Mola Mola Pre/dac review compared to DAVE dac

[Marcel073]

15 minutes ago, yyz said:

I have owned the AHB2 and DAC3 together. It was paired with the KEF LS50 or Audience 1+1 V3 monitor speakers. The sound was very fast and resolving and non-fatiguing. With the Audience 1+1 it sounded like you were inside the recording studio. However, I ended up selling all of the gear except the KEF LS50. The reason for the sale was that I took the Benchmark DAC3 and AHB2 set to demo the Magico A3 speaker at a great dealer room. I was able to compare the DAC3 + AHB2 with various Mark Levinson pre-amp | amp | integrated combinations + Chrod DAVE DAC. The Mark Levinson gear had a much better ability to move the sound away from the speakers and better fill the sound stage. I did not notice this quality so much with the monitor speakers but with the floor stander Magico A3 I did. THe DAC3 + AHB2 was also not great at lower volumes while the ML gear was very good at low volumes.

 

I have decided to go for an integrated amp to power the Magico A3 or KEF Reference 1 I will get for my home office. I am trying to decide between the Mark Levinson 585 (or newer lower powered ML integrated line) or the Hegel H590. I have heard various Hegel demoed with KEF Blades (except H590) and my suspicion is I will select the Hegel over the Mark Levinson.

 

DAC I have not yet decided on, but because of the AHB2 their DAC3 is on my list in addition to the Tambaqui from Mola-Mola, the NADAC from Merging, the DirectStream from PS Audio and the Vega G2 from Auralic.

 

The combo of KEF and Hegel is a no-brainer given they are owned by the same Chinese company GP Acoustics. I do like the Blade Two but I am not really a fan of Hegel. Three weeks ago I heard the 590 with a pair of the new R11. Of course it could well be that the 590 sounds great on your Magico's.

 

The generic difficulty in combining the various components and one of the reasons why some people told me to look at high-end actives such as Kii Three and D&D 8c ...

 

Anyway, good to read about the power / headroom of the AHB. With 100 W in 8 Ohm that worried me too when compared to the others on my list who all have 250 to 350 W in 8 Ohm ... That said, the room they have to be in is no more than 23 m2, so the most important is the quality at low listening levels.

 

 

[yyz]

Interesting that you were not impressed by the H590. I sent an email to the USA distributor earlier today to locate a west coast USA dealer so I can have a listen.

 

I am also big on system synergy now after years of using components from various vendors. That is why I am looking at integrated amps and in the past owned the Benchmark DAC3 + AHB2 combo. The Mola-Mola amp + DAC + preamp  would be the way I would go if I went Mola-Mola. However, I have decided to try something other than class D since I already owned a Peachtree Nova 150 integrated  (though not in the same standard  of the Mola-Mola). I will be upgrading that to a Nova 500 in Spring 2019.

[Marcel073]

I do not need a pre-amp as I am "digital only". Hence I am considering plugging the M-M Tambaqui DAC - which already is or soon will be a Roon endpoint - straight into the Kaluga's.

 

If you need a pre-amp though and opt for the M-M Makua you can add their DAC board and then do not need the Tambaqui standalone DAC.

[yyz]

At one time, I was of the opinion that I did not need a preamp. I went DAC direct into my amp for several years with my office system. However, after some experimenting I found I preferred a analog preamp stage in my digital systems. That is why I am looking at integrated amps with a built-in DAC.  

[PYP]

Marcel,

The Kalugas replaced a NAD M22.  NAD is very, very good for the cost, but not in the same league as the Kalugas.  Haven't tried the others you mentioned.  I have come to the same conclusion about system matching, therefore I'm very interested in the Tambaqui.  

 

Personally, I think that the whole systems in a speaker - like the Kii - is the future; however, I have not heard them (no US distributor I believe) or any such system, so it is just theorizing on my part.  The Kii seems to have added a woofer module that the bookshelf speaker sits on, which seems like a very good trend.  Hope your search goes well.  

[firedog]

16 hours ago, PYP said:

Personally, I think that the whole systems in a speaker - like the Kii - is the future; however, I have not heard them (no US distributor I believe) or any such system, so it is just theorizing on my part.  The Kii seems to have added a woofer module that the bookshelf speaker sits on, which seems like a very good trend.  Hope your search goes well.  

Of course there is are US distributors/dealers:

https://kiiaudio.com/dealers.php

[Marcel073]

16 hours ago, PYP said:

Marcel,

The Kalugas replaced a NAD M22.  NAD is very, very good for the cost, but not in the same league as the Kalugas.  Haven't tried the others you mentioned.  I have come to the same conclusion about system matching, therefore I'm very interested in the Tambaqui.  

 

Personally, I think that the whole systems in a speaker - like the Kii - is the future; however, I have not heard them (no US distributor I believe) or any such system, so it is just theorizing on my part.  The Kii seems to have added a woofer module that the bookshelf speaker sits on, which seems like a very good trend.  Hope your search goes well.  

 

If you opt for matching M-M then a pair of Kaluga's with the Tambaqui will not disappoint you I think. I've heard the combo three times at different hifi shows, though always with a Vivid Kaya 45. Not sure how it "pairs" with different brand speakers.

 

As already mentioned by @firedog Kii do have distribution in the US.

I've heard the Kii's also two or three times and was always impressed.

And that is the reason why I am in doubt whether to go for Class D amplification with passive speakers (M-M and Vivid) or in actives (Kii or D&D).

I'm in the lucky circumstance that this Friday I can attend a listening session where a hifi-shop demonstrates the regular Kii and compares it to a set that includes the Bass eXTension (BXT) module.

