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seatrope seatrope is offline
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Jan 2012
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78
Hi all,
Wanted to give an update on my Big 7 DAC. If you remember from a few pages back it was at the factory to address a few issues which were mostly unique to my high sensitivity system. I must say that Lukasz and Fred are among the most helpful and accommodating people I have ever dealt with in years of high end audio; at least I personally have not had the wonderful experience of working directly and communicating with the designer and owner of a very respected and busy company in this fashion!
In any case, it duly arrived back at my digs after Lukasz did an extensive rework. Previously, due to the high sensitivity nature of my system (102dB sensitive Avantgarde Unos) I had some residual concerns about the background noise/hum level as well as some microphonics, though this was only when run direct DAC to amp, using the built in resistor relay attenuator. Previously when run through a preamp (I use a Placette passive pre) the noise issues vanished, though I felt it lost a small, but palpable degree of immediacy and emotional connection when run that way.
When I received the unit back the week of the New York Audio Show, I was pretty excited to see what Lukasz had wrought. He had implemented a different grounding scheme and modified the circuit topology in a way that he was extremely satisfied with, and I had been chomping at the bit to hear the results. He had also swapped out my original EML 45's for a set of the PSVANE 101D tennis ball tubes.
I let the unit burn in for a day or two, and finally sat down to listen critically a day or two before NYAS....
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Today, 07:57 PM #344
seatrope seatrope is offline
Freshman Member
Join Date
Jan 2012
Posts
78
Cueing up the first track, Bassface Swing Trio's "April in Paris" on the Sennheiser DSD sampler, I was frankly blown away. Jaw dropped. Astounded.
I had the DAC running direct to my Art Audio Jota monoblocks (300BXLS) amps, and the noise issue was COMPLETELY resolved, as if it had never been there in the first place. In its place, coming from the depths of a smooth, black background was wonderful, juicy music with a sense of "there-ness" that I can only describe as meaty, fleshy magical presence. I've heard many other DACs do "hi-fi" on my system but none with the reassuring sense of solidity and emotional connection I was hearing. A measure that I use, albeit subjective, is how soon and vigorously my foot starts tapping with the music. As my wife can attest, at live opera and concert performances, this becomes a big issue for the poor audience member seated beside me. With the Big 7 in full flow, I found myself with a large smile on my face and my foot pumping vigorously with the resonant palpability of each bass note.
Switching gears to Valery Gergiev's SACD of Natalie Dessay as Lucia di Lammermoor, "Spargi d'amaro pianto", another of my reference tracks, gave a remarkable change in scale and pace. This time, instead of being front row seats at a jazz bar, I was transported to about Grand Tier level with the orchestra laid out below. Immediately heralding Dessay's entrance is a flute obligato - the Big 7 took this to a new level of clarity and palpability; I could almost feel the vibration of the flutist's embouchure and his/her fingers on the stops. I have heard Natalie Dessay sing the same role from Row H at the Metropolitan Opera in the 2010 season, hence I consider this track a good benchmark for reproduction fidelity, the differences between the Met and the LSO's Barbican halls not withstanding. The Big 7 takes it PRETTY DARN CLOSE!
To be continued....