What items have you purchased as a result of ASR?

[richard12511]

ASR would have got the blame for me buying a Topping DX7 Pro if it hadn't turned out to be the most fantastic bit of kit.

My second DAC actually, (first was a Rasberry Pi hat from Fleabay) and now partnered very happily with a pair of JBL 306P Active Studio Monitors

Very satisfied and left wondering if I could actually hear the difference if I spent two to five times the budget ?

Thanks for being there, to everyone at ASR

I would say it depends on the feature set of that DAC that costs two to five times as much. Would it allow you to introduce extra channels? better DSP? easier connection to other electronics in your house? easier streaming? Those things could make it sound better and improve quality of life. The DAC itself will sound the same, though, so I wouldn't buy if all you're after is better sound quality. In my opinion, I don't think DACs should be purchased on the merit of sound quality, but rather for the additional use cases they can provide. If all you're after is sound quality, then even the Topping DX7 Pro is waste of money(piggy bank panther). DACs with equal sound quality to the Topping can be purchased for as little as $8.

 

[ENG]

Topping D70
Topping D90
MiniDSP OpenDRC-DI - two pieces, each for D70 and D90
Yamaha R-N803
ELAC DEBUT REF. DBR-62 x 2

Then I will sell two DACs, bought before I knew of ASR.
I am happy for the forum and (mostly) the high level
of knowledge and maturity.

 

[Head_Unit]

Denon AVR-3600h, *supposed* to ship soon after a delay. Hopefully COVID is getting contained in Vietnam!

 

[preload]

Denon AVR-X3600H
Meizu Hifi Pro dongle

 

[Morla]

Bought the sgd1 unit from this guy https://audio-monkeys.com/dac/soncoz-sgd1-en/

Unfortunately 2 of the spacers for the board under the transformers were pushed down through the case so I had to put poor man's spacers (cut down zip ties) there to pull it back into the case. Also one screw for the main board was missing completely.

Put that apart I like the unit. Reset, set up ESPTouch for the mobile hotspot was easy. Using an Android phone to bluetooth has apt x hd enabled. Wonder why there is not extra mark for using LDAC even tho the phone supports it.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Well guess the E30 was not meant to be. Was supposed to arrive today, but got Amazon cancellation email instead.
Should have been more skeptical when the promise date was better than anywhere else. Since my Hypex amp did not work out either, may be time to reconsider my plans!

reordered the Topping E30 a couple of days ago and just arrived. Very pleased!

 

[scribley0]

. DACs with equal sound quality to the Topping can be purchased for as little as $8.

No one rose to that somewhat provocational statement, whilst my own perception is that quality improvements are logarithmically proportional to money spent, (By which I mean you have to spend double the budget to get a 10% improvement) I find it hard to accept that leaving aside the feature set and basing the comparison on audio quality - a $500 Topping DX7 Pro gjves me no better sound than an $8 DAC hat on a Raspberry Pi ? (Or similar). You seem to be saying that anyone that spends over $8 is somehow misguided ?

 

[richard12511]

I find it hard to accept that leaving aside the feature set and basing the comparison on audio quality - a $500 Topping DX7 Pro gjves me no better sound than an $8 DAC hat on a Raspberry Pi ? (Or similar).

I was referring to the $8 Apple Dongle here. In the context of human ears, it is correct to say that the $500 Topping DX7 offers you no better sound than the $8 DAC. You can test for yourself, though. Go try that test and see if you can pass it. If you can, then maybe you really can hear a difference between the Apple and the Topping(as the Topping does measure better). So far, no one has passed the test.

Sound quality is but one aspect of DAC comparisons, though, and by far the least important, imo(unless one has terrible measurements, they all sound the same). Unfortunately, it seems to be the aspect that reviewers focus on the most, despite being heavily driven by expectation bias.

You seem to be saying that anyone that spends over $8 is somehow misguided ?

Not at all. The Topping does MANY things that the $8 apple dongle doesn't. I'm thinking of buying one myself. It will make my current office setup much more user friendly than it is atm. Also, I just like supporting good engineering. I know it won't sound any better, but I look at it kinda like donating money to an engineering society, and as a bonus, they give me a device that makes my connection situation much easier.

