Audio GD NB2 24/96

[Andrew S.]

I'm always a sucker for a over performing under priced dac. This is one nice unit. $450 delivered and it's a cracker. USB is strong with clear deep bass. Utterly musical it's got all the detail I need. At least as good as a Lavry Da10. Everything that piece of dog poo Arcam rDac wasn't.

 

Great fun. Will be comparing it with the Audio Gd Ref7 a mate has bought in a week or two.

 

[Marcin_gps]

Looking forward to your comparison. I am very interested in Ref7. Currently I have a dCS Elgar Plus DAC in my system, but I prefer the sound of cheap Cantatis Overture!!! dCS is very detailed, but sounds dry. Cantatis sounds more lifelike and organic. I didn't know it's such a great value. It's dual PCM1792 based (similar to Weiss DAC2 which is PCM1794 AFAIK?), discrete design, four stage analogue power supplies. I'm sure it could compete with 10 times more expensive external DACs.

 

[Andrew S.]

Yes I have heard a dCS Elgar + Purcell many times on 57's with tubes and it is dry - like the Lio 8 - amazing - but about as involving as gumboot. I'll let you know about the Ref 7. So far I'm happy with the NB2. Very happy.

 

[aljordan]

The Reference 7 is not dry sounding, but it does have a rather detailed, linear presentation. If you like the more full midband presentation of tube DACs, you may not like the Reference 7. This is not a criticism of the Ref 7, as I think its a great sounding DAC, but it is designed to be more truthful than coloring to please.

 

In my experience, it takes about a week for initial break-in; some people say 400 hours but I'd say more like 40 or 50 hours. It also sounds better after it has been on for a couple hours in day to day usage. Depending on how you feed the Ref 7, you might experiment with bypassing the PLL as it does change the flavor of the DAC a bit.

 

Alan