Imported the latest offering from ECDesigns, the Power DAC B. Along with it the UT92, the Xmos based USB to Optical converter.
Cables included: The power cable to DAC, optical and usb for the converter.
DAC and converter are sleek, simple brushed aluminum finish chassis and short, simple cables, which mean business and nothing fancy here.
And guess what, which ever premium cables I tried using, killed the sonics. So I realized there is no point wasting time, rather give it a good listen using the stock cables.
Well I already own the R version and the difference between the both R and B sonics is none except:
R comes with a remote and you can vary volume from mute to max and check for bit rate perfection.
R drives headphones very well coz of remote.
R has power supply in separate chassis. Like an adapter.
My chain: Windows laptop with JRiver, mostly streaming Spotify premium. ECDesigns Power SAC B, DHT Tube Preamplifier 6L6 Tube Amplifier monoblocks, DIY BS 2 way 89dB.
A little about DAC B: It’s a chipless, R4R, no caps / opamps / transistors active devices / chokes / transformers, nothing in signal path but only resistors for D to A conversion and gain.
Listening impressions: I am too lazy to use a flowery language to touch upon the different nuances of music it puts forth though you can engage me endlessly on the technical discussions, so I will just say this.
When I listen to my setup, time flies, I am stuck to my seat endlessly, I start procrastinating on the jobs in hand, become lazy, unproductive and finally force myself to get up, feeling useless.
Most striking aspect: Very natural, effortless, relaxed and open rendition of music. Full frequency response, vocals to die for, macro, micro details and a low end which is hard to describe, are all “given” ! I call it an “analogue machine with digital precision” !
There is actually nothing “digital” about this DAC. How did they omit the digital part while strictly working in the digital domain ????
Here is the DAC playing in my setup:
The R model is resting these days, taking a break….
