TA, my primary DAC is the Sigma 1+2 diy model from AMB.org which bumped my previous models... an Arcam rDAC and then a Topping D30. It's a very compact unit which also has three sound adjustment filters and it has a sparkly, non-fatiguing high end with a generally warm but not muddy lower end along with a great sense of spaciousness. I prefer this DAC for classical & jazz over the Abbado which, no matter what pre-amp I feed it into, still sounds too neutral for my preference. I've even changed the two output caps on it (Silmic II we're the worst just dulling everything) along with trying different film caps as bypass (all WIMA types) and really couldn't make a drastic change in warmth, richness or overall sound character. All of Richard's stock components really couldn't be improved upon. My preamps are just circuits with gain (Wayne's BA2018 or Nelson Pass' BA3) and don't contain any frequency adjustments. I don't know if Richard could integrate an opamp into this circuit somewhere (if that's even reasonable for what he wanted to achieve; I'm probably saying something electronically stupid here) to allow adjustments in sound character. It has a dead quiet background. I thank Richard for the opportunity to try this DAC out.
Cheers, Pete
Received the Abbado II DAC last night and powered it up today just to test. Used some cheap jumpers to make connections and a simple PSU powering the DAC.
This DAC has a very dark background and initial impressions are positive. It sounded fantastic with the couple of songs i played. may be a good PSU and Cables will definitely enhance things that its doing good already.
Thank you Richard for the great packaging and a fantastic DAC.
This DAC has a very dark background and initial impressions are positive. It sounded fantastic with the couple of songs i played. may be a good PSU and Cables will definitely enhance things that its doing good already.
Thank you Richard for the great packaging and a fantastic DAC.
Its W-Input by Tomi Nihtila. Its an excellent module and i found this to be one of best module that i could get my hands on.
More info here - https://nihtila.com/?s=W-Input
More info here - https://nihtila.com/?s=W-Input
I did some detailed listening on this dac.
The tiny nuances are excellent. As @turion64 rightly mentioned earlier the dac is clean and has a black background which I feel can be further improved with a better psu.
I did power the Deca from Richard earlier using Salas Ultrabib and it made tremendous improvements and I am sure this one too would benefit from a good power supply to a larger extent.
The overall presentation is warm and yet quite detailed. Can hear those tiny details and that makes this a perfect companion for a fatigue free long listening sessions. The bass is good and fast. Noticed better bass depth than my Yiggy A1 but does not have a higher treble extension like the Yiggy (which the A1 is known for) which can get a bit annoying sometimes but this dac does not lack treble at all. It’s a total all rounder IMO and I felt this to be a good addition to the PreCeeBee V5.
More sounds like the A2 in my opinion.
The tiny nuances are excellent. As @turion64 rightly mentioned earlier the dac is clean and has a black background which I feel can be further improved with a better psu.
I did power the Deca from Richard earlier using Salas Ultrabib and it made tremendous improvements and I am sure this one too would benefit from a good power supply to a larger extent.
The overall presentation is warm and yet quite detailed. Can hear those tiny details and that makes this a perfect companion for a fatigue free long listening sessions. The bass is good and fast. Noticed better bass depth than my Yiggy A1 but does not have a higher treble extension like the Yiggy (which the A1 is known for) which can get a bit annoying sometimes but this dac does not lack treble at all. It’s a total all rounder IMO and I felt this to be a good addition to the PreCeeBee V5.
More sounds like the A2 in my opinion.
Hi Richard
for USB -> I2S interface what do you recommend according to your experience? I found JlSound I2SoverUSB v.III Fully Isolated outputs with many options. Some people prefer AS318B like this on Alibaba : USB compatible digital interface AS318B PCM1536 DSD1024 Amanero Italy XMOS turn I2S. For future If I decide to change my system from passive to active USB -> I2S card should be multichannel. Is possible to connect 3 Abbado boards on one multichannel source like MCHStreamer(MiniDSP)?
for USB -> I2S interface what do you recommend according to your experience? I found JlSound I2SoverUSB v.III Fully Isolated outputs with many options. Some people prefer AS318B like this on Alibaba : USB compatible digital interface AS318B PCM1536 DSD1024 Amanero Italy XMOS turn I2S. For future If I decide to change my system from passive to active USB -> I2S card should be multichannel. Is possible to connect 3 Abbado boards on one multichannel source like MCHStreamer(MiniDSP)?
These days I tend to prefer USB interfaces that run at full-speed (rather than high-speed) because the isolator for full-speed is very cheap. Most recently I've found a board on Taobao using QSC5125 which handles Bluetooth as well as full-speed USB which is jolly convenient. However I can't find it on Aliexpress.
If you don't mind paying for a high-speed USB isolator then CM6631A is a solid choice.
Does the miniDSP streamer have dedicated I2S outputs for each DAC or only a single multiplexed output? If the former then connecting 3 Abbados should be straightforward.
If you don't mind paying for a high-speed USB isolator then CM6631A is a solid choice.
Does the miniDSP streamer have dedicated I2S outputs for each DAC or only a single multiplexed output? If the former then connecting 3 Abbados should be straightforward.
Yeah Richard. This one indeed sounds exactly like the A2. Has the same level of sound I am unable to differentiate between the two. This is good news atleast for me 😁.
Hi @turion64 and @Destroyer OS , I actually had the chance to compare Richard's DAC against my friend's Chord Hugo (not Hugo II). I have owned Richard's Celibidache TDA1387 20x TDA1387 NOS DAC which shares similarities to Abbado II. Celi has 20 chips while Abbado II has 24, also the Celi has a 9th order filter instead of a 5th order on Abbado II. Regardless of their difference, Richard said that they are similar, though Abbado II has better SNR.
Disclaimer to my review, please note that this is my (and my friend's) subjective review. We are not paid or endorsed by Richard or anyone in this review by any means.
The Celi is run by a custom amorphous C core linear power supply with Richard's 24V AC to DC module and had its data fed through a Savitech (SA9xxx, forgot the model number) USB board. Comparing Celi to Chord Hugo, Celi has a warmer tonality than Chord Hugo which sounds a tad brighter. Celi surpassed Chord Hugo by a huge margin in terms of timbre which the Celi sounds more realistic and 'organic'. On technicalities, there is a feeling of distinguishable air, depth, and imaging between instruments on Celi compared to Hugo. Celi also has more details and clarity than the Chord Hugo, which is actually a field that Chord Hugo is known to excel for in its price range. If people had the chance to compare both DACs, I think most people would surely go with Celi than Hugo, with an exception to those who like a neutral to a tad-bright tonality of Hugo and its seemingly wider soundstage by a small margin relative to Celi.
In terms of cost-performance, Celi is a bargain, I think even more so for Abbado II. Now I don't own the Celi anymore because my friend who owned the Hugo somehow successfully forced me to sell my Celi to him, subsequently he did sell the Hugo too. I am going to receive the order on Richard's PCM58 DAC + Dark LED I/V later on as the replacement for Celi. I have huge expectations for this DAC.
Thanks for reading, cheers!
Hi Vunce - yes, that is one of the implementations of CM6631A I've tried.
My first CM6631A was this one - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32812169752.html
My first CM6631A was this one - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32812169752.html