Schiit gungnir or audio-gd DAC 19

Audiolake

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Hello frnds,

Please help me decide between schiit gungnir and audio-gd DAC 19. I know dac 19 is based on old technology but Is there any advantage of r2r dac in today's world. Please help
 
I vote for DAC 19. Audio-gd is very musical as well as offer very good details with mellow style which is suitable for long musical sessions.
 
Which version of the DAC19? With R2R DACs, the filter is very important. The older versions of the DAC19 don't perform as well as the current one as per the feedback I have gathered as the initial iterations of their custom filter wasn't as good as the current one is. That said, the DAC was still very good at its price. I owned an earlier version of it and was quite happy. The only real weakness in SQ was soundstage, which wasn't particularly expansive

No direct experience with the Gungnir.
 
Of course I voted for the latest ( 10th Anniversary Edition ) version of DAC-19. On head-fi it was favorably compared with Gungnir Multibit with single ended output.
 
I too favor for DAC-19 (10th Anniversary Edition) until I read on headfi. Many members complained of poor bass, compact soundstange and low details.
 
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Yes i have also heard the bass and soundstage issues with dac - 19. Can anyone pls suggest if audio-gd can be trusted to securely ship the product to india. Also what's the shipping process and how much time it takes to ship the item.
 
Any idea about audio-gd shipping? I learned that they ship to india using EMS courier soill will i get the product by india post and how do i pay custom duty.
 
ems will pay customs duty on your behalf and then collect it from you

with no audition
sir
DACs are a hit or a miss
which most buyers never have the balls to admit at first ( though you get an idea once it hits the resale market )
( i have nevr seen a single FM admitting he may have got what he didnt neccesarlity like - except for jaibir i think )

as the mahindra gusto add says

Audio gd lena hai thos audio gd le
gugnir lena hai tho gugnir le

till you dont hear in your own setup you will nevr know what works for YOU

heres another nice DAC to add in the mix
(i might have one on order)
the matrix X sabre
(its probably one of the best engineered dacs i know of in its own price class and probably double it ( especially that chasis is to die for !!)
just judging engineering and layout wise
these guys know what theyre doing ( they should by now after copying so much stuff earlier )
 
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Dheeraj
You liked the the 9018 implementation of nfb3 over the gungnir

That's Intresting

What did you like about the NFB over the gungnir ??
 
Dheeraj
You liked the the 9018 implementation of nfb3 over the gungnir

That's Intresting

What did you like about the NFB over the gungnir ??

There are many things to consider over a chip...filters..analog implementation...so you can not say which is better to your ears....so in this subjective hobby you have to rely on ears....even i had esoteric and MSB analog DAC with me for considerable time ...each one has USP according to their implementation...last word is, what is suitable to you...and for INDIAN like me old and new bollywood songs matter....Audio GD is musical to my ears...and YYMV....
so ..please be rely on your ears and sense something from suggestion like others ...
 
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It's a long time since I weighed in with anything much on this site, but I'll contibute my experience of Gungnir.

Fro many reasons, from liking the company itself, through having exactly the right inputs and outputs, to having the offer of a used Gungnir+2nd-gen-USB at a price that was almost generous, that I wanted to like the thing. No... it goes further than wanting to like it: I swept aside the seller's assurance of no obligation, keep it a while and see if you like it. OK, I didn't force the cash on him that very day, but I was convinced that I was going to buy it.

I didn't like it. I'm not the only person to have found it "shouty." Somehow, it has dynamics that feel, sometimes, like being punched in the ear. The peaks, in some rock vocals, were actually painful.

So, I gave it a hug and a kiss, told it was beautiful, and it was just me, and hey, I couldn't be more sorry things didn't work out... and sent it home.

Hey ho... I think it is fine for many people. I think it is great for many people --- they really love it. But I didn't, and, because of the specific nature of its sound, I would advise against buying it blind.

By The Way... I listen mostly with headphones, these days, HD600s. Through speakers, I found it much easier to live with --- but that was not what I was buying it for, so it didn't matter.

