink into a comfortable easy chair" character of the DAC-19. I can melt into the music of the Audio-GD, whereas the Schiit just kicks my ass and forces me to pay attention to every nuance. The Gungnir Multibit gets my toes tapping, but its Chinese counterpart makes me close my eyes and lean back in my chair. Hopefully the Master 11 will give me more of what I miss about the DAC-19. Can't wait for it to arrive!