Ack! dAck! vs. EA Perpetual Technologies P3-A

davejcb · « **on:** 3 Jul 2004, 10:15 pm »

Hi!

Just wondering if anyone has had a chance to compare the dAck! to either a stock P3-A, or what I'm more interested in, an EA modded P3-A.

Thanks!

Marbles · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Jul 2004, 10:50 pm »

I did, but in all fairness to the Ack! there must have been some system incompatabilities as it did not sound very good compared to the glowing reviews done by some of the guys I trust.

I now own the EA modded P3a.

Double Ugly · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 12:58 am »

I compared the two, and preferred the Ack! to the EA P-3A in my system.

It wasn't that the P-3A did so much wrong; in fact, it did some things better than the Ack!. For instance, the soundstage was larger with the P-3A, and the sound was more - for lack of a better word - exciting. But the Ack! sounded more natural, and the reduced soundstage didn't seem unnaturally so...it was just smaller.

Obviously there were other differences, but system synergy and personal preference is ultimately what it's all about, so YMMV. That said, at one-third the price, I’d certainly give the Ack! a spin in your system before deciding.

DU

davejcb · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 02:06 am »

Thanks for the opinion! That's a gorgeous system you have in the gallery, if you wouldn't mind my asking what did you audition the Ack! dAck! with? Also, what mods did the P3-A have?

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 02:09 am »

Dave,

Have you contacted Chris Own about getting on the demo list for the Ack dAck? It seems that should be your next move if you are interested in it.

Michael

davejcb · « **Reply #5 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 02:21 am »

I haven't... I just want to buy the damn thing, but I either get beat to it on Audiogon or seller backs out here. I'm too cheap to buy new.

I just read about this and was wondering if it was worth 3X the price of the Ack!.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #6 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 02:52 am »

Dave,

I bought mine in January 2004 and Chris has already updated again, so it may not be bad if you buy it new honestly. Unless the person just bought the aCk in the last couple of months you will need to get it updated anyway. Besides, it doesn't seem like they drop that much on audiogon anyway- maybe $75-$100.

Michael

davejcb · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 02:55 am »

What do the updates consist of?

Double Ugly · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 02:57 am »

Quote from: davejcb

Thanks for the opinion! That's a gorgeous system you have in the gallery, if you wouldn't mind my asking what did you audition the Ack! dAck! with? Also, what mods did the P3-A have?

I don't mind at all, but it was about 2 months ago and my system has undergone several changes in the past few months. To the best of my knowledge (read memory), here are the configurations I tried with the P-3A.

Amp: Eighth Nerve modified Carver Pro ZR1600 (and possibly Symphonic Line RG4 monoblocks; I don't recall if I had them yet)

Preamp: Placette Audio Passive Volume Control

Transport: Sony S7700 with the full Empirical Audio treatment as of 2 months ago

Interconnects: Stealth Audio Cables Indra (Beta version)

Digital Cable: Empirical Audio Bitmeister Lite, Stealth Audio Cables Varidig, Stealth Audio Cables Varidig Sextet (beta), Stereovox HDXV

Speaker Cables: VeraStarr Silver Reference Bi-wire, Star Sound Technologies Sonoran Plateau

Speakers: SP Technology Timepiece 2.0s

All components, including speakers and speaker stands, were placed on Star Sound Technologies' Audio Points. The stands were filled with Star Sound's micro-bearing steel fill. The EA P-3A was up to date with Steve's mods at the time of my audition. You'll need to ask Steve if he's developed additional mods since.

And thanks for the compliment. I think it looks pretty nice, too.

DU

davejcb · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 03:10 am »

How did the Ack! fare in the low registers compared to the P3-A?

Have you heard the PT, Michael?

Double Ugly · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 03:14 am »

Quote from: davejcb

How did the Ack! fare in the low registers compared to the P3-A?

I heard little or no difference between the two.

DU

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 03:27 am »

Quote from: mcrespo71

Dave,

Have you contacted Chris Own about getting on the demo list for the Ack dAck? It seems that should be your next move if you are interested in it.

Michael

Agree, and Steve at EA can set you up with the Turbomod P-3A. Hearing both in your own system , you can pick the best sounding one (to your ears). Best way to go (cheap or not)....IMO....

davejcb · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 03:34 am »

Bah. It's 6-9 weeks wait for a demo Ack!, plus deposit for the P3-A. I think I'll just pick up the dAck! whenever I can, doesn't sound like the P3-A is worth the extra money, I think I would like the other better in my system anyways.

Thanks guys.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 04:40 am »

Quote

What do the updates consist of?

I'm not sure technically what was done, but Chris told me that the updates effect the mid to lower bass giving the aCk a more full sound in these areas and increasing it's slam. I'm going to send mine in for an update in a few weeks and will report back. I did not try the P3A in my system- I had a Bel Canto Dac 1, Scott Nixon Tube Dac +, and the Ack in for comparisons.

Michael

JoshK · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 04:47 am »

That is cool if it fills out the sound of the Ack, because it was a very pleasant sounding dack. One of the smoothest, natural sounding dacks I have heard, but lacked total fullness, at least in my system. If you get the update Mike, I'd love to hear it again in my system.

I love the sound of a great non-over-sampling DAC.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #15 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 05:15 am »

Quote

If you get the update Mike, I'd love to hear it again in my system.

Yeah, I'll let you know when the update is complete and I'll bring it over for you to hear.

Michael

JoshK · « **Reply #16 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 05:52 am »

Did you replace the coupling caps, or order it with larger valued caps? I can't remember if the time I heard Tito's DAC in my system if he had the originals or the replaced caps.

mcrespo71 · « **Reply #17 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 06:42 am »

Yeah, the one I got had replaced the original caps with auricaps and increased the battery size. It supposedly really improved the extremes, though I never shot it out with Tito's.

Michael

Double Ugly · « **Reply #18 on:** 4 Jul 2004, 10:59 am »

FYI Dave, Mike, Josh and anyone else who cares, my dAck! has the new version battery and was "upgraded" with Sonicaps by Danny Richie enroute to me.

That may explain why I didn't notice a difference in the lower registers, I don't know. I've never heard it any other way. What I can say without hesitation is that my system is very revealing, and fullness is NOT a problem IMO.

Again, though, YMMV.

DU

audioengr · « **Reply #19 on:** 5 Jul 2004, 04:45 pm »

davejcb wrote:

Quote

what mods did the P3-A have?

The P-3A had the full turbomod with superclock2. It is suspicious to me that the larger soundstage provided by the P-3A was thought to be inferior to a smaller soundstage. Usually, this is indicative of improvement. There may be some other stuff in the system that is causing coloration or maybe it's just personal taste. Everyone else that has compare the Ack DAC to the P-3A has preferred the P-3A.