FIGHT FANS HERE WE ARE!!! 10 rounds of music for the undisputed NON-OS heavyweight championship of the world!
In the blue corner, weighing almost 4 pounds (including power supply), from High Point, North Carolina... wearing a Yugo 6DJ8 with black faceplate and brushed metal trim... ladies and gentlemen, please give a big hand for Scott Nixon's
TubeDac+!!!In the red corner, from Evanston, Illinois, weighing almost 5 pounds (including charger), sporting brushed aluminum faceplate and lead acid batteries, damas y caballeros, please welcome the Ack! Industries
dAck!!!Pre-fight MatchupThe dAck! had been generating a lot of
buzz on the forums. I bought one last week and brought it to our
NYC meet (see that thread for some impressions from fellow ACers).
Not to be outdone, my cousin Manuel ordered the TubeDac+ and lent it to me for the weekend (he's away on a trip). I hesitated posting about this shootout but thanks to my buddy Carlos (from headfi and, originally, MWR), I figured what the heck, at the very least, I can describe a method of testing that might be useful for comparisons like this.
But first, take a look at this staredown!--
JudgingI wanted to eliminate the guesswork when switching from one component to another, especially when the differences are subtle. Taking a close look at my amp, I thought up a procedure that makes it easier to detect these differences, cueing me on what to listen for. The amp is an Aronov LS-960I with separate input selectors for the left and right channels and independent volume controls.
As a reference, the past two days, I've compared the dAck! to my CD player's analog output. This "split channel" method (shown below) allows me to listen to the same channel running through different DACs (the CD's internal DAC and the dAck!) played on both speakers at the same time--
The idea is to be able to select CD and AUX as inputs for the left and right speakers both playing, say, the right channel at the same time (remember, one input was inverted). Then I could toggle both selectors to listen to the left channel through both speakers (eliminating the speaker and channel as variables). Of course, the volume needs to be attenuated to compensate for the differences in output levels.
Once I've established "what to listen for", I might play the song again with both selectors set to CD, then once more, set to AUX. The CD player I use is a pro-audio Sony CDR-W33.
In comparing both DACs, I used a Y on the digital out. Since my analog ICs are low-grade and el-cheapo respectively, I also used one half of each pair through each DAC (eliminating the cable variable). Check out the connections to the dAck--
And the Y on the CDP, and the connections on the TubeDac+ --
Note the "inversion" on the amp's inputs--
Finally, I calibrated both speakers using warble tones on Stereophile Test CD 1, getting a handle on the differences between both speaker's response curves, the minute adjustments in both volume controls, etc etc. then threw it all out the window by using my ears to "balance out" whatever needed balancing--
Okay, I know you're getting impatient, but first a disclaimer. These are my opinions only, blah blah, and the music chosen is representative of what I might listen to any day, so please excuse my bias.
Both fighters are ready, let's ring the bell! --
Round 1. Carmen Lundy/Self Portrait/Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most/XRCD/Jazz Vocals.
Doing split-channel testing, the TubeDac+ had the midband more forward, the vocals more sibilant; it also had that "sparkle" on the top end. In comparison the dAck! sounded laid back. Soundstage was a little wider on the edges with the TubeDac+ whereas the dAck! had more blackness around the instruments and arguably better imaging.
Additional info: In comparing the dAck! and the CD analog's output two days ago, I noticed the last hint of grain in Carmen's voice was gone, but the bass appeared rolled off, something the NYACers noticed during last Saturday's meet.
Both TubeDac+ and dAck! sounded very smooth, with the edge going to the TubeDac+, but I came away prefering the dAck! on this track because it had less sibilance.
Round 2 Oscar Casto-Neves/Tropical Heart/Holding With An Open Hand/XRCD/Instrumental Jazz-Bossa Nova guitar.
TubeDac+ sounded more forward, pronounced upper mids. dAck! was quiter, percussion sounded more natural. Preferred the dAck! on this track.
Round 3 Rosa Passos & Ron Carter/Entre Amigos/Insensatez/Chesky/Brazilian Jazz Vocals
TubeDac+ brought Rosa a step forward, a bit more aggressive. dAck! edges out slightly for my taste.
Round 4 Pee Wee Russell & Coleman Hawkins/Jazz Reunion/If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)/Candid/Mainstream Jazz
If there's one CD that made me consider buying the dAck! it's this CD. I have this on vinyl and, in comparison, the CD pressing is terrible, I can't stand listening to it (Emmett Berry's trumpet sounds so glaring on my regular CD analog output). With the dAck! this CD becomes enjoyable, overall tonal balance becomes natural. Disclaimer: this is one of my all time Jazz favorites, so my bias is very heavy here.
Played a few seconds on the TubeDac+ and the disc was ejected. Couldn't stand it. (A knockdown!?)
To editorialize a bit further, I bought the dAck! hoping that some old badly pressed/mastered CDs would be listenable. After listening to the Pee Wee Russell CD, I looked through my stack of "unlistenables" and pulled out--
Round 5 The Brecker Bros/Collection Vol 2/Rocks/Novus/Jazz Funk-Fusion
I cranked up the volume on this one, 90+ dB, initially listening to the TubeDac+. Wow! Now we're talking... the TubeDac+ made this sound so pratty, I jumped out of my chair and started doing the funky chicken dance. The horns really came together and is an example where the TubeDac's aggressiveness worked very well. After the track I shouted "THAT was fun!!!"
In comparison, the dAck! sounded cleaner but a bit anemic. For the TubeDac+ I thought, "now I know what to feed ya!". TubeDac+ by a wide margin.
Round 6 Carlinhos Brown/AlfaGamaBetiZado/A Namorada/EMI/Brazilian Fusion
Another fun cut, first heard this song on the movie Speed (2?) the scene where there's this band playing on the cruise ship. The TubeDac+ did so well on this one, although the dAck! was cleaner, the keyboards and horns sounded recessed and less prat overall. Much dancing with the TubeDac+!
Round 7 Pat Martino/Consciousness/Along Came Betty/32 Jazz/Instrumental Jazz-Bebop Guitar
Okay, I settled down a bit, pulled out another "unlistenable". This time I preferred the dAck! the TubeDac+ made the cymbals a bit more forward than I liked. One of my favorite jazz guitar cuts.
Round 8 Ken Iishi/Echo Exit/Original/R&S/Techno
TubeDac+ revealed better bass extension. Otherwise, very similar. I prefer listening to this on my pro-audio SS rig which is better suited for it.
Round 9 Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio/In Full Swing/Stephane and Django/Odyssey/Jazz Swing
The dAck! sounded quiter, Frank Vignola's solo sounded better articulated whereas the TubeDac+ put him more forward with the notes somewhat smeared. Still, I prefer the TubeDac+ in this track because the overall presentation had more "air" around the instruments which added more body to the sound of O'Connor's violin.
Round 10 Michel Camilo/Triangulo/Piece of Cake/Telarc/Instrumental Jazz-Piano
My favorite album from my favorite pianist. Here the dAck! sounded laid back and refined whereas the TubeDac+ was more alive and dynamic. TubeDac+ really finished heavy on this one!
Post-fight AnalysisThe dAck! did very well on the early rounds, when I played tracks that I usually use as reference when auditioning components. TubeDac+ recovered in the latter rounds and I got a sense for its kind of music. TubeDac+ was definitely the more aggresive slugger whereas the dAck! was the more clinical, restrained boxer.
Okay enough of the boxing metaphor. Either way, I believe the personalities of both DACs are different enough to match to specific tastes and systems. Personally, I think I'll stay with the dAck! and upgrade to the newer version when it becomes available.
Thanks for reading!
