Check This Out!

This Galle DAC is certainly interesting (both Mk I and II), and cool looking in a retro/deco Fleetwood Sound or Fern & Roby sort of way. I suspect it may look even better in person.

I will be interested to hear what the initial reviewers think of it. There is certainly a lot of money invested in the casework and I am always a little suspect until I can actually see the insides of something - I should probably live in Missouri.

I still haven’t heard anything that makes me want to replace my Mojo Audio X SE with nano-crystalline chokes and AD-1862N-Z chips, including the Tambaqui or the Merason DAC1 MkII. Totaldac is on my list to try if I get the chance but I will wait on considering the Galle until more information comes out.

@grannyring - The Mystique X SE with Lundahl nano-crystalline chokes and AD-1862N-Z chips, that I also have here, is mostly better than the EVO Pro. However, I am typically interested in new stuff that may sound better, so I will keep my ears open to hear more about the Galle. I am curious, have you heard/compared a Totaldac in your system?

@grannyring - Probably d1-Unity at $11,500 euros, maybe with the live power upgrade but that seems expensive for the modest improvement described in Lavorgna’s TM review.  I would have interest in used units except he changes designs so much that I would worry about obsolescence.   Also, I am not thrilled about the low output voltage of the former models.  Most of their current models output a more reasonable 3.5v/7v rms into rca/XLR.  Also, seems to be a somewhat subdued market for them here in the USA.

I really look forward to reading the first review of the Galle Dac.  

@grannyring - Did you get yours yet?  Any further thoughts on how it performs and what it does well as a DAC?  I like the looks of it and I actually apprecate the absence of bells and whistles.  Like the Mojo Audio DACs, I believe it is more important that their effect is heard rather than seen.

Any updates on the Cinnamon Galle?  Were they at AXPONA?

I was poking around and realized Less Loss in Lithuania had done something similar with their Echo’s End DACs (linked) - i.e., using a bunch of laser-trimmed surface-mount resistors (SMD) in an R-2R resistor ladder DAC.  The Echo’s End DACs offer a similarly designed product at three price levels at around $5K for the original (reviewed here and here), $20K for the reference (reviewed here and here), and $34K for the Reference Supreme.  Interestingly, like the Cinnamon Galle sold at Gestalt Audio in Nashville, TN, the Echo’s End is also sold by a Nashville located dealer, Atelier 13 Audio.

@grannyring - I am glad you are enjoying your Cinnamon Galle.  Did you ever stop by Atelier 13 Audio and listen to either of the Echo’s End DACs?  I am curious since there just doesn’t seem to be much in the press or posts by owners about the Echo’s End.  The Galle seems to be better received, based on what I have read, although there are not too many reviews yet of that one either.  I was interested in both of those because of their R2R design and because they are fully solid state.  Instead, I decided to try an Aries Cerat Helene, even though I am not thrilled about having tubes again - only 3 though.  Totaldac and MSB were also on my short list.

"Aries Cerat Helene dac is very impressive in pictures and design!"

Yes it is, and even more impressive to lift when in its wooden crate!  The thing is so darn big, I considered putting it on its own Sound Anchors amplifier stand since I have one I am not using.

I have had several pretty good DACs here that have all been close to the sound I am looking for, and a couple of them I would be happy to live with but, with all of them so far I have ended up thinking, "if only they did this differently/better..." 

Maybe the Helene will be the one, but maybe not.  I just started playing music through it today and these things take time.  I have found that even matching the various cables I have here with the specific DACs is important to optimize for the best sound.  I will give it a few days and try some of the test tracks I used for my DAC comparison.  Too bad I can’t have the Galle, MSB Premire, Totaldac Unity, and Benjamin’s not yet released Mystique Z here all at the same time but, unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way.

@mclinnguy - Already been fiddling. Dealer suggests trying it turned way up and then down (within the recommended limits) in order to understand the changes possible before zeroing in on a preferred value.

since this thread is about Galle, I look forward to reading more about that DAC here, as new customers buy them, and reading the reviews as they are published.