FS: SFD-1 MkII w Heerlen-made Valvo tubes

Discussion in 'Closed (Archived) Sales' started by caute, May 18, 2023.

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  1. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    Hi SBAF,

    I am listing my Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 mkII DAC for sale, for the only reason that I want to upgrade to the SFD-2. Comes with a matched pair of Valvo 6922s made in the Heerlen plant in Holland sometime probably in the '60s. Can also include a matched pair of Voshkod Rockets from the late '70s.

    It will be shipped in a custom foam molded box made specifically for this DAC, by PCX I believe, so it fits it exactly.

    This is an excellent DAC that is, imo, equal in resolution to the Gungnir Multibit, but throws a much larger, almost spooky stage, has more liquidity in the mids, and has better overall tonality. The SFD-1 mkII just feels effortless in its presentation. I would only consider the Yggdrasil (in certain areas), the SFD-2 (which I am trying to purchase), and certain Abbas DACs as upgrades from the SFD-1. Read more about this legendary converter here.

    Price is what I paid for it from a friend here, $750.

    Will post some pics later tonight, but there's a couple of caveats with this DAC:

    1) it does have an "3D" elephant sticker on the front panel, never tried to remove it bc it didn't bother me, but w some rubbing alcohol and time, I'm sure it could be done

    2) As a 30-year-old piece of kit, it has been looked over and serviced by Chris at PCX within the last year, but does sometimes have some "distortion" (Chris's words) upon start up, that goes away within no more than 30 mins, I was told he said. This is a result of PCX fixing the power supply (original reason why the DAC was sent in and also given the once-over) and which he considers normal and not concerning of the actual DAC components themselves.

    Personally, I don't hear anything usually, but when I do, it's very slight, like some intermittent, soft staticky noise for a second and then goes away, but YMMV--however it does entirely go away within that 30 min period, which is also happens to be the time I let the DAC warm up for, so I basically never hear it.
     
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    Last edited: May 23, 2023
  2. Mr.Sneis

    Mr.Sneis Friend

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    I've got to know more about this 3d elephant sticker.
     
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  3. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    [​IMG]
     
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  4. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    pending/on pause
     
  5. RestoredSparda

    RestoredSparda Friend

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    Oh wow. That's one hell of a sticker.
     
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  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    makes perfect sense.
     
  7. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    I've never thought of pimping my gear - why not, we do it to everything else. I'll throw some kokopelli's on my SFD - some turquoise stones.

    Bolo tie on my hd800 earcup
     
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  8. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    [​IMG]
     
  9. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    That epic elephant should make this unique version of the SFD-1 MORE valuable, not less!
     
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  10. JK47

    JK47 Friend

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    Wasn't this end game DAC last week?
     
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  11. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    Come on you know it's fun watching people cycle through gear instead of yourself.
     
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  12. Slade01

    Slade01 Almost "Made"

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    It's more like, the game ended for the DAC and time to move onward/upward. It was a date, and she was pretty, but it's okay to be attracted to the younger hotter sister.

    This is true, especially when you've settled on gear, and no longer have a dog in the fight. Living vicariously? All the way.

    GLWS @caute ! Git-er-done.
     
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  13. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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  14. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Exit stage left....
    are we supposed to close the thread because the item has sold?
    or because you prefer to sell elsewhere?
     
  15. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    I can't in good conscience sell it here or anywhere as it is now having distortion problems beyond the initial startup which i am currently troubleshooting. Hoping it's not the worst, the UA module slowly dying, but it's looking that way : /

    Also think those Valvo tubes are shot. Like, they make the distortion 100x worse.
     
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