Marvey's DAC Chart of Awesomeness

I have the AGD Master 11 and the Vi DAC Infinity and am curious on where they fall on Marv's chart. From calibrating myself to what other said about M11 and M7 and comparing M11 to Vi DAC, as well as my memory of the Schiit Gungnir. I would say that the M11 is just above the Bifrost Multibit and the Vi DAC is some where near Yggdrasil, maybe just below that and/or a notch toward the brighter (right) side.

Am I right?

 

I usd to own the Xonar Essence STX sound card (pretty much the same as the ST, except the STX is meant for PCI-E slots). I remember writing up a comparison between it and my other amps/DACs at the time, before ultimately deciding to sell it. I compared it to the Matrix M-Stage amp and the Matrix M-Stage DAC (dedicated unit, not the one that is built in to the amp), as well as the Gustard H10 and Gustard X12.

I haven't looked for the notepad where I wrote down my notes, so I'm just going off memory here, but here's what I remember writing about the STX. For the money it was pretty damn good. It could DEFINITELY serve as an end-game upgrade for the vast majority of users, especially with mid-fi gear. Most people don't listen with the same kind of focus or critical listening ability as SBAF members seem to. The sound from the STX was, to me, satisfactory in all areas EXCEPT one - sound stage depth. There was literally no depth at all in the sound stage when I listened to my headphones from the STX. There was only noticeable width. The sound stage was completely 2D.

Both the Matrix combo and the Gustard combo provided sound that was much more immersive and real to me. Since then, I upgraded to the Audiolab M-DAC (another improvement in sound) and now to the Gungnir Multi Bit and Mjolnir 2 (another improvement). I also have a Geek Out V2, which to me provides a VERY similar sound to the M-DAC when both are using their balanced outputs. The Schiit stack is incredible, but I can definitely say that I could be happy with the M-DAC or GOV2 as my end-game for the Paradox Slants, HD800's and/or HD650's.

Imo if you're a critical listener, you have headphones that can take advantage of better upstream gear, and you aren't interested in the kind of software tweaks that sound cards provide, then get a GOV2 over something like the Xonar Essence series. It's just straight up better for audio.

 

Actually quite a bit has changed.
- Better Power Supply (new caps) and regulator on MOLEX section;
- Better cap on SPDIF section;
- Realocated position for AV100;
- New IC "asmedia" ASM1083;
- Better Clock/Cristal;
- Double clock;
- Changed OPamps to Muses.

Is this something that can be heard? I do not know...

 

Thanks, looked around a few times and never found a list of improvements like that. I'm soon gonna be using my original STX for little more than coax SPIDF out, but I'm still curious to compare it to other gear as I get the chance.

 

Do that. I have also been using mine as coax SPDIF out, and for fun connected the analogues out too. I forgot how good it was...

 

If it's not Schiit or Theta you can just throw it out the window.

 

Top secret: You didn't downgrade from the iFi iDSD Micro to the Emotiva Big Ego. The Emotiva is better.

 

I would rate the Master-11 1-2 notches above the current Bifrost Multibit rank. I would also move the Bifrost Multibit down a notch and over to the right a notch. But this is Marv's chart.

I've never heard the Vi DAC Infinity.

 

It does seem to have a more natural, smoother sound. Not sure the detail retrieval is quite what the idsd could provide, but i'm also not sure that is a bad thing. I am liking it.

 

The different filter settings on the Emotiva are more audibly different than those on the idsd as well.

 

Anyone got an opinion on ODAC Rev B.?

 

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...arveys-dac-chart-of-awesomeness.63/#post-2086 Scroll down to Recommended for others.

 

I suppose that's ODAC Rev A. Rev B. uses another DAC chip (PCM5102 instead of Sabre). According to JDS Labs, Rev B. measures slightly better.

 

I found Rev B to be much better than Rev A. Still nothing great but better than your computer at a decent price.

I had one until I finally decided to dedicate real money to dacs.

 

I wonder where the Buffalo IIIse would fall on this chart.

 

not sure we will ever know now that Marvey has fallen in love with vinyl

A Herculean effort for the time!

 

So vinyl would be placed above Yggdrasil and to the left? I hope someone takes over and updates this chart it is amazing.

 

You can't compare them. Most vinyl since the 70s have had their lacquers cut with digital delay lines that used worse DACs than well any ADC used to master CDs since the mids 80s and worse than common sigma-delta DACs. Even if the pressing has a SPARS code of AAA, chances are there was a digital delay line with an ADC -> DAC in the middle since it allows for more resolution by allowing the mastering engineer cutting the lacquer to better determine groove spacing for quieter vs more dynamic passages.

To keep a truly all-analog pressing with the same resolution requires running the tape through an ADC, making the necessary panning and equalization you have to do for the for the LP, and a premastering engineer (not the same as the vinyl mastering engineer actually cutting the lacquer for the stamper) figuring out the best groove width to cut the lacquer from. This wasn't available until very recently at GZ but adds an extra time consuming step that most pressings and all older ones didn't use; they just digitized it and didn't give a crap as hell you're not going to hear it with the real signal to noise ratio and high/low pass filtering of vinyl. You should read about the respect for signal fidelity to the tapes and what generation copies were actually used. They didn't give a f**k yet many of these pressings (even the collectors only ones on clear red vinyl direct from betamax and DAT tapes in the early 90s) still sound great. Pressing plants and mastering engineers were good at what they did; otherwise it would sound like total shit.

 

@Marvey Have you heard Chord Dave?