INVICTA MIRUS: reviews and thoughts.

[spacey]

These not much info out there regarding the MIRUS as of yet, but if you find anything please post links

 

Thought I’d start with this as there are a few Resonessence owners and fans on CA and some have asked what my thoughts are. I’ve restrained from posting a gushing first day review as from my experience it takes a little more time to quantify differences in audio when at this level. Most hi-fi is good, very good when you’re dropping 10-15K in a system, but sometimes you come across a product that becomes a ‘keeper’ and becomes a ‘collectors’ item. The MIRUS is this to me; as are my ATC25As and the totally solid state Shuttle XS36V. Even down to the pro cables used in my system.

 

In terms of the actual product:

 

The lid/cover has had more vents added to the sides, has the same amount on the top.

The OLED is white and has a different more refined look about it.

The blue LEDs have a slightly different hew about them, and the new DSD indicators are a nice touch. Although they’ve crammed another 2 LEDs making a total of 8, its looks better, more complete..

When I first saw pics of the MIRUS I though... Umm not sure about the white text where the HP inputs were and the DSD DXD logos looked a bit ‘out’ but in the metal it’s all very well considered and does actually look and feel like it supposed to be, not just a blanked out version of the INVICTA.

I know these two DACs are not the most photogenic but all-in-all, they both very skilfully bridge the ‘pro-sumer’ and look great to me!

 

 

The sound difference between the two:

 

Difficult to say as I’d already sent my INVICTA to its new owner when the MIRUS landed, which is why I’ve taken my time to get to know the sound.... To start with I’m not a big believer of a burn/run-in period. 24/ 48 hours should have all the electrolytic juices flowing. If it’s not settles in by then then you’re simply waiting to become accustomed to the signature sound of a product - IMHO.

Put simply; the differences are an extra bit of everything. More separation of instruments, soundstage is deeper with a sense of greater tactility. The bass is fuller yet just a agile and the extension seems to just sparkle a little more. I think these elements have become more prominent not because they’ve modified the sound, but because the background has become invisible. Making the picture clearer, more etched and defined around the edges.

Funnily enough this is where I found the INIVCTA to improve on others a year or so ago when reporting my findings back then, nice to see they’ve remained on top of their game and have set a new benchmark...

 

To sum up the differences:

 

Better built/looking - IMHO as this is subjective

Sounds the same but more dynamic, powerful and effortless. Digs deeper and climbs higher.

 

Taken from Resonessences Labs Website, the internal differences are:

 

Details: The internal construction of the INVICTA product line is modular, in fact we make use of physically separate modules to increase electrical isolation. The INVICTA consists of two primary analog modules: the DAC output module that drives the rear panel audio outputs, and the headphone driver module. The DAC output module has an ES9018 Sabre DAC and uses four channels in parallel for each stereo output. The INVICTA Mirus variant substitutes a second DAC output module for the headphone module. Hence it cannot provide a headphone output, but it can provide a total of eight ES9018 DAC channels for each stereo output. (It uses eight DAC channels to drive both the XLR (balanced) and the RCA (unbalanced) analog outputs.) You will read of other manufacturers who have also discovered that every time the Sabre DAC output channels are paralleled together performance improves. It is a unique feature of the Sabre DAC that its outputs can be added in this way (without the need for potentially noisy intermediate amplifiers). Doubling the number of channels reduces the noise by 3db. However, Resonessence does a little more. Firstly, we use a circuit level implementation that distributes the left and right channels equally between the Sabre chips, this ensures perfect channel to channel matching. And secondly, we actually also parallel the AD797 output amplifiers so that they also have their noise reduced by 3db at the same time. This second level of connectivity in parallel extends to the regulators as well: their noise goes down too.

 

Hope that helps make a more informed decision to any of you who are pondering a listen 

[Balis]

Thanks for the review. From what I understand the sound differences are not that big with the Invicta. More like they just sharpened all of the elements. I like the fact the sound stage seems deeper. I'd like to do an A/B with an Auralic Vega as they are very similar in their approach to treating the DACs.

 

BTW, have you tried DSD with the Mirus?

[spacey]

Not tried DSD/DXD yet. But I have some files on a different computer somewhere, which I'll put on the SDcard and have a play later. But so far really enjoying the USB/server based sounds I'm currently getting.

 

I figure the differences are down to the real and physical nature of the new dual-mono DAC boards, output transistors, and supply rails. as mentioned in the Resonessence Labs blurb above.

[NiHo]

Spacey,

I'd be interested if you can distinguish how much of the sound improvement is from the software upgrade to 5.0 and how much is due to the revised hardware. The software upgrade surprised me on my Invicta with its sound quality improvement. There is a meaningful improvement in both USB and with DSD, even when the later is played from a SD card.

 

Thanks,

 

Nigel

[spacey]

Nigel, that maybe difficult to absolutely quantify as I don't have the INVICTA anymore. But I did update that to V5 software a week before selling it. From memory, there are differences... Which I can only propose are because of the hardware changes and modifications the MIRUS has had which I've outlined above. Resonessence have put a fair bit of info regarding both DACs on their website and the MIRUS has a technical advantage over the INVICTA but doesn't have the same feature set. I don't use headphones so changing to the MIRUS was a no brainer for me

[NiHo]

Spacey,

Thanks for the response. Interesting how much change there has been with the enhanced hardware over what is by any standard an excellent product.

