Review and Measurements of Auralic Vega DAC

[Jimster480]

Good. Ping them again and see if they are still doing something about it.

Yep,
Just emailed them again right now following up about that specific issue.

 

[ManglerFi]

Yep,
Just emailed them again right now following up about that specific issue.

Thanks for the answer here and for inquiring with ESS about this. I had read through that pro-ject pre box s2 thread but either missed the stuff about the hump or didn't connect the dots.

 

[Jimster480]

Thanks for the answer here and for inquiring with ESS about this. I had read through that pro-ject pre box s2 thread but either missed the stuff about the hump or didn't connect the dots.

I inquired with Topping about it. I did send an email to ESS but they never replied.
Topping on the other hand is very responsive and they said they were going to work on investigating it and make a firmware update.

 

[Sal1950]

Even an Asian with broken English like me understand this highly sarcastic joke. Go to the measurement page and see how Fig.15 looks and read JA's comment.

Is that what you think his subjective review summary is, only a "sarcastic joke" that all the readers can deduce?
I hate to break it to you but a large percentage of their subscription base believe JA's measurements are a waste of space, provide no meaningful reflection of the audible quality of a component, and never even read what John writes. It's the subjective review they place credence in and that summary is what they take to the bank. As Amir mentions above, this DAC has been "the darling of audiophiles" and a big reason is subjective reviews such as Jasons at Stereophile.

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

Is that what you think his subjective review summary is, only a "sarcastic joke" that all the readers can deduce?
I hate to break it to you but a large percentage of their subscription base believe JA's measurements are a waste of space, provide no meaningful reflection of the audible quality of a component, and never even read what John writes. It's the subjective review they place credence in and that summary is what they take to the bank. As Amir mentions above, this DAC has been "the darling of audiophiles" and a big reason is subjective reviews such as Jasons at Stereophile.

Sad, but true. Fortunately, JA caries on with generally excellent and useful measurements, and Kal, even without measurements in his brilliant Music in the Round column, is as honest and trustworthy as they come. MF, AD, JVS and the rest would be worthy of laughter, if they were not such influential, but totally misguided egotists.

 

[ManglerFi]

I inquired with Topping about it. I did send an email to ESS but they never replied.
Topping on the other hand is very responsive and they said they were going to work on investigating it and make a firmware update.

Ahh, I see, well at least one of these companies is working on it! Hopefully they are can figure it out!

 

[bennetng]

Is that what you think his subjective review summary is, only a "sarcastic joke" that all the readers can deduce?
I hate to break it to you but a large percentage of their subscription base believe JA's measurements are a waste of space, provide no meaningful reflection of the audible quality of a component, and never even read what John writes. It's the subjective review they place credence in and that summary is what they take to the bank. As Amir mentions above, this DAC has been "the darling of audiophiles" and a big reason is subjective reviews such as Jasons at Stereophile.

You have some good points, but in my many years of experience of audio (and non-audio) discussion, it is not easy to change people's mind. As long as the measurements are not cooked I can't have too many complains.

People who like to read subjective reviews will still choose to read those subjective articles and people who like to read measurements will continue to dig into the measurements. I don't know how often Stereophile do moderation on the comment section of their reviews but for example there are some debates in the comment section of this Aqua DAC.

So far I am not defending Stereophile's position but there are some "funnier" audiophile websites out there like 6moons and so on, hope you understand what I mean.

 

[Manbeard]

JA's measurements are the best thing about Stereophile.

 

[Blumlein 88]

You have some good points, but in my many years of experience of audio (and non-audio) discussion, it is not easy to change people's mind. As long as the measurements are not cooked I can't have too many complains.

People who like to read subjective reviews will still choose to read those subjective articles and people who like to read measurements will continue to dig into the measurements. I don't know how often Stereophile do moderation on the comment section of their reviews but for example there are some debates in the comment section of this Aqua DAC.

So far I am not defending Stereophile's position but there are some "funnier" audiophile websites out there like 6moons and so on, hope you understand what I mean.

6 Moons and Positive Feedback.

 

[Milt]

I for one always read JA's measurements and comments after skimming the subjective and reading through the conclusion section.
As Manbeard stated, best thing about Stereophile. I also like Music in the Round. I wish it did have measurements though.