 

[Dialectic]

We need to add a what components have you sold as a result of ASR thread.

 

[majingotan]

I was referring to the $8 Apple Dongle here. In the context of human ears, it is correct to say that the $500 Topping DX7 offers you no better sound than the $8 DAC. You can test for yourself, though. Go try that test and see if you can pass it. If you can, then maybe you really can hear a difference between the Apple and the Topping(as the Topping does measure better). So far, no one has passed the test.

Sound quality is but one aspect of DAC comparisons, though, and by far the least important, imo(unless one has terrible measurements, they all sound the same). Unfortunately, it seems to be the aspect that reviewers focus on the most, despite being heavily driven by expectation bias.



Not at all. The Topping does MANY things that the $8 apple dongle doesn't. I'm thinking of buying one myself. It will make my current office setup much more user friendly than it is atm. Also, I just like supporting good engineering. I know it won't sound any better, but I look at it kinda like donating money to an engineering society, and as a bonus, they give me a device that makes my connection situation much easier.

Caveat is that both Apple Dongle and DX7 are used as DACs fed to a unit that does not have a load (i.e. an amp). If you're driving a load (aka inefficient transducers) directly to the Apple Dongle and DX7, you will hear the sonic difference due to better amplification from the DX7

 

[zelig]

I bought some gold plated bananas. I paid a fortune for them. However i later reread the recommendation and when I scrolled to the right there it was... " plugs". Duh!

 

[KeithPhantom]

I bought my Magni Heresy and my Sanskrit 10th Mk.II after reading the measurement of my Asgard 3 with an AK4490 add-in card (horrible DAC). When I put the Asgard to sale, I didn't think it will sell through eBay, but it was the fastest-selling item I've ever sold.

 

[Kuppenbender]

Bought a pair of PMC Twenty5.21’s (ex-display, half-price). Very pleased with them and myself, not least because my wife didn’t notice the stealth upgrade from a pair of Qacoustics 3020’s. Two weeks later Amir reviews the previous version. Torrential rain causes a landslide and catastrophic flooding on my metaphorical parade. Everybody drowns.

Back on topic, a Soncoz SGD1 just arrived today, and I have an Audiophonics MPA-S250NC XLR on order. This on the basis of the IOM NCore Pro review (same Hypex modules).

I’ll be keeping the PMC’s though!

 

[Gphoton]

Paradigm PW-Link for room correction
Topping E30
VTV Purifi Amp

 

[posvibes]

JBL LSR305p mkii's arrived yesterday but cables arrive next week. My first venture into powered speakers.

So we'll see if my judgement has been well placed.

Also ASR was a touchstone for my purchase of a Topping D30 DAC.

 

[BillH]

I just got the Revel M105. They are excellent!

 

[scribley0]

JBL LSR305p mkii's arrived yesterday but cables arrive next week. My first venture into powered speakers.

So we'll see if my judgement has been well placed.

Also ASR was a touchstone for my purchase of a Topping D30 DAC.

From my own recent experience you are going to be really pleased - For me, a decent DAC + Powered Speakers has proved to be a winning combo. I did find that had to make a further investment in speaker stands to get the placement right & the best from my own JBL's YMMV

 

[JSHamlet234]

I could probably come up with a much longer list of products that I have not purchased because of ASR. It's nice to have detailed objective data when it's becoming harder and harder to actually demo audio equipment before buying.

I did recently pick up a Dayton APA-150 based on the review here, just in case my c. 1991 vintage Yamaha RX-950 ever gives up the ghost. The review here wasn't glowing per se, but I decided that it would meet my needs. Even though I'm not presently using it, I hooked it up, and it sounded quite good [as expected].

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Topping D10
Schiit Heresy
Topping E30
Elac DBR62

 

[Fledermaus]

Topping D30
RME ADI2-DAC
Benchmark AHB2
All giving full satisfaction from day 1.

+ on my way to purchasing 4 channels of Purifi amplification, in some form or other.

Items sold : a number of esoteric preamps, DACs and cables...