[davidavdavid]

Nice to see and hear that exaSound is now getting International love. The were recently picked up by Elite Audio/Audio Emotion distribution in the UK. I've had their e22 for some years now and they've just recently come out with a new e32 and a streamer. The company is located in Canada, outside of Toronto.

www.exasound.com

[Mike-48]

Yes, a trusted friend thinks their DACs are among the very best.

[MarkR7]

I can heartily recommend the exaSound DAC as well!

I've been using my modest E12 with my MacBook Pro via USB with Roon and HQPlayer, along with an ext. drive and Tidal.  I upsample everything to DSD256, and the music is glorious.

I'd love to get into the E32!

[Phil A]

I've heard the older Models at audio shows.  Definitely great sounding for the money.

[joerest]

Recently purchased the e32 directly from the MFG. Can't say it's the best out there, but did not wan't to go
for $7k for the PS Audio direct stream and bridge. And certainly couldn't afford the Bricasti. 

The owner George Klissarov answered all my questions during the one month trial period. Hell, he even called my house to chat directly. He is a patient man.

 It managed to replace my 25 year old Wadia DAC which was the current price of the e32, in 1992 !!! In any case, it's good. Of course it threw a monkey wrench into my well established system, but did bring it up to 2017 standards. The big question now is "does it really need an aftermarket linear power supply" ? It comes with a 12V switching dongle PS. Tried to oversample or convert redbook to DSD, but found keeping the sampling native to the incoming signal, results in the best sound. In any case, must say I hear things in familiar recordings, I never heard before. I am also listening to "bad recordings" and enjoying the music. Recommended.

Joe

[Mike-48]

Recently purchased the e32 directly from the MFG. [...]

The owner George Klissarov answered all my questions during the one month trial period. Hell, he even called my house to chat directly. He is a patient man.

It managed to replace my 25 year old Wadia DAC which was the current price of the e32, in 1992 !!! In any case, it's good. Of course it threw a monkey wrench into my well established system, but did bring it up to 2017 standards. The big question now is "does it really need an aftermarket linear power supply" ?[...]

Joe,

Based on my own contact with George K., I imagine that if the product would have been better with a linear PS, he would have supplied one. IMO there is a lot of buzz in audio about fixing things that aren't broken. This provides a marketplace for small manufacturers who don't have the engineering chops to design a DAC, letting them sell filters, fuses, cables, and power supplies. It also provides a way for audiophiles with a little pocket money to try and improve their systems. Perhaps such products change the sound a little, perhaps not. But I start with the premise that a firm known for excellent sound and engineering (such as exaSound) is not likely to have used a flawed power supply, particularly in their flagship product.

Need I say it? --mine is a minority view among audiophiles. But it's what I believe, after 50 years in this hobby.

Have fun with your great new DAC!

[joerest]

Mike I appreciate your well thought out opinion on the need for an aftermarket linear power supply for the e32 DAC. I am also a long time audiophile for some 48 years. Please bear with me here and allow me to play devil's advocate. When you unbox a $3500 DAC fully made in Canada, and you come across an $8 power supply made in China, it leaves you somewhat lacking. I understand George K. feels that an external power supply was the way to go, but so little investment into the PS can make an audiophile suspicious. Couldn't a $100 investment in a PS be expended in such a high end device ? In addition he has designed 11 power filters within the e32. One might ask; Would an upfront PS design render these filters unnecessary ? Maybe my old audiophile ideas die hard, and maybe I should abandon some of these ideas in light of the digital era, but is it not our nature to search for the weakest link to improve our systems ? Please don't misinterpret as I love the e32 and am enjoying it's sound. I have also met many hardware designers, and have had heated (but positive) discussions with some of them, on what I feel actually improves sound and what does not. We are (at least I am ) a very opinionated bunch. One small example was my replacement of a Chinese power cord that was factory supplied with my Pass amplifier. Despite Pass's recommendation, an aftermarket power cord and use of a power conditioner improved the stock amplifier (at least in my system). 

Please don't take the above as a criticism of your reply, as I am in 90% agreement. This is a fun hobby and should stay as such. Unfortunately it is also an expensive one.

Joe   

[mikeeastman]

I have both an e20 and e22 and both sounded better with either a Paul Hynes PS or off a 12 volt AGM  battery . A definite improvement in SQ. I read on anther forum that George recommends the Hynes PS for his Dacs.

[Mike-48]

Joe,

I totally understand. If I had just bought an e32 and found that wallwart in the box, I'd probably try an external PS also. The difficult part for me would be deciding whether it really did make a significant difference or not. I am no more immune to the usual problems of that decision than anyone else.

Enjoy this beautiful piece!

[EDIT]

I forgot to say -- those 11 power filters are, I would guess, to isolate various parts of the circuitry from one another. So they would be necessary whatever type of PS is used.

As you undoubtedly know, the SMPS has the theoretical advantage that by rectifying and filtering at a higher frequency, better DC can be provided with lower-cost filtration; it has the theoretical disadvantage that some of the switching noise might appear on the output. I suppose someone has looked at the output of these things with an oscilloscope, but I have not.

Mike

[jtwrace]

You guys might look into the Vinnie Rossi MINI.  That would be the way to power it!

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=145402.0

http://www.vinnierossi.com/mini/

[joerest]

You guys might look into the Vinnie Rossi MINI.  That would be the way to power it!

