Before I bought my Ultra Dac I had my brothers Transcendence R DAC in my system. That was the last version of the $1600 top of the line DAC in the small chassis before the Ultra. Next was the Ultra, followed by the 6N1P upgrade. I actually had it in my system a couple of times, the last time for over a month. (Personally, that is the best way for me to evaluate something, over a period of time.) I was very familiar with the sound of my system with his DAC with all the kinds of music and recordings and situations over 5 weeks. A couple of times I switched the DAC off and WOW, it was hard to believe that was what I was listening to before. Along comes the Ultra.
First, it was as though another veil was removed(as was the case with every piece of AVA gear I've added). My articulate listening buddy commented that it sounded like there was still a bunch of crap there that was now gone with the DAC. The Ultra was more revealing, more extended at the frequency extremes; more open high end and deeper, more powerful, and more defined bass. The Ultra was quicker, and more dynamic. The transients with the Transcendence now sounded "softened". The "house sound" at AVA is apparent in all the gear. Simply put, it's musical, which puts it in a class above many, regardless of price. As you go up the ladder of gear, you're usually paying for more resolution. (Of course more power costs more) There's a difference between an OmegaStar and an Ultra, just like there is a difference between the Transcendence DAC and the Ultra, both being the top of the line at different times. But they are all very listenable because of the musicality of the sound.
