šŸ”¶ DUNU SA6 Ultra

Looking at my past sets the only two other all BA sets Iā€™ve owned are the U12T and the Hekili. It wouldnā€™t be fair to say it just sounds like another all BA set. Havenā€™t heard either in 6-8 months. What I can say is Iā€™m enjoying the entirety of my library with it. Does that make it fun? Probably not in the traditional sense. It doesnā€™t have the slam/punch and EST energy of the Mahina or the intimacy and warmth of my UP that make those fun for me. Itā€™s got something there for sure thatā€™ll make me gravitate to it just need more time to lock in what it is.

I think youā€™re mistaken about Hekili, if its product page on Linsoul is to be trusted:

Maybe you meant Lokahi?

I owned the Lokahi, couldnā€™t deal with the BA timbre that set had.

Yeap my mistake. Thanks for the catch. That means the U12T is the only all BA set Iā€™ve owned and heard.

Got another question for ya - In terms of overall signature, presentation and delivery, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being sterile-analytical and 10 being balls-to-the-walls-fun:

Where does the Ultra land?
And where does your other sets land?

Also, Is the stage of the Ultra of the" enveloping kind" or more of the ā€œdistant cylindrical onlookerā€ kind? (If that makes sense)

Balls to the wall fun go to Mahina, and Volt if your talking loud volume approved. Ultra sits closer to UP at loud volume. Itā€™s starting to not seem fair, as of this morning, to put the Ultra up against what I consider a fun set. Iā€™ve got about 8 hours on it as of now. It sits more in the range of the UP. Itā€™s a super smooth mellow warm approach. Definietely not analytical or sterile. Just takes another approach from the Up and opens the sound stage, improves imaging and brings in more details. Also, plays more balanced with male and female vocals. Itā€™s not enveloping like the EJ07 or super intimate like UP. God the EJ07 literally makes me feel like Iā€™m in the middle of a three dimensional space. Itā€™s insane what it does on PsyTrance. Ultra is wide with good forward vocals. Depth seems to be slightly less than width. As if Iā€™m sitting in the perfect seat of a concert where Iā€™m far enough back to give good seperation from the members of the band. Yet they donā€™t seem all crammed in straight line.

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So youā€™re just gonna disregard my numbers system xD

Just kidding, thanks for the breakdown. Iā€™ll experience it for myself soon enough, just very excited.
So it sounds like it would benefit from an analytical/detail oriented source because itā€™s inherently smooth sounding and it wonā€™t become ā€œtoo muchā€?

Okay if you must. Mahina and Volt would get a 10. Still doesnā€™t seem fair but, Iā€™ll give the Ultra a 6. I canā€™t compare sources much to help. All I have is the Q5K and Blu. Donā€™t need another rabbit hole to jump in so, these will be all I ever have until they break.

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To be fair, Q5K is a neutral source and every IFI Iā€™ve ever heard is warm by nature. So you do have references on both ends of the spectrum

Interesting, I would definitely urge you to rethink your position if sound quality is of paramount importance :slight_smile:
You can reach quite high with some Mid-fi Daps these days. I have found that multi-chip dacs have an advantage in staging over single chip units. (Anecdotal but dead-accurate so far)

Anyway, Iā€™m waiting on my TempoTec V6 DAP to pair with the Sa6 Ultra. The V6 is said to have a bit more energy in the mid-bass area so that sounds like it would complement the Sa6 Ultra, as well as having a smooth rather than sharp signature. Weā€™ll see (hear)!

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Always a good time with these bad boys in my ears! These and the Talos are primo IMHO.

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Talos are that good?

Got some A/Bing in. Remember the Moonlight is no longer with me. This is the Mahina EQd with PEQ via squigs. For a few days I had both in hand and honestly EQd I could not tell a difference. Iā€™ll just refer to the Mahina as Moonlight here.

My biggest takes are vocals seem more forward on the Moonlight and Ultra is more airy. I also get a sense the band is a bit more three dimesional. Donā€™t want to call the Ultra linear in soundstage but, to me it seems more natural to a band on stage as if I watched from the audience. Moonlight seems to have the band surround me more.

Treble is interesting. Getting a sense of cymbals and such being more noticable on Moonlight but, I think the SA6 tuning makes them more cohesive with the band. Same goes with guitars however, it may be easy for someone to say the Ultra lacks energy in them. I prefer the Ultra to both these points. Maybe itā€™s my dark side coming fhrough. Neither would satisfy a treble head but, I think theyā€™d be more inclined to dismiss the Ultra and lean towards Moonlight.

Despite the charts being fairly close on bass the Moonlight seems to have way more presence especially in midbass punch. Charts arenā€™t telling the full story here. The Ultra may be the winner though for me ironically. It has a quicker and possibly tighter response. Not sure if my terms are correct but itā€™s almost as if the bass is bloated occasionally or possibly lingering to long on Moonlight. Maybe a result of the type of material the DD uses as a donā€™t get this sense my UP with the berryllium DD.

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Haha I know. I have yours now. Thanks for the comparison. Sounds like the moonlight is the right choice for me compared to the ultra so no sad I missed it. I get your point with the bass on the Moonlight. The biodynamic definitely sounds less controlled and a bit loose compared to my IE600

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ayo if anyone wants, SA6 Ultra used $615 Dunu SA6 Ultra | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
@Kamron_Howard you should move fast bro :joy:

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Waiting for my refund to clear for the Meteor :person_facepalming: they will probably be gone by the time it does

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Your thread of eventsā€¦ you canā€™t make this up :joy:

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Iā€™m the worst :joy:

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You mean The Best!

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Hold up, I thought you decided not to cancel the Meteor preorder?!?!?! So you ended up cancelling it so you can try to track down an SA6U used or do you have other options in mind as well?