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New Killer DAC

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Mark OTL:
I'm long overdue to post my findings on my new Killer DAC recieved just after the Sydney Show; thanks for the delivery Graham. I first became convinced the KD was something special when Graham loaned me his high spec unit while he was visiting Stevenvalve. I had it a week and by weeks end, was desperately trying to think of reasons why he couldn't take it home to Tassie. Theft, stage a fire, just not be there when he was coming through. Then I thought, .....once I get mine, I know I couldn't live without it, so I better give it back. Damn my ethics!
It took a year to get mine, Thanks Craig C, thats not a complaint by the way, I know how long it takes to source these hard to get NOS bits. The result was well and truly worth the wait.

My memory of the sound of this work of art had faded after a year, and yes I had heard KD's on serveral systems over that year, including the Syd show, but nothing compares to plugging it into your own system, which you know so well and being blown away all over again. I use OTL power amps, and very fast pre feeding Osborn Epitomes, and any hint of dynamic restriction is bluntly revealed by this chain of componets. My CD player is a Droplet, Delta Sigma DACS, and dual triode outputs (super tubes no less), so a very competent player indeed. The dynamics of the KD went well beyond the Droplet, allowing the full speed and attack of acoustic guitar, piano, drums, and orchestral crescendos to be rendered in a truly lifelike manner. So easy to say, .....so hard to do!

Another area I found intiguing was the accurate  developement of the depth of the sound stage. CD replay tends to have a 2 dimesional view of the stage, very little depth. so the performers are "painted on a banner" from left to right. But the KD renders the 3rd dimension convinicngly allowing you to "walk around the stage" and place instruments and artists in 3D. So much more involving. I used the Droplet player because it developed the 3rd dimension better than a lot of players, but it's not a patch on the KD.

I could equally talk about the beautiful, open, silky midrange, but I think the KD's most valuable performance characteristic is it's remarkable timbral accuracy. I occasionally have wonderful references right in my music room, that is my wife and friends, who practice/play violin, and cello regularly in the same room. So I'm used to the body and string resonances from the real thing, in the same room as my system. My system now replays well recorded violin/cello and doulble bass with uncanny realism, allowing me to "see" right into the body of the instrument and savor the resonance, and picture the strings singing.

I won't rave on much longer, except to say that the combined effect of these performance characteristics is to convincingly connect me to the emotional content in a recording. I can never remember any digital anything, connecting me emotionally to the heart of the music like this diminutive DAC does. Audio gear comes and goes over the years,.....a killer DAC is for life.  :D

Cheers, Mark.

gamve:
Ahh, Great read Mark. Glad you are enjoying your music with help from the KD. There are a few more areas to explore as a lot of people are finding but for digital the KD is the dogs bollocks.

kajak12:
Good to hear mark where are the photo's :D

ozmillsy:
Good write up Mark.

The new units certainly are state of the art.

The timbrel beauty is sometimes hard for some to fathom.   It's all too easy to get caught up in ultra detail, convince yourself it's more accurate,  but lose that real body and soul in the process.     

Mark OTL:
 kajak12  "Good to hear mark where are the photo's?"

Craig was well aware that I would design/build my own chassis for the KD, so he's supplied a very plain, functional chassis. In time, (so much under development at present, including the turntable project), I'll design/build a flash chassis to complement the extrodinary performance of this unit. It will be special, cause this DAC's a keeper. I could post some photos of my new bass traps that have transformed my system recently! They are bassed (pun intended) on Auralex LENRD units and I made up truss frames from Alloy so I didn't have to glue them to the corners of the room and can move them around or just ge them out of the way if I need to.

Cheers, Mark.

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