Sonic Frontiers SFD-1mk2 Vintage DAC for $750 That Stomps Most Modern DACs

Has anyone here done a comparison? I have no way to demo any Holo gear given their lack of dealer network.

 

I have an SFD-1mkii se paired with an ECP 3f and a Spring2 KTE paired with a studio b and use HQplayer to resample the spring 2.

the dacs are different and have different strengths... I don't know that I would say one is "better" than the other.

The sfd works well with the 3f and brings increased spaciousness to a SS amp. The oversampled spring2 brings a detail and energy to an amp that can sometimes sound a little sleepy. Both pairings work well together.

Swapping the dac/amp combos gave a less than ideal result to my ears. Putting the SFD with the Studio made for an overly wide image that dialed down the detail a little too much... while putting the spring with the 3f resulted in something that was a little congested and overly sharp to my ears.

 

Is there any consensus on which digital input is preferred on these units? Specifically the SFD-2 mkii, thanks

 

any/all tube recs (and sources) in the $100-$200 per matched pair range for this DAC? currently in the process of buying one and the seller has kindly offered to let me buy a pair off him, and he has a bunch.

wanted to know what everyone thinks are the best tubes for a lively, fast, and visceral (meat-on-the-bones) sound. i've heard siemens are good for a lively, toe-tapping sound? also some added low end would be nice, too ;0 but i know you can't get it all in a tube for those prices.

edit: last question (sorry, new to all this), what are all the tube families that one can safely roll into into the sfd-1 mkII?

 

Any 6922 type tubes, so E88CC, 6DJ8, and 6H23p (6N23P) immediately come to mind.

My favorite so far has been Voskhod Rocket 6H23p... used to be pretty cheap/obtainable, but I suppose that will change if the current situation continues

------edit------
tube additions - 7308 & CCa

 

My taste varies from the typical consensus in that I find all the Russian tubes I've tried too harsh including the Voskhod Rocket. My favorite tubes in the $100-$200 price range are the BELs, they sound REALLY close to high end Amperex.

I haven't compared extensively but from brief listening I preferred AES and then never went back.

 

hmm... I have a pair of those that I swapped in for a week and then went back to the rockets. I'll have to give them another try now that my SFD has settled into its ECP3f pairing (I was using this dac with both a 3f and studio b previously)

 

Of course taste differences may be an issue and I think the resolution of the SFD-2 helps bring out more of the awesomeness of the higher end tubes. I also liked my BEL tubes better after burn in.

 

I second the Rockets. That's what I have in my SFD-1 now. Again, depends on pairing. Parts Connexion has matched pairs of 6N23P Reflektor's for $133. I find the Reflektors to be very close to the Rockets.

Good luck in your search. IMHO, the SFD benefits from finding the right tube for your system.

 

The BELs are nice tubes indeed, made in India with technology transfer from Philips which is why they look and sound similar to Philips/Amperex tubes.
I haven't had a 6dj8/e88cc amp for a while but iirc the BELs had a bit more energy in the highs than the Amperex at the cost of sounding a touch dry.Also, I much preferred the BELs to the Russian tubes from 60s (not Rocket iirc).

P.S. : That reminds me that I do have a bunch of these BELs lying around and need to dispose a few of them.

 

How are the CCa in the SFD? I've heard they're some of the best you can roll into it.

 

I haven't heard the 7308 or the CCa... both are more than I'm willing to spend since I'm generally happy with what I'm currently running.

 

looks like that’s the price per tube, not per pair. Sad, cuz I’ve heard a lot of good things about this tube. Any luck w/have you tried NOS Siemens non-CCa 6922s?

 

I believe you are incorrect. Note that the "Unit of Measure" MP- Matched Pair" with a price of $133.

I bought mine when they were a little cheaper, but the page was the same except for the price and I got a matched pair for that price. So, if you order a quatity of 1, you will get 1 matched pair.

 

Thank you for the confirmation on this, I tried to do a brief comparison and could not make a definitive decision on one over the other so I’ve been sticking with AES since it’s there.

Separately, anyone consider what if god forbid our trusty SFD went kaput? What would be the logical progression in the context of modern or readily available options (forget the value prop of the SFD for a min), or a DAC which enhances the great qualities of the SFD which one would consider a Super SFD? Thoughts?

 

The good news is you can get these repaired by the same people who designed and built them back in the 90’s. More info.

For a worthy upgrade, my plan is the Rockna Wavedream (probably the signature edition). I tried one in my setup and really liked it. Does so many things really well.

 

Oh I know that, thanks for pointing it out as it should be repeated how awesome Chris and his crew are. I sent my unit in for the upgrade, and yeah it was probably something one could do themselves, knowing it would be fully checked out is some piece of mind I could not get if I swapped parts myself.

I was just thinking ahead in general, so Rockna Wavedream Signature Edition.....Damn that is a pricey piece of gear!! Thank you for the suggestion, I have not listened to any of their docs except the Wavelight very briefly.

 

Likely not at the level of a Wavedream, but I have a Metrum Pavane L3 in my main system that I like a lot. Comparing the SFD-1 to the Pavane in my main system, I think that the two dacs have similar character. Overall, I think the Pavane is a step up from the SFD-1 and seems to be selling used for a bit under $3k at the moment. I find it hard to find something as good as the SFD-1 for under $1k, especially with similar character. A friend has gone with the Gustard R26, but from his description, it has a different character.

Other than the SFD-1, the best under $1k dac I have heard is a sort of DIY recipe that Hands proposed. Essentially, you buy a dac board, input board, and a couple of low noise power supplies. The one that I built has evolved, but essentially it is the same as the one in the link. It is an i2s input dac, so I could use buffered i2s from my Pi2AES. Short of a direct i2s source (not HDMI i2s which is differential i2s), you could use the USB input provided by the dac kit. The nice thing is that you can buy all the boards at one place. You just have to solder a few things, supply a transformer and diode bridge or two, and a box to put in.

https://www.diyinhk.com/shop/audio-...ac_type-ad1865r/137-dac-xmos_384k_and_dac_pcb

 

Ahh yeah, I agree the Pavane L3 is a good step up from the SFD-1. That said, I felt the SFD-2 (upgraded to SE+ from PartsConexion) was an upgrade from the Pavane and sold my Pavane after purchasing it.

 

Thanks, I have the SFD-2 mkii with the SE+ upgrade too. I am not as focused on value but looking for the natural progression or evolution from it. For context I have a Chord TT2/HMS stack and find myself using the SFD 90% of the time!

@loadexfa PCX is sending me some capacitors, they think its the mute circuit causing the issue. So hopefully I will be up and running again soon, despite this I want to plan ahead for any other hiccups as the listening has not been the same since it went down last week.....