 

Nigel

[spacey]

Spacey,

Thanks for the response. Interesting how much change there has been with the enhanced hardware over what is by any standard an excellent product.

 

Nigel

 

Indeed - its why I found the differences hard to put in words. If the MIRUS wasn't XLR orientated or I needed headphone output/s I'd be perfectly happy with the INVICTA I had before.

[Digital Newbie]

Hi spacey

 

I am fairly new to digital audio and loving it. I have the Resonessence Concero HP feeding my Grado PS1000 headphones now and love it. I'm looking into a DAC for home use and have narrowed it down to an Invicta Gen 1 or Mirus. I can get the Invicta Gen 1 (original) for considerably less than the Mirus and I've been told would give me a step up headphone amplifier (from Concero HP) as well. That said I'd appreciate opinions and your thoughts on the purchase decision as I don't plan on changing out this stuff once bought and I'm told I'd hear a significant difference in sound between the two in my system (Esoteric DV50s disc player, Mastersound Compact 845 amp, Siltech cables, B&W 803d speakers, high end line conditioner). If I go the Mirus route I could always buy a headphone amplifier later for home use with the Mirus (but again more money). I'm struggling with the benefits versus the price difference. I guess that really makes me a green audiophile

 

Newbie

 

 

 

These not much info out there regarding the MIRUS as of yet, but if you find anything please post links

 

Thought I’d start with this as there are a few Resonessence owners and fans on CA and some have asked what my thoughts are. I’ve restrained from posting a gushing first day review as from my experience it takes a little more time to quantify differences in audio when at this level. Most hi-fi is good, very good when you’re dropping 10-15K in a system, but sometimes you come across a product that becomes a ‘keeper’ and becomes a ‘collectors’ item. The MIRUS is this to me; as are my ATC25As and the totally solid state Shuttle XS36V. Even down to the pro cables used in my system.

 

In terms of the actual product:

 

The lid/cover has had more vents added to the sides, has the same amount on the top.

The OLED is white and has a different more refined look about it.

The blue LEDs have a slightly different hew about them, and the new DSD indicators are a nice touch. Although they’ve crammed another 2 LEDs making a total of 8, its looks better, more complete..

When I first saw pics of the MIRUS I though... Umm not sure about the white text where the HP inputs were and the DSD DXD logos looked a bit ‘out’ but in the metal it’s all very well considered and does actually look and feel like it supposed to be, not just a blanked out version of the INVICTA.

I know these two DACs are not the most photogenic but all-in-all, they both very skilfully bridge the ‘pro-sumer’ and look great to me!

 

 

The sound difference between the two:

 

Difficult to say as I’d already sent my INVICTA to its new owner when the MIRUS landed, which is why I’ve taken my time to get to know the sound.... To start with I’m not a big believer of a burn/run-in period. 24/ 48 hours should have all the electrolytic juices flowing. If it’s not settles in by then then you’re simply waiting to become accustomed to the signature sound of a product - IMHO.

Put simply; the differences are an extra bit of everything. More separation of instruments, soundstage is deeper with a sense of greater tactility. The bass is fuller yet just a agile and the extension seems to just sparkle a little more. I think these elements have become more prominent not because they’ve modified the sound, but because the background has become invisible. Making the picture clearer, more etched and defined around the edges.

Funnily enough this is where I found the INIVCTA to improve on others a year or so ago when reporting my findings back then, nice to see they’ve remained on top of their game and have set a new benchmark...

 

To sum up the differences:

 

Better built/looking - IMHO as this is subjective

Sounds the same but more dynamic, powerful and effortless. Digs deeper and climbs higher.

 

Taken from Resonessences Labs Website, the internal differences are:

 

Details: The internal construction of the INVICTA product line is modular, in fact we make use of physically separate modules to increase electrical isolation. The INVICTA consists of two primary analog modules: the DAC output module that drives the rear panel audio outputs, and the headphone driver module. The DAC output module has an ES9018 Sabre DAC and uses four channels in parallel for each stereo output. The INVICTA Mirus variant substitutes a second DAC output module for the headphone module. Hence it cannot provide a headphone output, but it can provide a total of eight ES9018 DAC channels for each stereo output. (It uses eight DAC channels to drive both the XLR (balanced) and the RCA (unbalanced) analog outputs.) You will read of other manufacturers who have also discovered that every time the Sabre DAC output channels are paralleled together performance improves. It is a unique feature of the Sabre DAC that its outputs can be added in this way (without the need for potentially noisy intermediate amplifiers). Doubling the number of channels reduces the noise by 3db. However, Resonessence does a little more. Firstly, we use a circuit level implementation that distributes the left and right channels equally between the Sabre chips, this ensures perfect channel to channel matching. And secondly, we actually also parallel the AD797 output amplifiers so that they also have their noise reduced by 3db at the same time. This second level of connectivity in parallel extends to the regulators as well: their noise goes down too.

 

Hope that helps make a more informed decision to any of you who are pondering a listen 