Soulnote D-3 I think a Switch Has Flipped.

Well in I constant shuffling of gear, I’ve now come across the Soulnote D-3 and I have to admit my cursory curiosity was all based on the quad ESS chip layout. Some may avoid this product because of it, but I myself was very interested and enjoyed many ESS Delta Sigma based products. Not to mention that the thing has internal components that make it look like a futuristic tank, and something about its aesthetics that just drew me in considering my Luxman M-10X amplifiers. This is absolutely a keeper, albeit very early on with only 22 hours of burn in time, my overall impressions thus far have been phenomenal. I’m lucky enough to have both the Grimm MU2 and Mola Mola Tambaqui in house and this absolutely has my attention and ear.

It is an incredibly quirky product though, and I’ll give a detailed run down why, but despite its quirks the sheer holographic soundstage and detail retrieval is just something to behold. I’m just shaking my head sitting in my chair listening and I’m "hearing things for the first time" in very familiar music which is all the proof I need to keep listening intently. Yes I feel like a switch has flipped and never before have my Fyne F704 sounded so incredibly precise while expansively large. I seriously can’t wait until I’m able to get the new super tweeter and see where this pairing can go especially with how thick and weightly everything comes across. It just just checks all the right boxes for me. Because of this new engrossing soundstage I feel like my listening area has doubled in size considering how far beyond the speakers the sound goes. My area is a non treated space 20’x30’ with 9’ ceilings.

Oddly the ambient sound picked up in every song I hear is just so surprising, all the while being a major pleasing element of this DAC. That ethereal shimmer and faint detail that is now so readily clear, with background details and faint vocals jumping out with such transparency that I’m really just amazed. I will give the Levante it’s due, but I’ve known and loved it for a while, and this is it at its best, by a long shot.

With all that said the overall strangeness of this piece is another thing to behold all in itself. I’m still just head scratching reading through the manual as I learn on the fly just how bizarre of product this is. Yes an S-tier DAC, but it’s never-ending list of quirks and oddities might very well turn people off. I am however excited because as of now I’m just using my Innuos Zen Mini MK3 S since my Statement is off getting the next gen treatment and it sounds great time me. So down the road more will almost always be better I presume when it comes to the D-3.

Here’s just a few of those above mentioned quirks I eluded to...

The DAC requires a separate 10 megahertz clock, yes really, but then again this does give me hopes of tinkering with cabling and clocks should my desire to upgrade down the road rears it’s familiar face... It’s face haunts me... I seem to see it a lot.

But on that note, it’s clock connection requires a special adapter in order to use even basic BNC cables (SMA to BNC). I literally set this whole thing up and still couldn’t even use the DAC and had to order and then wait for a small adapter to even use this DAC. I was saddened to a new low when this happened, but maybe it made the DAC sound better?

It’s display only works when fed a USB signal, no way around that. So yeah I’m not using it.

Soulnote tells you to use NOS, says it’s better, so why then have FIR? I laughed reading multiple times in it’s manual that you need to turn off all its lights, and only use NOS if you want "best sound". Well I guess they’re at least being forthright?

Zero Link, like I really don’t know what it is, but considering what I’m hearing now I so want to try it out. And to that I say Soulnote you have won yet again.

It has the most robust and impressive remote that I’ve ever seen, and yet only three buttons work. Yes I’m not joking only three buttons do anything for the DAC.

It comes with its own ornate and decorative plinth to rest the DAC on top of, and the manufacturer says you should use it for the best sound. I’m not using it, and as of now I’m okay with that.

The chassis top plate is loose, the XLR and single-ended input plates are loose, and along with the AC mains connection. And when I say loose, I mean they actually rattle and shake. The entire DAC rattles and shakes if you were to shake it. I didn’t shake it, nor would I recommend it, but it does, like it’s a feature. However this is all done for chassis isolation and better sound I guess?

I’ve listened to mainly acoustic, electronic ambient, and more abstract music which is more laid-back late night listening so far. And everything just has a new feel to it. Which making what we all know and have come to love new again is a monumental feat to say the least. I haven’t had much time with the D-3, but the time that I’ve had makes me look forward to the time that I’ll have, and because of that I’m going to hang on to this one and I can’t say enough good things about it.

Present system Innuos Zen Mini MK3 S, Wireworld Starlight Coaxial Digital, Teac CG-10 clock, SoTM DCBL 50ohm clock cable, Tellurium Q Black XLR cables, Riviera Labs Levante, Prosper Cables speaker cables, Fyne F704 speakers with dual JL E112 subs (also with Prosper Cables).