Author Topic: Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner  (Read 5436 times)

Offline bhobba

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Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner
« on: March 25, 2012, 09:19:47 AM »
Hi Guys

From time to time people contact me about DAC's and a while ago I suggested a Killer DAC to someone.  Anyway he finally got it, but does not post on this forum so I thought I would post what he said in a private message - I am pretty sure he wont mind:

'Bill my Killer arrived yesterday and it is truly wonderful. Full and rich are the 2 words that keep popping up. Very open and revealing so a few of the cd's I've played that I always thought sounded good I'm realising are quite harsh and sibilant heavy. But when a quality recording is played...ah...hifi heaven.'

I will suggest he joins up so he can document his journey here.

Thanks
Bill

Offline onthebeach

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Re: Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2012, 04:00:48 PM »
Hi all. I'm that someone and you are right Bill, I don’t mind at all.


'I will suggest he joins up so he can document his journey here.'....OK so here we go.


I decided to research a bit about the Killer dac when Bill suggested to me it was a dac that needed to be near the top if not THE top of list of dacs I needed to check out.

I had been getting well over the ‘blind leading the blind’ advice available on countless forums and sites and the never ending advice carousel of various hifi mags telling me hifi Nirvana was available from gear I had no chance of listening to and usually no chance of ever being able to afford.

I’m not literate with anything technical at all when it comes to hifi so often forums just left me in a state of confusion. I must admit to not understanding much of what is written here but I had an inkling most of the crew around here at least gave the impression that they knew what they were talking about.

So after a bit of research into the phenonomen of the elusive Killer dac I realized that much of how it was described by its admirers was something I was after in my system.  At the very least it was something I needed to investigate a bit further.

After a lengthy conversation with Steven last August I realized I was on the right path. The passion and enthusiasm he had for quality music reproduction was very infectious.  As a member of the Coffs Harbour classical music society I get to hear a fair few live unamplified performances and it was that sound I felt I was on the path to at least try to get as close to possible to (on a modest budget) in my living room. Steven seemed to be on that same wavelength and he was very clear he wasn’t trying to get that big artificial bass hifi slam that throws you back in your chair that many define quality audio by. He seemed to talking about a lack of aggression in the playback chain.

Steven was talking about the beauty, richness and liquid tangibility that is present a system with the Killer at its digital front end. His desire of the space and bloom around the real timbres of voice and instrument was something I could only dream about but was a path I needed to go down.

Much of what I read about since then in regards to the Killer revolved around a similar doctrine. I hadn’t heard a Killer then but I had the feeling I was on the right path. NOS valves and various chips with various sounds and crowns and pre war chokes and rectifiers with brown bases filled my uneducated but ever expanding mind. I was quickly realizing that this was not a path for the everyman. Something special was afoot here. There was magic in the air.

Steven was in the area in the new year and came around for a listen to my Killerless system.  It seemed possible a Killer may just provide the synergy and magic my mish mash of components needed. At least it may get me underway at the very least.

But..As we all know in this game words and emotions don’t count for much. The proof is in the pudding. Or listening in our case as we are not chefs but ‘music enthusiasts’

So it arrived 2 weeks ago.

Wow. Yes Yes YES  :o All the words I had heard to describe the Killer experience came rushing forth all at once. Its been a great 2 weeks. It’s been a fun 2 weeks. Its been a 2 weeks of epiphany and learning. My ears and my brain are still running in as is apparently the dac too.

Steven led me to some high quality recordings and to say listening to them through the Killer has changed the way I listen to music is not a mild understatement.
I can hear into the music like never before. Discs I previously thought had been well produced and recorded now had obvious faults. Discs that I had no idea were good are now sounding astonishingly shockingly awesome.

Some of the wonderful discs Steven led me towards when played in the right mood are just mind blowing. A spiritual epiphany. John Lee Hooker played in my living room last night and it was a pretty special 40 minutes let me tell you.

The Killer is not for everyone. Being 16 bit in this brave new world of hi res is a stumbling block many will not be able to hurdle. It took me a while to disregard much of what I had been conditioned to and embrace the idea of bog standard 16 bit. It’s not an unpack out of the box, plug in and forget device. It needs understanding. It needs love and it needs care. Special valves that are not inexpensive and not common either are essential it seems.

The Killer isn’t cheap. My Bryston dac is highly recommended for expensive systems in a recent TAS mag and the Killer is a fair bit more expensive than it. But it is also MUCH MUCH better than it.  In comparison I actually believe the Killer is a bargain.

I love my Killer and at first listen I thought my hifi journey had come to an end. 2 weeks later I am just smitten and I know its actually the beginning of the real journey. Now I can really hear what is happening things like digital cables, IC's, speaker cables, speaker positioning, transports, pre’s and amps can be adjusted to synergize and create a balanced system where the magic just rolls on and on.

I'm now wondering which will run in first. My ears & audiopsychotic brain or the Killer. The clever cash is on the Killer.



Offline gamve

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Re: Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2012, 05:16:33 PM »
Great write up on the start of you new musical experience OTB. Enjoy  :)

Offline kajak12

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Re: Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2012, 06:56:26 PM »
Thanks for an honest non audiophile wanke right up
still discovering the link between electronics and audio reproduction.so much to learn and so little time

Offline ozmillsy

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Re: Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2012, 10:46:16 AM »
G'day beach,   It gets better,   But the urge to keep finding improvements doesn't go away.   It's addictive, and can become an endless quest for more, more, more.

Either you enjoy the quest, or you don't.

   If the latter, then enjoy the music you now have, and don't make changes.   ;D    8)
It's all about the music,, not the equipment.

crazikid

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Re: Another Satisfied Killer DAC Owner
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2012, 11:12:29 AM »
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the killer.

I love mine.