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Author Topic: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)  (Read 3719 times)

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Mr.Sneis

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2014, 06:08:33 PM »
Hey Hans,

I am a complete dick for not having read this earlier I am sorry.

This month I jumped into a SFD-2mkii and I feel a lot of the same way about your comments here.  Namely for me I hear it is a little up-front (not Gungnir level) and maybe even borderline fatiguing.

I am coming from a Parasound d/ac 2000 and I feel like a loner saying this but it has many of the qualities you seem to prefer.  Laid back, check.  Good with crappy and good recordings check.  Non fatiguing check.  My only complaint really is the Parasound does not have the most expansive holographic sound stage ever but it does good enough that I feel the DAC does not draw attention to its flaws.

Again I wish I read this sooner as I just closed on the auction for my Para.  Would have been decent of me to have sent it your way for impressions/measurements but I think that ship has sailed now and it's all my fault!

The bottom line is this however, if you are a "design" purist I believe the Para has opamps in the output stage, it also does not have the beefiest power supply section I have ever seen.  You would think the SFD-2 weighing twice as much would be largely the same but better but trust me it is not -- case of implementation>>dac chip at play here.

(Pic by mastercontrolmedia via Flickr)
« Last Edit: November 04, 2014, 06:42:39 PM by Mr.Sneis »
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Marvey

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2014, 07:53:58 PM »
Quote from: Mr.Sneis on November 04, 2014, 06:08:33 PM
This month I jumped into a SFD-2mkii and I feel a lot of the same way about your comments here.  Namely for me I hear it is a little up-front (not Gungnir level) and maybe even borderline fatiguing.

Was the the one from Pcx or did you get it elsewhere? Some 6922s can sound like that. What tubes you got in it? Maybe try Amperex?
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Mr.Sneis

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #12 on: November 04, 2014, 08:20:12 PM »
Heya Marv - it's from pcx.  I have some Amperex Orange Globe 6dj8's (Great Britain) leftover that I found bright in an old Melos Sha-1.  I may get around to swapping them out eventually but the tubes in the SFD-2 are Reflektor 6h23n-eb which seem to be well regarded.  Would be nice to hear your progress with the SFD-1 when you get it back.  I'll post more in the SFD-1 thread to stay relevant.
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Hands

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #13 on: November 05, 2014, 12:40:07 AM »
Quote from: Mr.Sneis on November 04, 2014, 06:08:33 PM
I am a complete dick for not having read this earlier I am sorry.

This month I jumped into a SFD-2mkii and I feel a lot of the same way about your comments here.  Namely for me I hear it is a little up-front (not Gungnir level) and maybe even borderline fatiguing.

I am coming from a Parasound d/ac 2000 and I feel like a loner saying this but it has many of the qualities you seem to prefer.  Laid back, check.  Good with crappy and good recordings check.  Non fatiguing check.  My only complaint really is the Parasound does not have the most expansive holographic sound stage ever but it does good enough that I feel the DAC does not draw attention to its flaws.

Again I wish I read this sooner as I just closed on the auction for my Para.  Would have been decent of me to have sent it your way for impressions/measurements but I think that ship has sailed now and it's all my fault!

Bahaha, yeah, such a dick.  :))  All good on the Parasound DAC, but it would have been interesting to hear for sure. Oh well! The more I think about it, I'll probably just end up going NOS route in the end (meh, it works for my ears). I'm looking at some NOS DACs that use older chips, like the MHDT Lab DACs or something based on AD18xx/PCM6x or 5x, TDA154x, etc. I liked the NOS1704 for being more resolving than the Metrums, noticeably so, and I've heard great things about these chips subjetively relative to even the PCM1704. I can believe it. Datasheets on some look good for what they are. Lots of research to do.

Though I do wonder if a more laid-back amp (thinking Black Diamond or some tube amp) or even adding a tube buffer might help. Still interested in hearing Marv's SFD-1 as well.
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Marvey

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #14 on: November 05, 2014, 12:52:19 AM »
I'm kind of interested in the Stockholm. Hans, maybe you can contact MDHT them on our behalf to get a loaner unit? PCM56 (precursor to 63) which means probably pretty darn good. NOS. Checks lot of boxes. You can probably tube roll to find the one that works for you best.
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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #15 on: November 05, 2014, 01:40:28 AM »
Oh yeah, I've been eyeballing the Stockholm V2 for a while now. Not only can you swap tubes, I also read you can swap the PCM56 for AD1865 to change up the flavor, which sounds pretty cool to me. Price and subjective impressions seem right. If I can get someone lined up to take the Classe DAC-1 off my hands (want to compare to SFD-1 directly if possible, though), I think the Stockholm is next on my list. Though they do have the Atlantis DAC on the way, from what I gathered. AD1862-based. Either way, if not a loaner unit from MHDT, I'd be willing to tour anything I may get from them for myself.

Was also checking out the Audial Model S DAC (TDA1541-based) and Mojo Audio Mystique DAC (AD1865-based). The latter interests me for reasons I can't explain (maybe the simplicity?), but $2K+ for either of those is too risky for me to try or there's basically zero info and impressions on them. Not a whole lot of old-school chip-based NOS DACs floating around to choose from unless you want to go TDA1543.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2014, 01:59:12 AM by hans030390 »
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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #16 on: November 17, 2014, 12:12:02 AM »
Some update thoughts on how a different USB->SPDIF or otherwise converter might change the DAC-1's sound: http://www.changstar.com/index.php?topic=1929.msg52176#msg52176

DAC still keeps its main characteristics, of course, but perhaps may be enough to sway one's opinion on the DAC. I haven't decided yet.
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Enigmatic

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #17 on: November 22, 2014, 04:32:36 PM »
Hey guys, just FYI - MHDT was kind enough to send me a loaner for the Stockholm V2.
I will not be back in my country until early December though, the loaner is expected to arrive by next week. Have not gotten a tracking number from them just yet.

Will give some impressions, and update my rig listing here on Changstar (I guess that helps us all to better understand from which perspective one listens from).
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Marvey

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #18 on: November 22, 2014, 05:18:36 PM »
Very nice. Can you ask them if maybe you can pass it on to a few others who are fans of R2R and tubes?
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Enigmatic

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Re: Classé Audio DAC-1 Measurements and Subjective Impressions (Mid-90s UltraAnalog)
« Reply #19 on: November 22, 2014, 06:00:05 PM »
Quote from: marvey on November 22, 2014, 05:18:36 PM
Very nice. Can you ask them if maybe you can pass it on to a few others who are fans of R2R and tubes?


No probs, I can ask them, marvey.

One caveat though - I think the Stockholm V2 does not switch between 110v and 230v automatically (I'm from Asia actually, so the unit I'd be receiving will be a 230v version).

Anyone from a region with the same voltage?


Actually I've approached them with the intention to buy, but they kindly offered me a loaner so I could decide if it works with my setup. Nice chaps really. If it sounds good and all that, I will grab a piece - I had very good experience with Taiwan made products (MHDT is based in Taiwan), i.e. my speakers are single driver Tang Bang based made-in-Taiwan, and I love how they sound.
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