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DAC Shootout Starts This Weekend

Okay...in another thread I promised to do a side-by-side evaluation of the Audiobyte HydraVox/Zap vs the Rockna Wavelight. Due to the astonishing incompetence of DHL this has been delayed. At the moment, I have a plethora of DACs here and am going to do a broader comparison.

I am going to do a compare of the Rockna Wavelight, Rockna Wavedream Signature, Audiobyte HydraVox/Zap, Chord Hugo 2, Chord Hugo TT2, Bricasti M3, Bricasti M1 Special Edition, Weiss 501 and the internal DAC card for an AVM A 5.2 Integrated amp as a baseline.

For sake of consistency, I am going to use that same AVM integrated amp driving Vivid Kaya 45s. I may branch out and do some listening on other speakers (Verdant Nightshade of Blackthorn and/or Wilson Benesch Vertexes) but want to use the Vivids for every compare as they are the fullest range speakers I have here. For sake of consistency I will use a Chord 2Go/2Yu connected via an Audioquest Diamond USB as a renderer. The only exception is the Hugo 2 which has a 2Go directly attached to it. I will use a Roon Nucleus+ as a server in all cases.

My plan is to use the same five songs on every DAC; In a Sentimental Mood from Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, Be Still My Beating Heart from Sting, Liberty from Anette Askvik, Duende from Bozzio Levin Stevens and Part 1 of Mozart String Quartet No 14 in G Major from the Alban Berg Quartet. The intent is to touch on different music types without going crazy.

I will take extensive notes on each listening session and write up a POV on the strengths of each unit. I am going to start this this Friday/Saturday and will be writing things up over the next month or so. If you have thoughts, comments or requests, I will be happy to try and accommodate. The one thing I am not going to do is make the list of songs longer as that has an exponential impact on this and make everything much harder. If and when other DACs come in on trade I may add to the list through time.
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Showing 1 response by davehg

davehg
85 posts
 

Great thread, and some notes on the Lumin. I started with a D2, added a Sbooster LPS, upgraded to a T2, and most recently added the X1, keeping the T2 for a second system.

The optical input does improve the sound by taking a layer of glare away. But…it’s critical to use the right SFP modules. I chose Finisar (purchased from Mouser, as there are counterfeits sold on Amazon and EBay). Surprised at how much the sound was improved. 

Lumin’s app and settings allow lots of tweaking and it does sound better by disabling unneeded settings. You can also adjust the output gain which helps in matching to a sensitive preamp. If you use with Roon, there are settings that further improve sound quality. I do think playback via the Lumin app is a tad better than Roon but I prefer Roon’s user interface.

The tech support from Lumin, in various forums, is the best I’ve ever experienced in 30 years of owning high end gear. They regularly update firmware along with Roon and support expired products as well. 

I considered several products mentioned in this thread, along with the DCS Bartok. The Lumin’s sound quality, ease of use, and support sealed the decision.

The Ares would be fun to hear, but requiring a streamer plus the DAC puts it out of contention for me. 

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