Amr dp-777

[reignofchaos]

So anyone heard this DAC? Heard really good reviews from an experienced forum member. This is a DAC with dual DAC chips and paths inside - one 44/16 non oversampling path and a 32/384 HD audio path. Pretty much every single review is extremely glowing. Also pretty much every review talks about extreme value for money at the 4999$ price.

If anyone has experience with this DAC, a few words will be extremely helpful.

 

[IndianEars]

I have not heard this DAC, unfiortunaterly, even though it was on my short list of DACs.

Unfortunately for me, all the reviews point at a Strong NOS sound ... which is not really up my street......

Just make sure the NOS sound is for you.....

 

[arj]

it is on my wish list but never heard it although will not have a problem buying it blind from what i could make out
It is supposed to be very organic ( not the most accurate although the term accurate has many interpretations) and tonally rich as that has been the design focus
Has predefined options around filters to "Tune"
Has an USB input and SPDIF both of which are well regarded
Has a extremely well designed power supply
Is usually loved by the Hi Efficiency/Single Driver or Horn philosophy folks.

 

[reignofchaos]

I had a very decent Audio Zone (Peter Daniel) DAC before my current Ayon player so one might say, I'm intimately familiar with NOS sound. I like it and in the right setup, it can sound fantastic. This apparently is the very best of that philosophy and one also has a normal delta sigma converter for high res.

Thanks for your inputs! There seems to be an SE version that was demo'ed at CES. I wonder how that one will be. If I had a way to hear it before buying, would have been perfect. But unfortunately we live in a country which doesn't offer such conveniences :-(.

 

[ranjeetrain]

RoC, I haven't heard the AMR DP-777 but I've heard many a top flight DACs and based on those experiences I can say with great conviction that the difference among DAC performance narrows down extremely once you cross the USD 4-5k bracket.

By now, I have also learned that you can buy a DAC blinded, so long as you know two things:

(1) What is the presentation of the DAC.
(2) Whether that presentation will go with the rest of your system/is to your liking.

Currently I have 3 DACs at different price points, and they all change the signature of my system accordingly. However, none of them turns another's signature upside down. They just do slightly different things. And believe me or not, despite the order of magnitude difference among their prices, I can live with any. So narrow has become the gap that any good DAC, once it qualifies as good, sounds good as long as they are in appropriate chain.

Among the top flight DACs I have heard dCS, Goldmund, MBL, Weiss etc. They all sounded great. There was little to fault with them. Choosing one over the other among them for me would just be a matter of system matching.

Going back to the challenge of choosing a DAC blindly, I'd say, it's much safer compared to choosing an amp or speakers blindly. To choose a DAC blindly think over the two points I listed above and you would be safe.

Oh by the way, the most musical DAC I ever heard was none of those expensive DACs, it was a Sonic Frontier. So, if musicality is your thing, hunt down a Sonic Frontier DAC and enjoy a bliss for not that much money. Another good musical DAC at real world prices is Ayon. If money is no object then Goldmund or dCS.

 

[reignofchaos]

Thank you Ranjeet for the detailed reply. Yes I completely agree with you that the presentation of the DAC must be to one's liking and that matters the most. The Ayon Skylla is available locally from a D&D with whom I'm very close. However I wanted some other flavor of sound after living with an Ayon for a while. In any case I plan to retain my existing ayon cd player and use it as a transport so that'll give my Ayon fix if the need be.

As for Sonic Frontiers, the only one I've heard is a modified Assemblage 2.7 and it didn't go up my alley. It was a bit too dry for my taste. Maybe there was an issue with synergy or maybe the mods made it something else. Can't really be sure.

Another thing I've noted is that pretty much every DAC/CD Player I've loved so far has had either a passive or a tube output stage. Still to chance upon a solid state DAC that I have completely fallen for.

 

[sidvee]

The Ayon Skylla is available locally from a D&D with whom I'm very close. However I wanted some other flavor of sound after living with an Ayon for a while.

@ROC just my opinion, the skylla is in a different league when compared to internal DAC's of 1s and 2s. If fact it is the built in DAC for the 5s. Bass xtension, textures, tightness is superior, resolution is more fine grained (actually total absence of grain in presentation), immediacy is startling and overall sound is more hi-fi. I have compared to a highly regarded $5k pro DAC, and Skylla was significantly superior. At least in its price range it is the best DAC I have heard. Another thing Skylla is discontinued now, replaced by Stealth (and another model) which I believe is $2k more. However pre-owned are available, though not sure in India.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[ranjeetrain]

As for Sonic Frontiers, the only one I've heard is a modified Assemblage 2.7 and it didn't go up my alley. It was a bit too dry for my taste. Maybe there was an issue with synergy or maybe the mods made it something else. Can't really be sure.

