Initial impressions out of the box using the integrated amp. Still running it in....
(using JRiver 20, Thinkpad, Kernel streaming, UERM custom modded)
Design wise:
I do like the size, feel and the color changing LED. I probably shouldn't admit to the last point publicly. I think the exterior finish has been changed from a cheaper plastic feel to a more velvety soft rubber texture. Looks and feels much better.
Sound wise:
as all-in-one solution
-Nice dynamic swing gives a nice big sound to the bass
-Vocals have a nice euphonic clarity with seemingly deep transparency.
-Bass is too big and phat, overly colored.
-Bass distortion very noticeable, hurts resolution, imaging and textures.
-Treble still has that SABRE bite. The DF presents a warmer presentation but the SS hash and SABRE sound are ever present expesially on cymbals and crashes. Reminds me of how the XSabre DAC tried to mask that with some warmth up top. The XSabre did this much better than the DF imho.
-Imaging is still rather nebulous side to side with notable bleeding. However, the punchy dynamics do lend itself to a greater sense of depth and layering of notes although not as precise and distinct as they should be.
-Not the blackest background out there. Still a noticeable greyness or haze over everything. Reminds me of the original PWD over USB.
-Having issues with playback stalling/stopping when switching from .wav to flac on a playlist. Even got random crispies, crackles and pops on certain flac tracks (probably hi-rez issues).
For example:
1-Yes' 'Long Distance Runaround' and Supertramp's 'Cannonball' vocals are clear and rather precise with a depth of resolution allowing you to hear beyond the voices into the ambient cues around them (could be a reverb or echo effect, need more listening). Notes have heft and meat with good swing making everything involving. However, drums, bass guitar and piano are just big punchy indistinct blobs.
2-Drowning Pools' 'Bodies' is pretty much a hot mess. Everything is just noise bleeding into each other. I can't really tell the difference between a tom and a snare tonally here. It's really hitting too much tbh, Toms don't punch that hard unless it's King Kong on the other end. The whole drum kit is fatiguing as that pervasive Sabre texture just claws into your ears like rats trying to eat into your brain. This song does not do the DF any favors.
So far I like the clear and transparent vocals with big dynamic punch and note weight to the sound. However, it's coming at a pretty heavy price in fidelity. Definitely leaning towards a euphonic and colored signature. I'd call this Meridian flavor done right or better so far as long as your music is simple and slow enough to take advantage.
DAC impressions:
Comparison versus GO450 using Leckerton UHA6Smk2
*note: DAC impressions were with the Dragonfly using WASAPI as it was completely unable to play anything for more than 1 second on my Venue 8 Pro using Kernelstreaming no matter what I tried.. GO had no problems. This was sort of a repeat and far worse than what I experienced with my Thinkpad yesterday.
The DF as a DAC at max output did help to relieve just a hair of the bloat and congestion but the signature retained a warm and thicker signature with compressed timbre and tonal qualities.
Using Los Lobos 'Cielito Lindo' I noted the following discrepancies between the two DACs.
-The DF is definitely still warmer.
-It actually sounds rolled up top. There are parts of the song when glass beer bottles are clearly being clanged around and the DF makes them sound muffled and muted compared to the GO.
-Resolution and air is lacking on the DF. On the GO you can hear fingers strum each string on the guitar and their corresponding harmonics. On the DF, this is not the case.
-The DF makes violin, guitar and bass sound tonally more similar to each other. On the GO, the tonal contrasts are much starker and distinct.
-While the GO might have more of that solid state and Sabre hash to the treble, it actually has treble. Also the DF lays it's hash noticeably more on the upper mids which I find more fatiguing.
I even went back and compared both the HO of the GO450 and DF just to get a grasp on their all-in-one capabilties versus one another. Surprisingly, I felt the GO450 even held it's own versus the DF with the big difference being their inherent signatures being retained in both case. The DF is clearly the easier listening device in most cases, but the GO450 was clearly more accurate and technically capable.
