It's been ~12 hours since I've shipped my dAck! to free up some money for a turbo for my Talon, deal I couldn't pass up... Just fired up the Panasonic DVD-A7, which used to serve transport duties. It's just now that I'm starting to appreciate just how damned nice the dAck! was.
First thing I notice is the sounds seems bigger, but not in a good way. There seems to be more presence, but it's sort of out of focus and weird. Not so realistic. Imaging is not quite as good, neither is focus.
Next thing is highs - cymbals suddenly suck! I'm a drummer, so if cymbals don't sound right, I know. They usually bug me on pretty much every system, but ever since I'd had the dAck! they just seemed to be right, for the first time. I had heard a Cary 306/200 be good too, but hadn't spent enough time on that.
Things seems much more harsh and digital, for instance the snare has a much more rough ragged sound to it. Things in general have a raggedness to them.
The dAck! definitely threw a smaller soundstage, as I've mentionned earlier in other posts, but it just sounds
right[/i]. I'm just now starting to get a handle on how smooth and involving it was. One word to describe it - realistic.
It's definitely a whole other ball game listening to the dAck! as compared to the Cary or this Panasonic, as mentionned a hundred times it sounds very very smooth, apparently analog-like. I have never had the chance to hear good vinyl, so I can't really comment. But it's smooth as silk, tonal balance is excellent. It's definitely a midrange champion.
Bass wasn't earth-shattering, but it was tight and very defined, very toneful. Listening to NIN's "Downward Spiral" right now, seems like bass is a lot more bloated, kind of like my girlfriend's Paradigm Titans with a sub.
Anyways, all this to say once I have the money again a dAck! will make it's way back to my system.
