Evolution DAC

Samoyed · « **Reply #200 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 12:13 pm »

Yes, it does sound wonderful. Have you tried MQA yet?

audio.bill · « **Reply #201 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 12:42 pm »

Quote from: kevb on 13 Mar 2019, 05:00 am

Just received my Evo DAC today. It was quite cold when I hooked it up, and it sounded decidedly meh for the first song or 2. It is now 11 hours later, and I am chuckling or downright giggling at the sound I am getting. The tone, the lifelike presentation, the complete disappearance of my speakers, and the way my daughters kept coming out of their rooms to see who was playing piano, or guitar.....really showed me something. They were fooled in their bedrooms.....and I was playing speakers with not much in the way of dynamic range.

THIS. DAC. IS. A. STONE. COLD. BARGAIN.

I have never made an improvement of this magnitude to my system, ever. And it is matching up incredibly well with my MCX amp.

Hats off to Jason and the design team.....this is amazing!!

That's quite an endorsement of its realism and is much appreciated! I'd be curious to know what other DACs you've heard or your system details so we have a point of reference. Thanks for sharing your experience with us and enjoy it in the best of health!

Samoyed · « **Reply #202 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 01:05 pm »

I had a dac10, a rotel rc 1590 DAC, a Bluesound Node 2 and now an Innuous Zen Mini DAC and none come close to the sound stage and detail of the evolution. And, the sound is lovely and liquid.

kevb · « **Reply #203 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 02:14 pm »

Quote from: audio.bill on 13 Mar 2019, 12:42 pm

That's quite an endorsement of its realism and is much appreciated! I'd be curious to know what other DACs you've heard or your system details so we have a point of reference. Thanks for sharing your experience with us and enjoy it in the best of health!

Well, I have had a few of the mid-range Audio-GD DAC's, the NuPrime DAC-9 and DAC-10, plus the internal DAC's in the IDA-8 and IDA-16 (I also have the MCX-4 and STA-9). You could say that NuPrime has a rather loyal customer here.

It's very hard to describe the effect, but it is simply way better than anything else I have listened to. The overriding theme is tone and realism for me. it is at odds with the visual cues....I see speakers, but they seem to have nothing to do with the music I am hearing. On many of the recordings I listened to, it no longer sounded like a very well done reproduction. I feel (at times) like I have snuck into the studio to sit in with the artists, and fortunately they don't see me so they can't call security to get rid of me.

I will now try to sell off most of the other NuPrime gear, and set my sights on the Evo Ones. I will probably keep the DAC-9 and the IDA-8 (for a small bedroom system) and sell off the rest. I can only imagine how the Evo Ones must sound if the DAC is this spectacular.

kevb · « **Reply #204 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 02:17 pm »

Quote from: Samoyed on 13 Mar 2019, 12:13 pm

Yes, it does sound wonderful. Have you tried MQA yet?

Not yet. I have the Node 2i, but it is in a different system. I won't be able to get full MQA unless I convert one of my Daphile boxes back to a Windows box so I can use the Tidal desktop version for the first unfold. So that also means back to Foobar (ugh....just couldn't get it the first time I tried), or pay for Roon.

kevb · « **Reply #205 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 02:21 pm »

Rusty, if you are around.....is the Evo DAC capable of native DSD playback (not DoP)? I played a DSD 2.8 test file with the DAC-9, and it correctly showed D2.8 on the front panel. However, when that same file was played through the Evo DAC, it showed PCM 352kHz.

I know from scrolling through the possible sample rates that it has many options to convert PCM to DSD,

Thank you.

Samoyed · « **Reply #206 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 02:24 pm »

Quote from: kevb on 13 Mar 2019, 02:17 pm

Not yet. I have the Node 2i, but it is in a different system. I won't be able to get full MQA unless I convert one pf my Daphile boxes back to a Windows box so I can use the Tidal desktop version for the first unfold. So that also means back to Foobar (ugh....just couldn't get it the first time I tried), or pay for Roon.

It’s easy for me to spend your money, but buy a Roon license. I resisted and was shocked at how easy it made my life. MQA, despite its detractors, is great through my Evo. You must use usb. Enjoy the DAC, it’s a winner!

kevb · « **Reply #207 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 02:48 pm »

Quote from: Samoyed on 13 Mar 2019, 02:24 pm

It’s easy for me to spend your money, but buy a Roon license. I resisted and was shocked at how easy it made my life. MQA, despite its detractors, is great through my Evo. You must use usb. Enjoy the DAC, it’s a winner!

Yeah, I think I will - but I have to read up on that first. I think that I can use the Daphile PC as a Roon endpoint with another linux PC running Roon Bridge or Roon Server. I just don't want to spend money on a streamer right now for MQA only if I can make it work without forking out $$$ on top of a Roon license. I may look into Volumio as well because (I believe) Roon integration is rather straightforward.

Samoyed · « **Reply #208 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 02:52 pm »

Spending more of your money, Roon integrates flawlessly with an Innuous Zen Mini. Don’t bother with the external power supply. One, and you are done.

kevb · « **Reply #209 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 03:25 pm »

Quote from: Samoyed on 13 Mar 2019, 02:52 pm

Spending more of your money, Roon integrates flawlessly with an Innuous Zen Mini. Don’t bother with the external power supply. One, and you are done.

Oh, I know - it's tempting. I reached out to a dealer, and he said there are no version 2's left in NA, and the version 3 is going to run me into the CDN $2K range when taxes are figured in. That could be put towards the Evo Ones.....

Samoyed · « **Reply #210 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 03:35 pm »

Samoyed · « **Reply #211 on:** 13 Mar 2019, 03:35 pm »

I’m sending you a pm.

sresener · « **Reply #212 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 01:39 am »

Using the evo as a pre-amp Can I use the balanced and unbalanced outputs at the same time?

Samoyed · « **Reply #213 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 01:50 am »

Are you asking me?

JackD · « **Reply #214 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 01:54 am »

Shouldn't be any different than with the DAC-10 where you can.

sresener · « **Reply #215 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 02:16 am »

If you know the answer then I could be asking you

Samoyed · « **Reply #216 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 02:19 am »

Mine now lives in the box it came in.

I’ll take it out, tomorrow, and see.

sresener · « **Reply #217 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 02:28 am »

That would be great and I would appreciate it.

Maybe you will decide not to put it back in the box

John Casler · « **Reply #218 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 02:34 am »

Quote from: sresener on 22 Mar 2019, 01:39 am

Using the evo as a pre-amp Can I use the balanced and unbalanced outputs at the same time?

Yes, both XLR and single ended are active

sresener · « **Reply #219 on:** 22 Mar 2019, 02:36 am »

So I assume I can run the balanced to my amp and unbalance to my subwoofers?