Auralic Vega DAC

santacore · « **on:** 11 Oct 2013, 04:10 am »

I wanted to start a new thread to discuss this exciting new DAC, as to not de-rail the PureDac thread in the Vapor Audio circle.

I have been enjoying my Lynx Hilo for a solid year now, but got interested in the Vega after following some discussions on other forums. After some back and for with the company spokesman, I contacted Kurt at Echo Audio in Portland, Oregon. He had just got his first order in and quickly shipped a unit out to me. Kurt's service and communication during this transaction have been top notch and I would not hesitate for a second to deal with him for any future audio needs.

Back to the Vega. I purchased it in hopes of a superior USB input compared to the Hilo, as well as the long shot that it might work going straight to my NCore's, therefore negating the need for my Audio Research preamp. Well I'm happy to say that I feel that I succeeded on both accounts. With my Hilo, the direct sound could not compare to going balanced though my A.R. LS17 preamp. The Vega is the opposite, it has much great dynamics and an overall smoother sound direct to the NCore's. The Vega also seems to convey a better sense of recorded space, more detail , and even more musicality compared to the Hilo/AR setup. With the Vega you loose A/D conversion and the extremely versatile routing, but in my home stereo setup it's not much of an issue.

Overall I've been blown away by the Vega DAC. It's nice looking, seems well built, and is very well thought out. The remote control is extremely functional and handles most options. This DAC seems to be for music lovers first and technical geeks second.

Hopefully some of you A.C.'ers will get a chance to audition it at RMAF this coming weekend, please report back here if you do.

John

jtwrace · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 05:07 am »

I've got my eye on it too...as an NCore owner and Hilo owner.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 05:41 am »

I heard it and was very impressed. I compared it to my Schiit Bifrost Uber w/v2 USB and the Vega was in another league, so much better than the admittedly MUCH less expensive Schiit. If it's in your budget it's well worth checking out.

zybar · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 12:05 pm »

This is the number one DAC on my list to replace the Berkeley Alpha DAC I am currently using.

I am not only interested in how it performs as a DAC, but also how it handles volume control duties. I love my preamp (Atma-Sphere MP-1), but if the Vega is that good, I wouldn't be against selling it and putting a good chunk of change back in my pocket.

George

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 12:16 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 11 Oct 2013, 12:05 pm

This is the number one DAC on my list to replace the Berkeley Alpha DAC I am currently using.

I am not only interested in how it performs as a DAC, but also how it handles volume control duties. I love my preamp (Atma-Sphere MP-3), but if the Vega is that good, I wouldn't be against selling it and putting a good chunk of change back in my pocket.

George

George, Jim has one of these. Perhaps after RMAF he can give you his experience with it. He was evaluating its compatibility with his server and of course the sound of it.

zybar · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 12:20 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 11 Oct 2013, 12:16 pm

George, Jim has one of these. Perhaps after RMAF he can give you his experience with it. He was evaluating its compatibility with his server and of course the sound of it.

Thanks Pete.

Unless Jim can send it to me for an audition in my system, I have enough feedback from Vega owners I trust at this point.

George

santacore · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 02:31 pm »

Quote

I've got my eye on it too...as an NCore owner and Hilo owner.

Ha! After hearing the price, I didn't even want to audition the Vega, because I was pleased with my current system. Unfortunately, I gave in to weakness and after a quick audition, there was no turning back to the Hilo. Sorry.

George, as a DAC this thing is dynamite. As a preamp, it's great, but not without some issues. Funny thing is after my A.R. performed so poorly

, I was searching around for another balanced pre, and kept coming around to the MP-3. If the DAC wasn't so expensive, I would probably buy one just to try.

Anyways, there are 2 issues using the Vega going straight to the NCore's. First, the DAC has a crazy hot output of 4V at full. Therefore in my system with my 89db efficient speakers, normal listening in between 40-50 on the Vega's digital scale(going straight to NCore's). The Vega designer was very forthcoming and commented that although the volume control is very high quality, to his ears any setting below 60 did seem to have some a slight loss in quality. Other reviewers have commented that the soundstage collapses with output in the 20's and 30's. I rarely listen that low, but I don't doubt that's true. My answer has been to look at passive volume controls like a Goldpoint to put inline between the Vega and NCore's. In theory that could pull down the volume enough so that the Vega can operate in it's sweet spot.