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=145402.0

http://www.vinnierossi.com/mini/

Dear JTW: Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately the Vinnie Rossi MINI is $995+$100 for hookup wire. Too steep for me. Also looks too big for my rack. Presently leaning toward "Mike in NC"  opinion since the e32 sounds so dam good the way it is. As time goes on, I am tayloring my system for the e32 and am getting closer and closer to perfection. I could live a very long time with the way it sounds now (with the wallwart). This in and of itself was a tremendous step up for my system. Didn't think the rest of my system was this good.  I could leave the linear PS as a superflous Christmas gift from my wife, next year (or the year after). I have been in this hobby for so many years (dinosaurs were walking the earth) that I have learned "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I think it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy my new aquisition. Anyway, it won't be long before the e32 mk2 comes out (tongue-in-cheek).

Joe

[JLM]

Power aberrations are local phenomena.  I've heard it (in an older light industrial neighborhood before/after they shut down at 11PM), but has never been an issue at home.  A friend brought his PS power plant over maybe 16 years ago to my 50 year old house that had horrible wiring/rewiring and it barely made a difference.  Also owned Vinnie's original DAC and Clari-T integrated amp in both that house and a new build with near ideal electrical infrastructure and couldn't hear a difference (either could others who PM'd me at the time).  Recently I bought a Channel Island Audio power supply for my DSPeaker DAC/preamp/DSP and barely could hear a difference (mostly for the idea expressed above of a cheap PS on a nice piece of gear).

If you live in a century old apartment building served by an old grid with a hodgepodge of mechanicals and everyone living there has an assortment of older appliances, then I suspect you'd hear a difference.  But then you'd no doubt have bigger problems with room acoustics/isolation.

[davidavdavid]

Nice to see that exaSound is getting some attention. My e22 is still going strong and doing just fine WITHOUT an external power supply. I actually tried a few external units and returned to the unit out of the box. It works just fine. Am not entirely sure what folks are listening for with respect to external power supplies, of if their respective homes' internal wiring is faulty.


It is possible to overthink and over tweak situations. Am advising folks who come to me with advice about their systems to spend the money they're contemplating on tweaks, on source material whether it be records, cds and/or digital downloads.


And yes I actually tested the Hynes with mine.

[mikeeastman]

Based on my experience I have to disagree. I have clean power, as I live off the grid and make my own power using a pure sine wave inverter and I still noticed a improvement in SQ with both batteries and LPS over the wall wart . That's in my system and  of course others may have a different result.

[joerest]

Dear JLM, David and Mike: Thank you for sharing your individual experiences, as this will help me decide. I am somewhat worried about not liking the effects of the particular aftermarket PS I choose. My home is new construction. This may not be a good thing. Have you seen what builders call 14ga. wire ? The rest of the electrical infrastructure is equally light duty. I do have immediate plans for a 30 amp. ( or 2 20 amp) dedicated line(s) in the stereo room however. For now, that is where the $ will go.

Just for the record, Georg K. the owner of exaSound, recommends the Teddy Pardo Teddy12/2 PS and (secondly) the Plex 100 watt. He is perplexed how some people find a linear PS a major improvement. He has told me that the 11 internal power filters should "do the trick"*  and not render the wallwart a disadvantage*. (*my words not his).  Sorry, got to go now.  My HiFi is calling me away.

Joe

[Nick77]

       Just for the record, Georg K. the owner of exaSound, recommends the Teddy Pardo Teddy12/2 PS and (secondly) the Plex 100 watt. He is perplexed how some people find a linear PS a major improvement. He has told me that the 11 internal power filters should "do the trick"*  and not render the wallwart a disadvantage*. (*my words not his).  Sorry, got to go now.  My HiFi is calling me away.

Joe                                                                             

This is very interesting, the same thing happened with my Chord DAC. The designer swear that an aftermarket PS will have no effect, but myself and many others found out otherwise.

[davidavdavid]

End of day, if an external PS if noticeable to you and makes a difference so be it. They are your ears. We each will hear something different even under the same conditions and circumstances. It is the human condition. If this were not the case we'd be listening to identical systems and where's the fun in that?

[Mike-48]

It is possible to overthink and over tweak situations. Am advising folks who come to me with advice about their systems to spend the money they're contemplating on tweaks, on source material whether it be records, cds and/or digital downloads.

Yes, I would second that!

I tried the green markers, I have some CD's marked with an "F" to indicate that Finyl was applied, and I did have a few with weighting rings applied to the circumference. None of that stuff was worth a damn, IMO, though various audio critics pushed all of it at one time.

[joerest]

Well I purchased the Teddy Pardo PSU and it measured at 12.8V. Not exactly what Teddy Pardo promised. The switching PSU measured in at 12.25V. Teddy claimed that I will loose .7V once attached to a load. In any case no hurt no foul to the DAC e32 unit. In the final analysis this "upgrade" resulted in the smallest change I have ever experienced. Was clearer, but the increase in volume resulted in a more aggressive and intrusive presentation. Overall, I wouldn't call it a marked improvement. While I am glad to rid my system of a switching power supply, I feel this $400 expenditure could have been better suited elsewhere. And the power switch on the rear of the unit is in a horrible place. The power cord prohibits direct access.

[Mike-48]

@joerest, Thanks for following up! Many don't bother to do that when something doesn't work out so well. But posts like yours are among the most useful to others, IMO.