As I stated in my previous message I have had the Antipodes DX for approximately 3 months. I am using it with an Auralic Vega DAC. While I believe this is a very a good DAC for the money, I also realize it is not playing in the major leagues. Because of that I have been following this thread with great interest since its inception as a new DAC is my next planned purchase.
Before I get into how it sounds I need to talk about a few of the features. The DX uses a Linux based media server called Vortex Box. Setup is straight forward and the Vortex Box recognized the Vega with no issues. I use my iPad and an app called IPeng 8 to control the server. IPeng 8 is intuitive and easy to use. The DX rips CDs as uncompressed FLAC files directly to the hard drive. It takes approximately 15 – 20 minutes to rip a CD. You can play music while the CD is being ripped. A really nice feature is there are two USB digital out connections. One is labelled “USB Audio 5V On” and the other is “USB Audio 5V Off”. As I expected the “USB Audio 5V Off” connection sounded considerably better. The only downside I have found is there does not appear to be an easy way to create play lists.
For perspective, prior to the DX I was using an off shelf laptop with JRivers 20. I disabled many of the PCs features based on internet guidance to improve the sound quality. I know many of you are using a modified Mac mini and are looking for the deltas, unfortunately I cannot provide them.
Out of the box the DX sounds pretty bad. There is a tremendous amount of detail, but the sound is lean and there is no bass. I didn’t keep track of break in time, but after 200 hours you are going to have a very good idea of where you are heading…and from my perspective it’s all good. In my system the significant improvements are as follows:
• Resolution increased significantly
• There is a phenomenal increase in bass information and the associated musical foundation
• Mids moved forward and the soundstage deepened
• Instruments and vocals pop out of what seems like a totally black background
• I do not hear a significant improvement in treble information, but I believe that is an age related issue
• Many files became listenable and enjoyable that previously I had given up on due to poor sound quality
• Transparency improved even though I did not think it was possible
• The overall presentation is more neutral, but there is no listener fatigue, none
Having said all that the biggest improvement is the increase in clarity and realism. I don’t know of any other way to describe it. I have heard high resolution systems, but this is different. It sucks you in and doesn’t let go. It has me totally rethinking the need for DSD. I can honestly say that no other piece of hardware or wire I have purchased has led to this level of improvement, not even close.
I will be interested to see how the DX compares to the Mac Mini. I believe the DX will still be a significant improvement. I also wonder if the improvements will be as substantial with a superior DAC such as the Empirical Audio. I am looking forward to the reviews on this thread with great interest as they will guide my next DAC purchase.
In closing I need to say that I have no affiliation with Antipodes Audio and all the above is based on what I hear in my system. As I’ve gotten older I have become more and more skeptical of new products and the hype that goes with them, but in this case I truly believe we have a breakthrough product. Yes, the price will drop over time and the quality will improve, but you have to jump on the train at some time. I’m glad I jumped on when I did. If anyone has any questions I will do my best to try to answer them.
Regards
