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Geshelli Labs NEW J2 Dac

sterkoff

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Just saw that the new Geshelli Labs J2 dac should be up for sale by the end of the month and it will feature the ESS 9026PRO chip. I was curious about this choice as it seems like if you wanted an ESS dac (for whatever reason) you could get into an entry level version with the 9038Q2M chip (Khadas Tone Board, Topping d10s, Soncoz LA-QXD1 etc.) or spend a bit to much more and get one using the 9038PRO chip that is usually offered in a package with more features. Looking forward to seeing how the new J2 will measure-up and why they decided to go with the 9026PRO chip.
 

mononoaware

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Link to specifications please.

I searched but all I could find was Geshelli Labs “Coming soon” page.
 
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sterkoff

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I don't know if any detailed specifications have been released yet. I was going off of their newsletter which I will copy here below.

NEW Geshelli DAC UPDATE

Hi,
You are received this email because you opted in to our newsletter. If you do
not with to receive further notifications, please let me know at
[email protected] and I will remove you from the list.


I will start with the good news. The J2 is ready to launch and it has exceeded
our expectations. The ESS 9026PRO with our board design equals one amazing
DAC. The release date is April 30th at 6:00pmEST.


We are a bit late with this release due to the difficulty procuring parts and
supplies. As most people know, we make everything on-site. We do not order
completed boards from a large board house and then just put them in a case
and call it a day. Because of this, we have to order every part that goes on the
board and hope that the stock showed is actually available. Lately, that hasn't
been the case. For example, we placed an order for 1000 components and
received notification a week later that the order is on backorder and the stock
count was incorrect. This shortage is affecting more than just components. The
powder coat colors ordered back in March, still has not arrived. Our wall warts
took almost three weeks and it usually takes two days.


Because of the delays, we are having to do things a bit different. Our goal was
to have a large stock ready before release and not have to go on back order.
Because of the shortages and with parts/supplies, that isn't going to be
possible. As we get parts in, we will make boards. Production times will be
increased and it may take a few weeks from the time the DAC is ordered until
it's shipped. On the order form, we will be adding a line with the estimated
timeframe for the order to ship. That notification will change periodically, based
on parts availability and estimated production times. Hopefully, in the near
future, the shortages will ease up and we can go back to having full stock of our
gear.


Shipping is also taking longer. For the US, we use FedEx two day priority. Over
the last month the two days have actually been taking up to a week.
Unfortunately, we have no control over the longer shipping times. We have
tried other shipping companies, but they've been running even longer delays.
Thank you for your patience. We appreciate everyone who has been standing
by and waiting for the release.


Kind regards,
Geno and Sherri
Geshelli Labs
 

mononoaware

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I don't know if any detailed specifications have been released yet. I was going off of their newsletter which I will copy here below.

Ok thanks. Got excited for a second there since I saw this "coming soon" page for J2 before.
I am interested in the features of J2, like the output gain level adjustment of the Enog2 Pro.
 

Tks

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ESS? Heck yeah. No hump please!
 

dseong

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On Monday March 29, I got this email from them. I do not know why they limit this information to those subscribed to their email list and not on their website.

"I wanted to put out a quick update on the new DAC. As you may know from the last newsletter, the J2 will still have the Amanero USB and we have chosen the ES9026PRO DAC chip.
We are waiting on the a shipment date for the Amanero's. Amanero is waiting on parts to finish their boards. This seems to be a trend throughout many industries. Parts are hard to get and are taking longer to ship. We have been told the boards should ship by the second week of April. Once we have an exact date, we can give an a release date.
We are picking up the aluminum this week and will start working on the cases. We plan to keep the same color options as we currently offer. Please note, we no longer carry the original black. That has been replaced by Charcoal. The black we used to use has not been available from the supplier for a few months now. This also has been a trend through the Powder Coating Industry as many of the colors that I used to purchase are no longer available.
The price for the new DAC will be:
No USB=$249.99
USB-$299.99
Stay tuned for more information as we await the shipping date for the USB's."

For reference, JNOG non-USB retailed for $200 and the USB-version retailed for $250.
I will be interested in how this compares to the Schitt Modius which retails currently for $200. The Modius has USB standard and uses the AKM4493.
 

