Massdrop RDAC Airist Audio R2-R DAC

Yes apparently, newest units at least don't appear to have any roll-off? I wonder if there were ever any production changes, hmm.

 

I could post mine to someone for measurements if there is desire. I don't use it very much and it is from the first (delayed) initial production...

 

Ive been using the RDAC for couple weeks with HE500s and a LP, I'll post my thoughts once I have some more time with it. So far the only thing I'm pretty comfortable saying is that it is quite laid back and warm. Its a stark difference compared to the Modi 3.

Transients seem softer than Im used to. Treble is subjectively soft but I can't say with any certainty that it is actually rolled off. Im picky with treble, the Modi 3 and MB never really did the treble right for me but so far I don't have any complaints with the treble from the RDAC. Would love to see some FR measurments.

This RDAC was ordered in June 2019.

 

What input and source? USB implementation is pretty gooey/warmed up.

 

Im using optical.

 

Can anyone compare the Airist R2RDAC with the Mojo directly? Yes, I have seen the brief comparison by Torq on the first page of this thread, I'm just looking for more opinions because while I definitely respect his impressions, a single comparison does not a comfortable blind purchase make. I've been eyeing one of these for a long time to 'complete' my office rig (currently Chord Mojo > Massdrop CTH > ZMF Blackwood). I am really really really happy with the CTH>Blackwoods so far.

Not going to lie, I half want one because of the visual synergy and stackability, but the way that its sound is described is also very appealing for my tastes--warm, maybe a little dark, full bodied, dynamic, intimate but with air and a well defined sense of space. I don't care much about headphone soundstage, but instrument separation and the 'air' around the instruments is something my ears are tuned to. The Mojo makes for a surprisingly good DAC (imho), but I'd prefer not to have to work the thing's battery so hard nearly every day. I get up from my desk about 5000x per day, so something wall powered would be so much more convenient.

 

I'll take a stab at this one. I have not compared them head to head but am very familiar with both and still have a control. (i.e. I compared Mojo to Metrum Flint and then Amethyst extensively, and Airist to Metrum extensively ... but not Mojo to Airist directly. I still have the Metrums.)

I have owned a Mojo twice and always found it a little on the thin side for me. Everything is there, including gobs of detail, but it always left me a bit cold and feeling it is somehow less than the sum of its parts.

Airist is warmer, sure, but also meatier. Its presentation is more immediate and up front than Mojo, which gives it more intimacy with some music and often a better sense of drive. The downside is that it doesn't present a sense of space as well as Mojo.

Airist is a cure for sibilance, something I'm very sensitive to. But as you can imagine it achieves that at the cost of air and a final degree of top end extension. Mojo gives you all that but to me it becomes a little over emphasized, and I would argue that Airist presents a truer (or maybe just more satisfying) timbre even if less detail.

As you can probably tell by now I am an Airist fan and could easily imagine owning one again at some point. That said, there is a lot to like about Mojo and I certainly wouldn't argue with anyone who said that it was great and/or right for them. (Metrum just does it for me a little bit more right now, in some ways splitting the difference between Airist and Mojo.)

Hope that helps.

 

I only had a Mojo for about 3 weeks before I got a Modi Multibit but my recollection of it is that it was fun but not all that resolving or great at separation. I feel the RDAC blows it out of the water in pretty much every way... Depending on thr rest of your stack. I honestly preferred thr RDAC to the Gungnir Multibit as I thought it did much better separation, was more laid back with slightly rolled treble (Gungnir Multibit gave me headaches after a few hours) and much better presentation of background layers. It obviously depends on what you listen to in that regard (NIN was much more engaging through the RDAC due to its presentation) but on the whole, despite being an OS DAC, it's more similar to the Metrum NOS DACs than Schiit's OS DACs.

The Mojo is "fine" but I heard so much through the RDAC I'd never heard before.

And if you're interested, I'm looking to sell mine because the Onyx is my endgame. No other DAC compares IMHO.

 

Thanks to you both, I'm definitely interested in picking up a used unit but I've got other plans for my money for the moment. Sometime over the next month or two, I'll be good to pick one up, or maybe I'll manage to sell something I'm not using (anyone interested in an Oppo BDP-103?). In the meantime, I'll keep drooling over the Airist DAC, and slowly kill Mojo's battery (it will need replacing by the end of the year at this rate).

