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Review and Measurements of Audeze Deckard DAC and Amp

graz_lag

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The currently-in-place EU's directive (Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2006/95/EC) actually started from the UK ... (not surprised here ... as many stuffs come down - YES we are southern, from the UK)

Extra-Low-Voltage being up to 75VDC or 50VAC and so is considered as "safe" ...
 
D

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Definitely could be, but Amir will never tell us.

He attempted to inject some whimsy into a review, humanize a simple metal box with a trinket and here we are, trying to work out wtf its significance really is.

BTW, I have a small plush walrus on my speaker, he always sits on the speaker being 'auditioned'. :)

View attachment 18544

The walrus is a very original room acoustical treatment :)
 

invaderzim

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To die for? Steve needs a haircut.

Why do so many reviews have to be over-the-top enthusiastic towards every product?

Granted, I haven't heard the product but to be 'to die for' it should really be truly impressive and this doesn't show it to be that.

I used to enjoy reading reviews to learn about new products but I've mostly given up on it because with most reviewers nearly every product they test is the most amazing they've ever heard.
And don't even get me started on how pretty much all reviewers won't even write a review if they don't like a product.
 
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amirm

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You make a good point. They always have that tone as to insure future supply of loaner review gear. Or they don't know how to critically evaluate audio products.
 

trl

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I had same "accident" once, max. volume with 1 KHz playing in my head (I did to my cans "drop it like it's hot" instantly)...it was awful...I thought I'll not be hearing again, but until the morning I was fine, just some strange noises and tinnitus into my ears for the next couple of days.

Deckard and HPA-3U are sharing same schematic indeed, like many stated here and on Head-Fi too, just TTH vs. SMD components. Also, HPA-3B shares the same DNA, just a different way of interconnecting the output buffers (via 2 x dual opamps) and lack of USB transport and DAC.

My HPA-3B had some background noise and mains hum, but in a small margin...barely audible and with volume increased to the max. (inputs shorted for safety of my ears). However, noise was there, like Amir measured, so...this was the main reason why I choose to start modding my HPA-3B. :) Now it's much quiet and has no more audible mains hum, not even when using IEMs. Now it measures pretty well, but it has no DAC inside, just the headamp.

P.S.: Mains hum is coming from the transformer, it's just too close to the electronic parts...a bigger case will help here, or shielding the transformer properly. The background noise is coming from the long audio traces from the RCA/XLR plugs to the ALPS potentiometer (full length/depth of the case) and then few inches back to the opamp inputs. Also, during this long audio path, lot of static and mains hum will get added, so cutting the traces and replacing them with shielded cables did helped.
 

Masterxyr

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hi everyone. I've got 2 questions. One is, if possible, to the ones who have heard this dac/amp, does it sound ok? better than ok? indistinguishable say from an atom amp with a 100$ decent dac?
Second question would be, what price does the deckard become a good option. Consider that, due to my being in portugal, a jds labs element costs me 400€.
I'm asking because I could get my hands on a deckard for 450$... don't know how much haggling latitude I can get :)
Many thanks!
 

xineis

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hi everyone. I've got 2 questions. One is, if possible, to the ones who have heard this dac/amp, does it sound ok? better than ok? indistinguishable say from an atom amp with a 100$ decent dac?
Second question would be, what price does the deckard become a good option. Consider that, due to my being in portugal, a jds labs element costs me 400€.
I'm asking because I could get my hands on a deckard for 450$... don't know how much haggling latitude I can get :)
Many thanks!

Hi @Masterxyr , I have a Deckard, in fact this very reviewed unit here.

I really like it so far, but I upgraded from a simple Micca Origen+.

However, bear in mind that for US$ 200,00 you can get the Atom + Khadas Tone Board that is (and probably will be for a long time) unbeatable in terms of cost-benefit. I do not have either, but I am planning to upgrade to the Atom in the near future (probably with a Topping D50s).
 

Masterxyr

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Hi @Masterxyr , I have a Deckard, in fact this very reviewed unit here.

I really like it so far, but I upgraded from a simple Micca Origen+.

However, bear in mind that for US$ 200,00 you can get the Atom + Khadas Tone Board that is (and probably will be for a long time) unbeatable in terms of cost-benefit. I do not have either, but I am planning to upgrade to the Atom in the near future (probably with a Topping D50s).

That sounds very sound (audiophile pleonasm sentence). I have heard that the amp in atom and element are very similar, and I imagine the dac in the latter unit being better than the deckard. Issue is the atom here is 180€ + shipping. Just makes me wanna scream....
Cheers for the reply. Quite useful ;)
 

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VMAT4

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hi everyone. I've got 2 questions. One is, if possible, to the ones who have heard this dac/amp, does it sound ok? better than ok? indistinguishable say from an atom amp with a 100$ decent dac?
Second question would be, what price does the deckard become a good option. Consider that, due to my being in portugal, a jds labs element costs me 400€.
I'm asking because I could get my hands on a deckard for 450$... don't know how much haggling latitude I can get :)
Many thanks!

