Stan: no one remembers what this thread was about and that's a good thing

Meatball-Auditor:

“FIASCO” DAC:

Many of you will not be familiar with the new, Italian, audiophile venture “Meatball-Auditor” nor their new “FIASCO” DAC*. I expect that’s about to change, however, and it’s fair to say, right up front, that the “FIASCO” DAC is definitely a DAC that you can buy right now.

I have no doubt that you’ll be hearing more about this brand, and this unit in particular. Whether you want to or not.

The new “FIASCO” sits firmly in the middle of the line-up of discrete, R-2R DACs from “Meatball-Auditor”, with the “FARCE” on the low-end and the “UTTER SHAMBLES” at the top of the line (a single-ended variant of the “FIASCO” is also available, called the “DEBACLE”).

Many audio companies have what is often described as a “house sound”. In the case of the “Meatball-Auditor” product line, this is best described as being tuned for the uniquely discerning musical ears of first-generation Europeans and, in particular, Italians. This market is well known to be populated exclusively by instrument playing virtuosos - amid the broader array of Europeans who, at least, listen to live full-orchestral music, in their homes, every day. This is, of course, in stark contrast to their American descendants who, collectively, only listen to Hotel California, Jazz at the Pawnshop and Cletus’ Cuntry Classics Vol 2.

Suffice it to say that if you audition one of these units, and don’t like it, then it’s not the unit that’s at fault; you’re probably just some unworthy cloth-eared, heathen, immigrant that simply is culturally incapable of fully appreciating what these units can do.

In fitting with its strong Italian bias, this unit is equipped with an Amanero USB -> I2S implementation, featuring onboard clocks, some internal wires, a PCB and a suitably tight connector. The firmware on this can be field-upgraded, though the process is akin to the sacrificial juggling of hedgehogs, one-handed, blindfold, while hopping on one leg, in blancmange and yodeling the Guatemalan national anthem.

I’m assured the problematic, variant, USB performance is cured by undertaking this procedure but I was unable to test it due to a lack of farm-fresh hedgehogs at this time of year (I felt that substituting the more common, European, “loudly shagging under the hedge at the edge of your garden” hedgehogs would not be representative of what’s possible).

An easier fix is to use one of the S/PDIF inputs on the unit instead.

On sound … the “FIASCO” definitely outputs some. It has bass, and treble, and some midrange in there, I’m not 100% convinced about the mid-mids though. It has tonality too. In this case making Nana Mouskouri sound rather reminiscent of Luciano Pavarotti.

Slam is lacking. Unless you drop it on your foot. Then it’ll certainly have the necessary gravitas and impact. There’s no transparency, this unit being a deep, solid, matte black – it’s immediately apparent there’s a not-so-subtle agenda here. Transient response is lacking. The first rise of a harsh percussive note not arriving until you’ve already fallen asleep.

With PCM sources, in OS mode, the “FIASCO” is just that. In NOS mode, things get worse. Switch over to native DSD sources and what you get reminds me of morse-code keyed at several million dits/dahs a second. Which is to say that it is an improvement over the performance with PCM content.

Overall presentation has some unmissable hash and grain to it. You can fix this somewhat by wearing a pair of these while listening. You can augment that experience by donning a few of these on your head.

Also, it’s worth noting that this unit genuinely benefitted from being burned in. The improvement was not at all subtle. Before burn-in it the bass region sounded more akin to a bad case of White-Castle induced terminal flatulence. After burn-in the overall performance was more likely to transport you to the sonic equivalent of being in the Sistine Chapel, and suddenly seeing an actual spark of lightning between the fingers in the scene “The Creation of Man” (or “God Creates Adam”) … on a sweltering July day, when the air-conditioning has failed, and you have 500 people standing in a space meant for 50.

…

Would I buy one of these?

Absolutely.

Provided I’d been heavily drugged, dragged into a back-alley, and forcibly beaten until I transformed into a special type of extra-clueless cunt**.

Otherwise there’s probably more musical enjoyment to be had in the rhythmic banging of my head against an unusually sturdy wall.

Consider the Meatball-Auditor “FIASCO” DAC the last word in DACs***.

--

*That “mystery DAC” I’ve mentioned a few times? Well now you know what it is****.
**As opposed to just being a common or garden variety clueless cunt.
***Well, probably my last word on them at any rate*****.
****No, not really.
*****Yes, really.

 

Maybe you shoulda had some food, too.

 

@Torq is a master at this. I wasted a mouthful of tea and gave my screen an impromptu shower reading this. I'm still chuckling and drawing weird looks from my sister, who likely thinks I've gone off the deep end.

It was the "gravitas and impact" that broke me. Definitely slam enough for the repercussions to be felt half a world away.

Also, is it a (+) or a (-) for you? Being European (but not Italian), I feel you might think it more a (=), but you still owe it to us to compare against the Yggdrasil!

 

Well, of course after @Torq glowing review it was necessary to obtain the Fiasco DAC from him and measure it.

As we all now know (thanks to another brilliant interloping chap), a single 20 Hz square wave response will suffice to assess the quality of this DAC.

Measurement conditions:
1. Somewhat steamed, decent wine from Tamarack Cellars; Firehouse Red.
2. Custom cables with directional electrons oriented for boogalooing to the Neutron Dance
3. Picotech 5243b 16 bit A/D resolution oscilloscope
4. advanced future primative bozotron shielded power cables

Highlights

I've never measured anything like this. If you are wishing to attain something quite unusual, this is the DAC for you. I present the results for your own entertainment. The performance of this DAC is limited only by the user's imagination.

Fiasco DAC 20 Hz Square Wave response 6Vpp SE very unbalanced:

 

It would require new, possibly breakthrough, developments in the state of global punctuation to summarize my thoughts here with a single, such, indicator. I'm a bit under-Scotched for that sort of thing, but using multiple characters a first stab at it might be:

Meatball-Auditor: "FIASCO" (LGBTQTIA)​

 

Was that under-Scotched unladen swallow African or European?

 

Simply ... masterful!

 

Italian.

 

I have tears running down my face. Bravo!

 

Since there needs to more participation from India (thanks Thad), I propose a Golden Schlong 2017 award for this thread. Or a Classic Thread Schlong, whatever !

 

Check with King Arthur. He knows these things...

 

Wow, who knew a DAC was the key to unlocking time travel? Looks like we're in a digital simulation alright

 

Please leave the Swedish king, The Queen, and the unknown lady (Auditor?) in front out of this.

 

But that's what all audio playback chains aim to do, be it digital or analogue - to be a time travel device and travel back to the point where the recording was made, and reproduce it.

Some do it better, some do it worse, some seem to have myopic vision, but that's the aim nonetheless.