[Marcel073]

@yyz

But why?

 

If you had to plug in a vinyl player an analog input is required, but in digital only I do not see why. Did you experience noticeable differences in SQ?

 

[PYP]

6 hours ago, Marcel073 said:

I'm in the lucky circumstance that this Friday I can attend a listening session where a hifi-shop demonstrates the regular Kii and compares it to a set that includes the Bass eXTension (BXT) module.

Please let us know how that goes.  I understand your (wonderful) dilemma.  

[yyz]

The reason I like an analog preamp is that I found the sound with a dedicated analog preamp better than without. The volume at low levels (which is important since I have a toddler and I work at home late at night) was not as good direct to amp from a DAC vs having  an analog volume control. I also have some analog inputs but even the digital streaming and flac files suffered the volume issue for me. 

 

Now I am someone who has been doing digital files since about 2004 and I have had many years of systems doing direct to preamp (Benchmark DACs) and also with a decent analog preamp (BAT VK-42SE). The preamp always made it sound fuller and the volume was better across all decibel levels.

 

When I recently did the head-to-head comparison with direct to amp vs the Mark Levinson stack gear I finally decided to go back to an analog preamp (put my stuff to sell the next day). I am actually going to go to high-end integrated as I believe in 2018 those maybe even better now than the corresponding separates.

 

Just my preference.

[Marcel073]

2 hours ago, PYP said:

Please let us know how that goes.  I understand your (wonderful) dilemma.  

I will.

[presmara]

I have had the same experience as yyz with digital volume controls. I had a Weiss DAC202 for a long time and eventually bought a Tortuga preamp to improve the sound quality particularly at low volume, it improved the transparency. When looking to upgrade from the Weiss DAC I found every digital volume control had a negative affect on the SQ even on the DAVE. Eventually I came across the Mola Mola Makua DAC and it blew me away at the level of transparency, PRAT and involvement and was a big step up from the Weiss/Tortuga. It simpflied my system got rid of the separate preamp and one set of interconnects. I am looking forward to hearing the Tambaqui to see if Bruno has done something 'magical' with its digital volume control. 

[Ralf11]

On 12/1/2018 at 11:41 PM, Marcel073 said:

The Tambaqui is being sold, at least in the Netherlands.

 

at what price - in US Dollars if you know?

[Marcel073]

With a conversion rate of 1,14 the Tambaqui sets you back around USD 11.390.

If you need the Make pre-amp including the DAC board the total is approx USD 16.510.

[audio.bill]

Actual US pricing is determined by the distributor and is often significantly higher than the standard conversion rate would indicate.

[Marcel073]

You are probably right about that.

I see the same thing happening with US brands being sold in Europe.

I just wanted to give an indication.

[audio.bill]

5 hours ago, Marcel073 said:

You are probably right about that.

I see the same thing happening with US brands being sold in Europe.

I just wanted to give an indication.

Your input on their pricing is still helpful to prospective buyers and much appreciated. 

[rickca]

13 hours ago, Marcel073 said:

With a conversion rate of 1,14 the Tambaqui sets you back around USD 11.390.

USA price of Tambaqui is $13,400.  That's the price I got from GTT Audio.

[Hyperion]

On 12/2/2018 at 8:41 AM, Marcel073 said:

The Tambaqui is being sold, at least in the Netherlands.

 

We're receiving the Tambaqui this week here in Stockholm/Sweden. The Roon certification is still ongoing though.

 

/ Marcus, www.perfect-sense.se

 

[jtwrace]

It's an amazing piece.  

[PYP]

1 hour ago, jtwrace said:

It's an amazing piece.  

 

 

Ok, that is a good start, lucky dog.  Hope you are having fun.  

 

Is this a demo with some hours on it or are you listening to a new one?  When you have a chance, please let us know how it compares to the PS DS (presumably with snowmass OS).  Are you using the ethernet input?  

[jtwrace]

23 minutes ago, PYP said:

Ok, that is a good start, lucky dog.  Hope you are having fun.  

 

Is this a demo with some hours on it or are you listening to a new one?  When you have a chance, please let us know how it compares to the PS DS (presumably with snowmass OS).  Are you using the ethernet input?  

Yes, fun is quite the understatement.  I'm shocked honestly.  The DS is quite good, by far the best dac I've ever heard up until this point.  Just never thought I'd be hearing what I'm hearing.  Yes, DS has Snowmass.  Starting with USB actually with Allo and Roon.  Since people love pics.  Front of dac and then the App on iOS which works incredibly well.  I love it!.  Volume leveling in Roon and the App are perfect together.  

 

 

[PYP]

Thanks for the pics and info.  Looking forward to reading more about your impressions.  Bruno's amps redefined what I thought was possible and seems like the Tambaqui will do the same.  

 

Was hoping there was a remote too, since my wife prefers that kind of control.  Not a deal breaker.  

[jtwrace]

1 hour ago, PYP said:

Thanks for the pics and info.  Looking forward to reading more about your impressions.  Bruno's amps redefined what I thought was possible and seems like the Tambaqui will do the same.  

 

Was hoping there was a remote too, since my wife prefers that kind of control.  Not a deal breaker.  

There's an Apple remote if that helps.  The iOS app has full remote capability too.  Last, they do give the codes for it in the manual if you wanted to use something else.  

[presmara]

I have the apple remote and the iOS app with my Makua and much prefer the app to the apple remote which I run my from iPad along with controlling the music server through Roon. My wife uses the iPad and loves the iOS app and Roon, very easy to use.