@Masterxyr You may want to read Amir's post (#2) in the DX3 Pro vs Atom+DAC thread. The DX3 Pro is available for about 220 € from amazon.es .
Two Links:
DX3 Pro vs Atom +DAC thread at ASR
DX3 Pro at amazon.es

Just my thoughts on how to save a few Euros. BTW, what headphones are you driving/pairing with the Deckard or Atom?
 

trl

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@VMAT4, Deckard/HPA-3U is more powerful, also HPA-3B is balanced, so some folks might consider these an advantage. Worth mentioning the discreet components from the output stage, especially the output transistors.
 

VMAT4

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@trl Thank You. With out knowing what Masterxyr is driving, I made my suggestion. Incidentally, I used to own xineis' Deckard. I thought it was dead quiet and was quite surprised by Amir's test results!
 

BDWoody

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@Masterxyr You may want to read Amir's post (#2) in the DX3 Pro vs Atom+DAC thread. The DX3 Pro is available for about 220 € from amazon.es .
Two Links:
DX3 Pro vs Atom +DAC thread at ASR
DX3 Pro at amazon.es

Just my thoughts on how to save a few Euros. BTW, what headphones are you driving/pairing with the Deckard or Atom?

https://apos.store/products/topping-dx3-pro-dac-amp

Another place I found recently when I ordered...this one comes with a 'free' set of headphones as well as part of their promotion. Hey...better than a sharp stick in your eye...
 

trl

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@trl Thank You. With out knowing what Masterxyr is driving, I made my suggestion. Incidentally, I used to own xineis' Deckard. I thought it was dead quiet and was quite surprised by Amir's test results!

Well, it's actually a very quiet when listening to planars that need 7-10V RMS @50Ohms to drive them to their full potential. Most audio measurements are done at 1 or 2 V RMS and indeed, with sensitive headphones, some background noise could be heard, especially with IEMs.
 

Masterxyr

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@Masterxyr You may want to read Amir's post (#2) in the DX3 Pro vs Atom+DAC thread. The DX3 Pro is available for about 220 € from amazon.es .
Two Links:
DX3 Pro vs Atom +DAC thread at ASR
DX3 Pro at amazon.es

Just my thoughts on how to save a few Euros. BTW, what headphones are you driving/pairing with the Deckard or Atom?

Thanks VMAT4. I am currently using a UR44 Steinberg as my dac/amp. I can't believe its dac to be horrible - I "enjoy" it a little more than ipod/iphone.
I am familiar with the existence of the DX3 pro, as with so many others. I was asking about the deckard because I saw it around second hand and wanted a bit more info here. Still undecided on what to get. I have a beyer 250 ohm and a 400i on the power "hungry" side and a couple others than run on "anything". Ideally, I would get the jds el amp, mostly for the design (love the knob on top) and a decent dac. It all comes down to quality,aesthetics and, most unfortunately, budget :D
 

VMAT4

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Thanks VMAT4. I am currently using a UR44 Steinberg as my dac/amp. I can't believe its dac to be horrible - I "enjoy" it a little more than ipod/iphone.
I am familiar with the existence of the DX3 pro, as with so many others. I was asking about the deckard because I saw it around second hand and wanted a bit more info here. Still undecided on what to get. I have a beyer 250 ohm and a 400i on the power "hungry" side and a couple others than run on "anything". Ideally, I would get the jds el amp, mostly for the design (love the knob on top) and a decent dac. It all comes down to quality,aesthetics and, most unfortunately, budget :D

If I recall correctly, the Deckard has an analogue line in. My experience with it was that it drove anything I had. At the time that included the awful MonoPrice M1060 and later the HE4XX, which is much better IMHO. Maybe a D30 in conjunction with the Deckard would work better than the on board USB DAC.
 

xineis

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@trl Thank You. With out knowing what Masterxyr is driving, I made my suggestion. Incidentally, I used to own xineis' Deckard. I thought it was dead quiet and was quite surprised by Amir's test results!

To be perfectly honest, I think it was a very worthy and needed upgrade from my Micca. I am not able to hear distortion with it, compared to a friend's O2+SDAC. I am quite happy with it.

Oh, and it is so powerful that even my ZMF can only be driven on medium gain. The impression I have is that high gain might be able to drive speakers!
 
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I have this amp and I love it, bags of power, rarely go past 12 o'clock even on low gain, compared it with my friends Topping L30 and the Deckard was able to power my headphones a lot easier, (LCD-2, HD600/650, K712), I'm not sure what to make of charts/graphs, I understand what they represent scientifically but I'm not always sure how that transitions into how that effects the actual sound hitting my ear drum, I would expect my music to sound like it's an AM Radio broadcast, but I hear nothing really standing out to me untoward, with the headphones I've listed even at medium gain at full volume I can't hear anything, hiss, noise floor etc, but then perhaps my hearing is screwed.
 
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trl

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With "LCD-2, HD600/650, K712" you will not hear any hiss, not even with worst headamp ever. You'll need to use IEMs with a sensitivity higher than 115 dB/V SPL/100 dB/mW SPL to actually check for any background noise to a headamp.

 
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