 

[Veri]

Interesting! I couldn't find any info on this feature - do you know more about it or have a link?

AFAIR, attribution of "the hump" to the THD compensation feature was a guess only, not confirmed.
Can you please show where this is indicated otherwise?

Benhmark has an interesting article on it: https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/dac3-introducing-the-new-es9028pro-converter

Supposedly the "hump" is because of THD compensation processing, which "substantially lowers 2nd/3rd harmonic distortion".

 

[Bfmcosta]

Thanks for this great evaluation of the Auralic Vega Dac.

Can you let us know what was the clock setting you used? I own a Vega, and the performance is significantly better using the the EXACT clock setting (which is available only 1 hour after turning on the device, as it needs to be temperature-stabilized), as opposed to the standard Auto setting.

If the results were so impressive in Auto mode, I wonder how much better they could get in Exact mode (and confirm if the measurements confirm our ears’ impressions).

 

[amirm]

Thanks. Sorry, I don't remember and the unit has been returned to its owner. I doubt very much though that there is audible difference in that clock setting.

 

[Bfmcosta]

Thanks. Sorry, I don't remember and the unit has been returned to its owner. I doubt very much though that there is audible difference in that clock setting.

That’s a pity, those who know well the Vega consistently notice various improvements in Exact mode. It wouldn’t be the first time this device would surprise you
Thanks again for contributing so much for this community!

 

[michael mowery]

I think the argument that the original Vega is over priced is a bit moot as of 2019. The going price is now $1,899 directly from Auralic's website.

 

[Jimster480]

I think that the price was the same when Amir tested it.
Its still quite a high price for a DAC.

 

[michael mowery]

I think that the price was the same when Amir tested it.
Its still quite a high price for a DAC.

He did not quote the exact amount, I did. Others here seem to only see the $3K price tag that went away a couple years ago. Plus You generalize the word "DAC" as if all DAC's are created equal. There is more to just converting a digital signal to analog. You can buy a $30 DAC if you feel better about your purchase.

 

[Jimster480]

He did not quote the exact amount, I did. Others here seem to only see the $3K price tag that went away a couple years ago. Plus You generalize the word "DAC" as if all DAC's are created equal. There is more to just converting a digital signal to analog. You can buy a $30 DAC if you feel better about your purchase.

Clearly this forum has shown that there are differences in DAC's.

Although the performance of this DAC, while chart-topping has no audible advantages really over a DAC that costs 1/10th of its price (such as the D50, or the ENOG2) .

Also he does say "for around $2000 directly from the website" right in the first lines of his review.

 

[michael mowery]

For around is not quite the same as my exact quote from the website. Anyways you make good points on audible advantages from other DAC's. I think that is what we are all searching for. My interest in the Vega at this point is part on the good reviews I have seen over the years from the conception of this new company and now today I see about a $2k price drop on the Vega which puts it in a more palatable price tag for those who originally wanted it but thought the price was much too high. I did order one yesterday to check out to see if there is that audible difference. I am currently using the Auralic mini with upgraded linear power. Entry point I know but it did move my 13 year old rack system to present day streaming capability. I will let you know of my audible findings. Otherwise it goes right back.

 

[Jimster480]

For around is not quite the same as my exact quote from the website. Anyways you make good points on audible advantages from other DAC's. I think that is what we are all searching for. My interest in the Vega at this point is part on the good reviews I have seen over the years from the conception of this new company and now today I see about a $2k price drop on the Vega which puts it in a more palatable price tag for those who originally wanted it but thought the price was much too high. I did order one yesterday to check out to see if there is that audible difference. I am currently using the Auralic mini with upgraded linear power. Entry point I know but it did move my 13 year old rack system to present day streaming capability. I will let you know of my audible findings. Otherwise it goes right back.

Very true, I think there are products that all of us would purchase atleast to try out if the prices were lower.
Originally I wanted a Objective DAC3, but bought a Topping DX7 since it was about 1/5th of the price.
About a year later when testing was done, my DX7 is around the same performance as a DAC3. Atleast to the point that there should be no audible difference between the two!
I have also contemplated buying the RME ADI-Pro2 that was tested here... but considering the performance available via so many products these days.... I'm just waiting for something bombshell like the THX AAA 789 I recently acquired (I'm glad I took the chance).