I didn't think I'd actually be happy to go back to the ODAC, but I was.

Actually, these days, I'm listening to a borrowed Geek Out 450. I have not taken the trouble to actually AB it with the ODAC, but neither, in any way, actually hurt my ears.
 
Hello frnds,

Please help me decide between schiit gungnir and audio-gd DAC 19. I know dac 19 is based on old technology but Is there any advantage of r2r dac in today's world. Please help

You are prolly asking for opinion

If per chance you are asking for votes

Gumby.

ciao
gr


you know ofc trust your ears with your system and your scotch in your room

edit: above was written before I read TEG's opinion :p
 
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Audiolake..Gungnir has AKM chip and even Esoteric uses same chip
but sound signature is quite different. Gungnir present loads of details and that is the USP.
there are many arguments about different chips in market like ESS Sabre, Wolfson and PCM...
Some find ESS chips with lot of details and good frequency response , some find wolfson chips more organic and musical...

Audio -GD has all above mentioned implementation including R2R. What I like anout Audio-GD NFB-3 is neutrality and musicality even though not loads of detail present.
Offcourse expensive DAcs from Audio-GD has everything under the sky i think and according to price point they are worth.

I have been planning to buy R2R DAC with balanced connection since long and waiting for right time.
 
Audiolake..Gungnir has AKM chip and even Esoteric uses same chip
but sound signature is quite different. Gungnir present loads of details and that is the USP.
there are many arguments about different chips in market like ESS Sabre, Wolfson and PCM...
Some find ESS chips with lot of details and good frequency response , some find wolfson chips more organic and musical...

Audio -GD has all above mentioned implementation including R2R. What I like anout Audio-GD NFB-3 is neutrality and musicality even though not loads of detail present.
Offcourse expensive DAcs from Audio-GD has everything under the sky i think and according to price point they are worth.

I have been planning to buy R2R DAC with balanced connection since long and waiting for right time.


Thanks @dheerajin, I have a Meridian Explorer which i find very refined and detailed but I also find it thin and sometimes too bright on treble side which I want to improve upon. While googling through the DAC technologies, I came to know that R2R DACs based on PCM1704 are more mellow sounding than delta-sigma ones. I am thinking of pulling the trigger on DAC-19 but afraid for I dont know how much detail I will miss from the sound. I like to listen to classical recordings, jazz, soft rock and acoustic mostly.
 
the gumby multibit upgrade
doesnt really change the sound signature of the dac
rather it tends to decongest - (i think a head fi review stated something to that effect as well )

the base sonics more or less will not change

and in the words of mr Nick T( technical head Schidtt )
"we dont guarantee you will hear a sonic improvement "
and we dont make comaparisons to both versions either
Which is absolutely fair since he has no idea of the rest of the system chain


on a side note
if one is going purely by measurement and playing the absolutely neutral detail game
the Benchmark2 measures seriously well
how it sounds to you is ofcourse up for debate

@Thad
you may like a tube dac ( maybe something like a LM 502 or a Skylaa - Ouch! )
The R2R ladder dacs using the famed 170* chips - i have no experience with
the implementation of it buy audioGD has a lot of mixed views

need to hear it to know which side i fall on
 
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Audiolake..Gungnir has AKM chip and even Esoteric uses same chip
but sound signature is quite different. Gungnir present loads of details and that is the USP.
there are many arguments about different chips in market like ESS Sabre, Wolfson and PCM...
Some find ESS chips with lot of details and good frequency response , some find wolfson chips more organic and musical...

Audio -GD has all above mentioned implementation including R2R. What I like anout Audio-GD NFB-3 is neutrality and musicality even though not loads of detail present.
Offcourse expensive DAcs from Audio-GD has everything under the sky i think and according to price point they are worth.

I have been planning to buy R2R DAC with balanced connection since long and waiting for right time.

You should try the Soekris R2R DAC implementation which comes with XLR outputs. I have not used the XLR as my rest of the chain does have any XLR inputs :) but looking at the reviews on the diyaudio.com site its worth a try.
 
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