FWIW I spent some time with the 791/761 combo at a dealer and my impression was similar to @yyzsantabarbara - 761 is stellar, 791 is very good but the DAC is a limiting factor. When I first heard the system I thought it was very good, but something was a little off and I suspected it was the DAC in the 791 - it had the slight forwardness, sibilance and uneven tonality that have bothered me in the past with 90% of DACs using ESS Sabre chips. Sure enough, switching to a DCS Lina with the external clock greatly improved things and I could really hear what the 761 was capable of. Given that the 791 preamp section was still being used with the DCS, obviously it is also excellent and the internal DAC is really the weak link. Obviously the Lina alone costs almost as much as the 791, and much more with the clock, so it's not a fair comparison at all. But it might be nice if you could get the 791 for a bit less money without the DAC.
Showing 3 responses by taww
Re: @ackerdo ’s comment about upper midrange emphasis with the 761 - FWIW I heard this with the 791 pre + DAC, but did not hear this at all with the dCS DAC. It sounds like you have a Mola Mola Makua which is an incredibly neutral preamp (I own two of them) so that’s not the cause either. I can only conjecture that the 791 pre is somewhat complementary/compensating of the 761 amp in that area, or there is something else interacting with the particular configurations you’ve tried. Certainly something to watch out for if you’re not going to use it with the 791. I’m still mulling the 761 with my Makua and Audiovector R3 myself. |
@dpac996 that all matches my observations and it’s great to hear the 761 is working so well for you. The 791 DAC had a pretty obvious sibilance/forwardness which I hear from many Sabre based DACs and is easily heard through the 761. I also have a DirectStream so I know what you mean about naturalness - I now have two Mola Mola DACs for that reason. Though my time with the North system was brief, it was obvious to me the 761 was excellent and more resolving/engaging than past Sim amps I’ve heard. The flip side of the resolution is of course bringing out other warts in your system and I have gone through this same journey with my Gryphon Essence - the better I’ve made the rest of my system, the smoother and more natural it’s sounded without losing any bite or resolution. I don’t know that the 761 is as good as the Essence, but I was impressed I didn’t have to adjust my expectations as much as the price difference would suggest. |