Second, as a preamp going straight to the NCore's, I did notice that the top end got darker and possibly rolled off sounding. Using the Audio Research in between opened the top end, but killed the fantastic dynamics and cut some detail. Very weird since the A.R. in my experience is neutral and has never acted this way in other configurations. This darker sound actually works for me in my system, because my rig has always been on the edge of bright. I figured I could always add a bit of top end using the Amarra software's EQ, if it bothers me in the long run. Bottom line, don't assume this DAC with automatically replace your preamp, as it seems system/personal taste dependent. Another issue I'm having a hard time with mentally is not having any tubes in my chain. I've always had a least a tube pre and typically both amp and pre. To my ears, solid state gear has never sounded harmonically right. Well, with this new setup I might actually have turned an audio corner. Weird!!!!

mgalusha · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 02:43 pm »

In my setup the VEGA straight to the amps using the digital volume control isn't as good as running it at 100 and using the Bent TAP-X for level control. I did level matched comparisons and things just get a little smaller, less dynamic and less vibrant.

zybar · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 02:44 pm »

Guess I won't count on selling the MP-1.

Thanks guys.

George

santacore · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 03:49 pm »

Mike, I would love to hear your opinion regarding the use of autoformers vs. a Goldpoint attenuator between DAC and amps.

Russtafarian · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 05:27 pm »

John,

a pair of in-line attenuators between DAC and amp might be your least expensive and most neutral approach.

http://www.markertek.com/Audio-Equipment/Audio-Interface/Attenuation-Devices/Audio-Technica/AT8202.xhtml

Russ

santacore · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 05:39 pm »

Russ, thanks, but I'm very aware of the pro audio attenuators. Although cheap, in my experience they color the sound in an undesirable way. Perhaps it the impedance difference between stereo gear and mic/line level signal.

doctorcilantro · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Oct 2013, 07:46 pm »

Thanks for starting this john.

I have a friends Hilo here and the Vega should be arriving shortly.

I'll be trying it direct to a Decware EL34 straight amp, but also through my Zodiac Gold.

I'm thinking of trying one of these out http://www.akustyk.com/dual_mono_selector.html for Single-ended Vega > amp

VS.

Balanced Vega > Gold single ended output > amp

I toyed with trying a Yulong DA8 or PUREDAC but Veg it is for now.

zybar · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Oct 2013, 10:02 pm »

Just bought a Vega earlier today.

If you are interested in getting one, the dealer I am working with is Nigel at SONARE COELI (http://www.sonarecoeli.com/index.html).

Just let him know I sent you (nothing in it for me...just trying to help others).

I'll post pics and thoughts once I have the unit.

George

santacore · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Oct 2013, 10:16 pm »

Congratulations George! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been. My system has never sounded so good, and I'm not even using a preamp!!!

zybar · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Oct 2013, 10:21 pm »

Quote from: santacore on 14 Oct 2013, 10:16 pm

Congratulations George! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been. My system has never sounded so good, and I'm not even using a preamp!!!

I am pretty confident I will.

I will try it both ways:

Direct to the NCore amps.

Connected to the Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp.

I would love for it to sound as good direct as through the MP-1 preamp, but based on what I have read and heard, I am not hopeful.

George

TomS · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 Oct 2013, 10:55 pm »

It sounds great with the TAP-X

jtwrace · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Oct 2013, 12:10 am »

Quote from: TomS on 14 Oct 2013, 10:55 pm

It sounds great with the TAP-X

+1

doctorcilantro · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Oct 2013, 05:28 am »

Has anyone compared XLR out vs. SE on the Vega?

I'm considering a passive SE preamp with 48 stepped attenuator, and from what I have read, some argue that DACs need transformers to output truly balanced amplitude. I'd love to differential output of the Vega, and get better SNR, but wondering what the real result will be? Any major difference between XLR and SE if you've tried?

doctorcilantro · « **Reply #19 on:** 19 Oct 2013, 06:09 pm »

It's arrived safely here, and I ran it into my amp direct with needs 2.5v for full input. Not sure if that means its input sensitivity is 2.5v or what.

Off the bat things sounded a little fuzzy and bloated to be honest; like midrange boost or something. I was able to run about 60-80 even 90 where the meters on amp started bouncing. I was using a -10db due to J. River apply 64bit volume leving to do this.

Now I am runninng RCA through the Zodiac Gold.

Caveats:

It's not even warmed up for an hour, so I have not tried clock settings other than Auto.
Might need a better attenuator to shine in my gear?
I don't have my Adnaco USB system in place so I'm running off a cheap Belkin cable direct to my server

Build quality is very nice. Menu easy; display is great. Only beef is it is not 11" wide as stated, but 13". Bummer as I had a maple block exactly 12" wide but not a big deal.

Will leave it burning in all night.

I'm looking at LSA units now as opposed to the Khozmo stuff I was earlier considering.