Only compared to my Gustard X16 (and I would also find the Modius a bit sharp, only in the treble in a similar ), I’ve said it elsewhere that despite it’s well measured it sounds nothing like other DS DACs in the sub £500 range I have heard. It might be overly smooth or a bit dull for your taste, but it tames the treble and controls the bass well on headphones like the Denon D5/7200. I like its presentation but having now owned the BF2 I find it lacks the resolution I want, hence thinking about alternative DACs. The RNHP indeed is very revealing, and it’s possibly to do with the music I have as they tend to be Asian vocals in the 80-90s.
Alright, so if I prefer the G111 to RNHP, do you think the Ares II is still worth picking up? Does the Ares II have good synergy to V200? And I assume the Airist R2R DAC would be a downgrade then (is it similar to a Soekris sound anyway?).
Already have a BHC on the way I am still not entirely convinced by tube amps as I mainly only look at vocal performance and didn’t have good experience with Schiit tube amps in the past, but the BHC might well change my mind. Atm for the EMU I am using a tube buffer fed into the RNHP. I think I am likely to keep the BF2 and RNHP as I do like them a lot, but it’d be nice to have a second SS setup for a different taste.
So if you end up liking the g111 more, that has decent synergy with the bf2 as long as you don’t find it still exhibiting the problems you are having, but if you find it a problem still then move to the ares ii. But if you move to the v200, the ares ii is a better match than the bf2, but overall I think the soekris is the better match than the ares ii with the v200
Yes it would be a downgrade but would be more fun. No I personally don’t really find it similar to the soekris dacs
Yooooo nice that should be really sweet with the headphones you have, will be very curious on your thoughts
I can’t say I enjoyed any of the schiit tube amps in the past either, so I am with you there, the bhc should be entirely different
Yeah you can’t expect one amp to have synergy with a large collection of headphones lol
Yeah on second thought I think it’s to do with the music I listen to as it’s always vocals only. So aggressive or sharp is only relative and subjective. I think what I am mainly looking for is something to control the harsh treble either in headphone, in the recordings or in the amp/DAC. Which is why I got the JDS El stack 2 seeing you recommend that it has a sweet roll off of the treble, and the Gustard stack is the same but does everything better. Another example I can think of is the Archel 2 which I find quite aggressive and forward in the treble region, but the ENOG 2 seems to really tame it. On the opposite, I find some kind of glare in the treble in lower end Schiit stuff, in Magni, Asgard, Vali, Modi but Modius, BF2 and Jot 2 are much better in this regard (still not as gentle as I’d like it to be)
Cool, I don’t mind trying them all out tbh now that I have a better idea. I should have also mentioned that I find Asgard 3 and Jot 2 too warm for my taste, I like neutral to slight warm in SS amps, do you think if the Violectric stuff is still for me?
I am really excited tbh, cause I have never had that tubey experience that everyone seems to love.
Atm I am using a not very well known old hybrid tube amps, the Audio-Technica HA22tube and tbh I find it to have a more open, relax, ‘wet’ sounding to the Schiit ones I have tried, which is also what prompt me to have more faith in tube amps.
I think my headphones are still not high end enough to be particularly amp picky, but already I know I’d like to pair analytical source with darker, thicker headphones, and laid back source with thinner, more analytical headphones to complement each other, so two nice SS systems plus a fun tube amp would be quite nice.
Interesting, if that’s the case, the v200 might be too warm unless you grab a soekris (a 280 would be less warm or the newer vio as well), the g111 should still be within balance
Ah, I totally forgot that was a thing lol, seen it before but never heard it
You are getting there with the hd600/650 and elex, and it’s not like the others don’t scale as well
Pretty well, that combo is very nice, great technicalities while being decently organic and somewhat fun for music. For gaming it has pretty great positional accuracy for competitive and spacious enough for more casual immersion, good for picking up spacial queues. Overall pretty solid synergy and should serve well for both gaming and music
So my 2541 just came in today and noticed it came included with a USB cable. I’m planning on pairing this dac to a V280 FE and I’m wondering if the USB cable that came with the dac is any good. Anyone here that have this specific pairing, do you use the included USB or do you use an aftermarket one instead?
The included cable is OK, but you may want to get an aftermarket one at some point, but it is not something you need to rush out right away and buy.
Cables are a bit of a hot topic and the opinions vary from one side of the camp or another whether they make a difference or how much. I felt there was a difference when I switched out to aftermarket cables so, to me it is worth it. I would not go all crazy at first - I’ve had good luck with Pangea Premier and also Audio Quest Forest as decent cables better than the run of the mill bargain $10.00 but yet won’t break the bank either at @ $50 or so.
Edit: I run a dac1541 with a Violectric V281 for context.
Speaking of USB - how is the clock in this DAC? For this price, I assume the usb implementation makes Schiit’s Unision look sickly by comparison, but I sure am prepared to be dead wrong in my assumptions.
Would this DAC actually benefit from an external master clock, DDC, or even just a galvanic isolator?
The USB implementation in the Soekris DAC is really pretty good, and is fully isolated.
Adding a DDC IMO is not necessary, but I did get a marginal improvement when adding a DDC and using the AES/EBU input. I did not go all crazy with the DDC, I’m using a Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 with a DH labs D-110 AES cable. The stand outs I noticed were the background was a bit blacker and some improvement to base control and tone.
Just notice this thread for the 2541.
I got mine a week ago after waiting for several weeks for Modhouse.
Coming from Schiits B1 and B2 for years. Tested many other dacs. Chord TT2, Toppings., RME-ADI etc…never tried one of Sorens designs…also have a iFI Pro DSD with their Burr Brown multibit implementation which i find for me is excellent.
But I wanted to try another r2r dac and doing the reading and researching the folks that have Yggys seem to like this dac and for the cost it seems to compare very well for a dac costing $1000 + .
So i bit and bought one.
So far its and excellent device here…doesnt have all the bells and whistles as the much more expensive iFi…but for a dac it does its job very well.
I love its digital 1 db volume / level control…so smooth. Easy to adjust the line out. The included op amp, amp is decent as well. Has enough EMF to drive my 420 ohm Final Audio D8000 Pros and HD 650’s…and most anything else here ATM.
As much as I REALLY like my D8000 Pros…I had to try the ADX 5000’s…they have been on my radar for months…but not really liking the hd800 sound but loving the 600/650 sound…I always wondered if there was an alternative for the 800 that was light and airy, but with better bass and still a nice soundstage.
So the ADX 5000…another “dark” horse that many headphone folks often overlook…
WIth the Soekris built in amp…the ADX 5000’s seem to pair nicely with SE and Balanced outputs. The pairing seems to tone down the brightness just enough to make them very enjoyable.
I am listening to Joni MItchells “Dreamland” CD with a few orchestral tracks…its like being there next to Joni watching her sing…just marvelous.
One of those times where you just get lost in the music…and the gear just goes away and you really listen for a chance…
The 2541 helps with its “not so stellar” internal amp…to make the listening experience actually very very good…and the 5000’s are 420 ohms!
I’ve got both on me and I can at the same time see why they are compared, but also think they are different enough to not be like a direct upgrade of anything either. I’d personally take the 5k over the 800s though the majority of the time if I could only have one (unless there some very specific current drive amps involved lol, still keep the 800s around like only one amp)
I am still not entirely convinced by tube amps as I mainly only look at vocal performance and didn’t have good experience with Schiit tube amps in the past, but the BHC might well change my mind. Atm for the EMU I am using a tube buffer fed into the RNHP. I think I am likely to keep the BF2 and RNHP as I do like them a lot, but it’d be nice to have a second SS setup for a different taste.