I haven't heard the Assemblage, so no idea what was going on there. But if you look a bit up their line the SFD-2 is an utterly gorgeous sounding DAC that ticks all the boxes. Dry sounding is the last thing one could use for them.

The only thing it won't do is material higher than 24/96. If you don't have much material above 24/96, it could be a great DAC for very little money. Personally I would have got one if it was easily carry-able. But it's neither small nor light, it looks and weighs like an amp.

 

[prem]

Sonic Frontiers is very nice. I had it for a very very short time in early 2000. Is it still in production?

 

[reignofchaos]

I haven't heard the Assemblage, so no idea what was going on there. But if you look a bit up their line the SFD-2 is an utterly gorgeous sounding DAC that ticks all the boxes. Dry sounding is the last thing one could use for them.

The only thing it won't do is material higher than 24/96. If you don't have much material above 24/96, it could be a great DAC for very little money. Personally I would have got one if it was easily carry-able. But it's neither small nor light, it looks and weighs like an amp.

Wasn't aware of the SFD-2 but searching for it yields a device bigger than most power amps. PCM1704 based with a tube output stage. I'm sure it'll sound very very good. Problem though is finding one and then carrying/shipping it here.

 

[prem]

I always liked the PCM 1704 to the modern chips. Esoteric on their top of the line P01 and D 01 still use the 1704 chip. I always made sure the Esoteric I was buying had that chip. Even today if I were to go back to digital I would hunt for a dac with the 1704 chip.

 

[ranjeetrain]

No Prem, Sonic Frontiers is no longer active. For some reason they seem to have given into Anthem. Not sure if it was an M&A or something else. But as a brand SF is nearly dead.

These products don't seem to be in production any more, but it isn't impossible to find one in good shape. I have seen many pieces in good cosmetic and functional shape for sale at various places in China. However, asking price in China is way high compared to NA.

As for the sound, it was a Stereophile class A component and considered a true challenger to the ML No. 30 considered the best DAC of it's time by most.

 

[prem]

Hi Ranjeetrain

Am not sure if the ML dac was superior to the SF dac. I have had both. I settled for the ML dac because it mated better with their transport

 

[ranjeetrain]

Prem, I didn't claim the ML was superior. Rather I meant the industry at large took ML as a better DAC. Apparently due to brand value (?) I'm not sure.

 

[prem]

Ranjeetrain, I was referring to the general opinion that ML was superior

 

[square_wave]

ROC, You should seriously consider the AP dac too. It is one of the best products they make and competes with some of the best out there.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Can't say, Prem. As I haven't heard the entire lineup of ML. Though in modern times they have been outdone conclusively by other players. The Sonic Frontiers DAC we are talking about was just one of the products that challenged it's ML equivalent. Though a lot of ML owners might disagree with the notion.

 

[IndianEars]

FWIW, to me the starting point of selecting a DAC is the :

1. The Quality level you want. Personally, I feel that for DACs ... you pay peanuts, you get monkeys ! For over 1 year I searched for a DAC around the Rs 1 Lakh price point and did not find anything to satisfy my expectations. I finially bought a Chord QBD 76 HDSD DAC - MRP = GBP 5,000. I am very happy with it.

IMHO its a completely different animal from a Non Over Sampling DAC sound ( which is not up my street).

2. Each Hi Fi brand usually has a house sound, and that is a great help in eliminating or short listing products based on the sound that you are looking for. For example if I do not like the House sound of a ML or SF CD player, I most probably will not like the sound of its DAC either, of that era...

Higher end models in the same brand typically will add refinement but the 'House Sound' usually is un-mistake-ably similar.

To my ears that holds very well for AP also. All their products have a sound synergy..... some love it some may not.

 

[reignofchaos]

Just an update - should be getting an AMR DP-777 soon. This is the biggest blind purchase I have made till date. But I trust Abhi(Dr Bass)'s ears enough to believe him when he says that this is the best digital source he has heard till now.

 

[arj]

Just an update - should be getting an AMR DP-777 soon. This is the biggest blind purchase I have made till date. But I trust Abhi(Dr Bass)'s ears enough to believe him when he says that this is the best digital source he has heard till now.

Congrats ROC ! is this the one which was for sale at Audionote ? Am sure you will not regret it .