AdamG

Helping stretch the audiophile budget…
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On Monday March 29, I got this email from them. I do not know why they limit this information to those subscribed to their email list and not on their website.

"I wanted to put out a quick update on the new DAC. As you may know from the last newsletter, the J2 will still have the Amanero USB and we have chosen the ES9026PRO DAC chip.
We are waiting on the a shipment date for the Amanero's. Amanero is waiting on parts to finish their boards. This seems to be a trend throughout many industries. Parts are hard to get and are taking longer to ship. We have been told the boards should ship by the second week of April. Once we have an exact date, we can give an a release date.
We are picking up the aluminum this week and will start working on the cases. We plan to keep the same color options as we currently offer. Please note, we no longer carry the original black. That has been replaced by Charcoal. The black we used to use has not been available from the supplier for a few months now. This also has been a trend through the Powder Coating Industry as many of the colors that I used to purchase are no longer available.
The price for the new DAC will be:
No USB=$249.99
USB-$299.99
Stay tuned for more information as we await the shipping date for the USB's."

For reference, JNOG non-USB retailed for $200 and the USB-version retailed for $250.
I will be interested in how this compares to the Schitt Modius which retails currently for $200. The Modius has USB standard and uses the AKM4493.
Welcome Aboard @dseong.
 

nekky

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For what it's worth, I spoke to Geno and Sherri on the phone because of an issue I had with my amp - they are both beyond incredibly friendly and as a business they take care of their customer.

Specifically on their choice re: the 9026Pro - Geno basically said that they couldn't get the sound exactly where they wanted because of the IMD hump, and they had a better experience with the 9026 than the 9028 and 9038. I know this is a terrible explanation, and our conversation was weeks ago, but that's what I remember. True story.
 

ousi

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I have the JNOG (AKM chip) and sent it to Armin for review. Would be interesting for someone else to send the J2 to Armin when it is finally released to do a comparison :)
 

Swtoby

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This appears to be available for purchase now and they've posted some measurements.
 

rottentreats

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As someone who is currently using the AKM version JNOG with my stereo would there be any reason to consider the JNOG2? (would it just be a lateral move?) I also own an ENOG2 Pro for my headphone setup. (maybe the upgrade would be more fitting there?)

Without measurements I know it's hard for anyone to comment I guess I am mostly just wondering about the whole AKM vs ESS thing. I would imagine I wouldn't really hear a difference but maybe someone has thoughts :)
 
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sterkoff

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As someone who is currently using the AKM version JNOG with my stereo would there be any reason to consider the JNOG2? (would it just be a lateral move?) I also own an ENOG2 Pro for my headphone setup. (maybe the upgrade would be more fitting there?)

Without measurements I know it's hard for anyone to comment I guess I am mostly just wondering about the whole AKM vs ESS thing. I would imagine I wouldn't really hear a difference but maybe someone has thoughts :)

I would imagine that getting the JNOG2/J2 to replace the original JNOG could be considered the textbook definition of a 'lateral move' since they share the same feature set and there shouldn't be any audible differences between these two DACs (that statement is pending objective test results of course.) Getting the J2 to replace an ENOG2 could be beneficial if you needed to get a USB interface and/or optical inputs on the back of the unit, but I would struggle to objectively suggest you would hear an audible difference between those two either... others may have differing opinions.
 

Swtoby

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Based on the measurements Geshelli posted, I agree there should be no audible difference. The difference appears to be razor thin anyhow. Getting it for the USB to replace the ENOG2 makes sense though. That and the additional inputs can be useful. The reality for us original JNOG owners is that we really just got the thing. I can't justify spending another $300 for a couple dB of SNR which I can't hear anyway.
 

Morpheus85

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that's why they took the 9026 chip:

We tested out a variety of brands and choices including the higher end 9038. The 9038 is expensive, runs really hot, isn't very stable, and quite frankly we were not impressed with it. There is no point using something we didn't like, just to have a newer chip. Price-We don't feel the price is high. Actually, we were thrilled we could introduce a new product under $300.00. The ESS DAC chip price is much higher than AKM. Everything is harder to get and more expensive. There is a massive shortage of electronic components and the prices we pay have gone way up. Aluminum is at an all time high, shipping prices have skyrocketed and just about every component including the circuit board cost more than last year.
 
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