 

Hi folks,

I know that @Torq touched on the issue regarding an external LPS for the Rdac. I use an Acopian LPS recommended by @atomicbob for my MCTH with stellar results.
I'm wondering if this acopian would work with the Rdac?
Acopian Power Supply Model A5MT510
https://www.acopian.com/store/productdetail.aspx?q=i276

I can pick one up for $30 lol.
I heard a huge improvement adding an acopian to the MTCH. Even if it's a small gain with the Rdac , I'd like to squeeze every little bit out of it.

Thanks folks!

 

I finally got my hands on one of these! Even though campus is closed so for the time being I don't have an office to keep my 'office rig' in, I've finally managed to put an Airist R-2R DAC underneath my MCTH. Currently it's sitting at my computer desk at home, and I'm listening through the ZMF Blackwood. I am very impressed with the combo so far, very easy and listenable. I don't want to write extended impressions yet, I've had it less than two days, but I am really pleased with its presentation and the way it renders spatial cues. It reminds me of what I love about the sound of vinyl, that very full-bodied sound with discrete placement, an almost visceral image of the instruments and the recording space in front of you.... well, the 'RDAC' doesn't go that far, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm assuming that is the 'NOS' sound that people say this DAC has, in spite of it actually using oversampling? If so, wow, I am so sold on NOS and kind of sad it took so long for me to get here.

Now I just need a linear power supply... maybe I could acquire the parts for and build an AMB sigma11 during my self isolation.

 

I bought an acopian and haven't looked back. It's pretty remarkable what a LPS can do for this dac. Huge improvement over the wallwart.

 

Not a full detailed review, this is more due to I own @famish99 a response.

Long Story Short: Dark Tone in Treble area, non-analytical presentation, works really well for a casual listening setup, or those who are very treble sensitive. Those who want a more "awake" presentation should look somewhere else.

I only got this because I'm planning to put a SW51+ on my computer desk. I love the Modi 3, but I wanted to upgrade my computer desk since Covid-19 is making me WFH more/less 100% of the time. I guess I'll move the Modi 3 desk to my bed before bedtime. Also, I was looking for a non-analytical DAC that isn't detail focused. I already have the Black Frost 2, and that is on my main setup. I do not want another Black Frost 2 on my computer desk, so a cheaper lower end setup is just fine for me.

So with amps I'm not the biggest fan of using the ZDT Jr with it. Too warm/thick with a darker DAC. HD600 was pretty good with it, but I really thought the HD6XX (HD650) is a major miss with the setup. I though there was no synergy when using the HD6XX. However, with the HD600 it will help with the treble and give it a better subbass response (but still a HD600 at the end of the day).

I actually enjoy using the Magni 3+ with it. I thought the Magni 3+ is a warm-tone amp (but less so than the ZDT Jr) but doesn't make the treble region more dark/warm like the ZDT Jr IMO. With the JVC Drop IEMs with the Green nozzle, it's a wonderful match for a smooth listening experience.

I really enjoy using it on my computer desk. For those who aren't aware, I have two setups with two different goals. Computer Desk setup should be more warmer non-analytical for casual listening. My main setup should be away from my computer and it should be slightly warm at most (check my profile for more info).

Like others say, do not use USB. I would try to use SPDIF for Coax/Toslink if possible. I have an used Schiit Eitr that is working mostly just fine with little dropouts (but that's due to me hooking it up to a busy USB bus on my Thinkpad docking station). PI2AES to R-2R DAC should be really good here if your are looking for its sound presentation. I think those with cheaper vinyl setups might like this DAC.

I'm not too surprised that getting a better LPS will make it sound better. However, I'm not considering it since I want a computer desk non-analytical setup and quite frankly the performance of the R-2R is more than enough for me for my computer desk.

I still don't get why run high end stuff on a computer setup when your mind isn't 100% focusing on the music. That's why I went with a PI2AES, I needed to get away from the computer....

 

Personally I have no intention of sticking with the SMPS long term, but I do want to say how absolutely impressed I am with its performance even in the absence of linear power. It sounds good enough that LPS is pretty low on my audio priority list right now. Listening to the RDAC+CTH (the latter of which does have a linear power supply) through the ZMF Atticus I am extremely impressed across the board. This is really not far behind my usual combo of Bifrost 2 + heavily modded Crack, although it does lose some of the spatial cues, width/depth, and fine textures.

