Completely forgot to update. Installing a KTB inside an Archel2 Pro worked out great. Cutting plexiglass to the correct specifications however, was not so easy lol. My custom plexi back plate wasnât pretty, but it worked well. Unless you create a more permanent solution to hold the board in, getting those holes drilled correctly is important because they hold the KTB in place. Should have taken pictures, but didnât like how ugly my cutting looked! I ordered a couple of spare back plates from Geshelli that have their cuts already done so I only need to cut for the KTB. Hopefully that will look better! Regardless, it worked, and it worked well. Itâs pretty easy to make an all-in-one using these two devices.
Edit: I did take a couple of pics. Completely forgot about them. See below.
The cuts are terrible, but hereâs a couple of pics so you can see how I placed the KTB.
The front corner of the KTB, where itâs LED light is drops a little since itâs the furthest point from being secured to the side or back of the enclosure. Should probably add some hot glue or blu tak. My main annoyance with it is how bright the KTB LED is and that it stays on 24/7 unless I unplug the USB.
Got a Archel 2.5 to compare with my Asgard 3 off the Modius and I am very impressed by it. Very natural sounding and it has a ridiculous amount of bass off the Modius xlr output. It sounds like it has a bass boost enabled compared to the Asgard/Modius! Need to do more testing to try to determine how much of this is due to the Archel and how much is the modius but it is very noticeable.
I am having a hard time determining which combo I like best as they both sound awesome. I must admit that the Archel has defied my expectations, I expected it to be brighter and more clinical than the Asgard but I think it is actually a bit darker! Asgard sounds airier and like it has more treble presence, in addition to having some bloom around the lower mids to upper bass that makes it warmer. Asgard has more depth but archel has more impact and is both more exciting and less fatiguing(not that the Asgard is particularly fatiguing)
Archel is amazing with the Dt880 600 ohm, easily the best I have heard a 880 sound. Surprisingly it powers the 880 better than the Asgard, I only need to go to 12 or 1 to match 75% of the Asgard pot. On paper that doesnât make sense as even considering the balanced power advantage, so I wonder if the archel 2.5 is current source like the Erish? Would explain it if it were.
Will likely do a review later after I have more time but I can already recommend it, it is perfect for someone who wants to take advantage of a balanced dac without needing to drop a load of cash on balanced cables for all their headphones.