I am also waiting on a Pi2AES in the mail. Supposedly it shipped last week but tracking info says it's still waiting to be received by the sender. No big deal, I'm patient...

 

Don’t be too patient. Check with your local mail provider to see if it has arrived and then perhaps is waiting on a signature or tax or something.

Michael

 

I've since moved my Airist R-2R DAC and accompanying CTH+LPS and ZMF Blackwoods back to my campus office. I've been using the xDuoo X10T II portable digital transport as a source (the aforementioned Pi2AES stays at home). I have mostly been using the AES output via a 110-to-75 ohm trafo, followed by a BNC to RCA coax cable--DH Labs Silver Sonic D-750. This was a noticable step up from using the USB C to RCA coax cable I have.

Today, for the first time, I decided to give the USB input a shot. I typically snub my nose at USB, but the xDuoo actually does a pretty damn decent job as a USB source. I'm using a Schiit Pyst USB (aka StraightWire), with an iFi OTG adapter. I was really surprised to find that it sounded just slightly cleaner and more focused than the AES>coax, especially with the low end. It's a pretty damn subtle effect, but having listened to this setup in one configuration for so long, this very difference stands out to me immediately. I recall some of the reviews here disagreed as to the quality of the USB input, but I'll throw my vote behind the "it's surprisingly good" camp.

I still haven't tried the 3.5mm coaxial output on the xDuoo with an RCA DAC yet, just with Mojo. I really need to get off my ass and make a handful of 3.5mm to RCA coaxial cables, since I assume the impedance conversion trafo I'm using to utilize the AES output and my fancy BNC terminated cables isn't doing me any favors.

 

Reading my quick review/impressions of the Airist that I posted a few months back, this was before I gotten my SW51+. I been running Eitr > Airist > SW51+ for a few months now. DAC and Amp works well with each other (Airist being a darker DAC while SW51+ with stock tubes gives it some air). With this setup I get a musical setup with no digititus, great for relaxing moments on the computer.

BF2 still creams it, plus BF2 I feel has the better USB input than Airist. For now I like my computer setup (which is what this is). I just wish I don't get audio dropouts at times when using the Eitr. I just hope one day we can get a Modius size Multibit DAC. Or maybe get a better DAC for the living room and move the BF2 in my bedroom. If that happens, then I'll have the @atomicbob special (BF2 > SW51+).

 

In a sentence or two, why so for you?

Plugged the R-2R for the first time today in a while. Trying to hear the messed up voices in the mid range some are reporting. Can't, but I am feeding it via coax from the 8D, everything SRC to 96K (and not USB). Sounds like a slightly more laid back (less squared), moar bassy Gun MB to me right now...

 

I also have a Bifrost 2, and yeah it's no competition. I have a hard time putting Bifrost 2 in context since it's the nicest DAC I've ever owned, but it's like the Airist gets the macrodetail and has a really nice interesting presentation, but Bifrost 2 brings very fine textural microdetail to the table as well as more coherent staging and placement, air, depth, etc. It's been a while since I've heard them side by side so that's as far as I'm willing to go for now

 

Sorry about that, was typing up too quickly. Going to Brazilian Steakhouse in about 20 minutes. I need to load up gut with tons of red wine. Gotta love the house special they do there.

On topic it came down to the following:

• Imaging (R-2R is like 90% of an image, while BF2 is more like 98% to me.
• Bass Textures (R-2R isn't as refined on this than BF2).
• Details (BF2 even being a warmer DAC has great treble detail, but without the harshness of digital. R-2R to me doesn't have the harshness of digital, but details just isn't there).
• Soundstage (I thought there was slightly more soundstage on the BF2).
• Debatable, but USB (Unison USB creams R-2R but for some it is still too warmish for them with imaging going down a bit. However, BF2 with Unision is a great all in one setup for most people I believe since the sound signature mostly agrees with people. R-2R has warmpoo USB IMO and you must run it Toslink or Coax to make it a step above Modi MB).

I run cheaper setups on my computer desk, and the R-2R delivers as a great DAC for my computer desk that isn't too analytical. However, I wouldn't mind getting a Modius MB if that is ever a thing, since I don't mind Unison USB and I can keep the chain simple (USB to DAC to Amp, not USB to S/PDIF box to DAC to Amp). I'm weird.