MHDT Orchid or Lampizator Amber 3?

Tuesday morning at 8:30am Grannyring paid for USPS Priority Express "overnight" to ship my Orchid Dac to Ohio, guess what, it just "arrived" in Nashville, TN.   Wednesday evening at 5:30pm.

I called the sorting hub and got an attitude with the bums rush, I asked her to please slow down so I could give the tracking number, finally.

She said "oh, the guy didn’t pick-up all the express deliveries, it’s in the back here"

They’re not the only ones, UPS and FedEx can F$$K up a cup of coffee too, nice work.

I know I’m not alone, just the principle, when you pay extra, it seems to get worse.

Hope you get it in the morning rx8man.

I have the Amber 3 up and running. It was nicely packed and in 5 minutes we have music! After 90 minutes of total play time I hear these initial differences compared to the upgraded Orchid dac,

The Amber 3 is more lit up in the upper mids and highs. The Amber is more upfront and immediate. More apparent detail. A little tight and contained sounding 

The Orchid is more muscular and full in the mid bass. The Orchid has deeper and more impactful bass. The Orchid is more relaxed and set back in perspective. More open sounding. 

I sense the Amber needs to settle in and hopefully sound less forward or forced. Only 90 minutes of play time suggests good things are coming. I know this dac needs close to 200 hours to sound its best. I will update after 30 hours of play time. 

I also want to share that my experience with Colin of Gestalt Audio has been a complete joy. Great communication, professional service and just a likable young man. I highly recommend Colin!

Great thread!I'm looking forward to reading about the various comparisons.

Well the Amber 3 now has some 60 hours on it. What a burn in ride. The first 40 hours or so were hard on my ears. I really could not settle in and enjoy music as the dac was too forward and forced sounding. It was tight and constricted a tad also. I decided not to listen again unit tonight. I didn’t want to 😕. Well at 60 hours the sound goes from being too forced and immediate to warm like a hot bath! Right now the stage is much bigger, far more mid bass fullness and the upper mids and highs are no longer forced.

Right now the unit sounds a tad too old school tubey and thick. Talk about a 180 degree turn around! I don’t know how folks can possibly say burn in is not real. It is real in spades with this unit.

Comparing the upgraded Orchid to the Amber now is interesting. I still prefer the Orchid’s overall balance top to bottom. The Orchid has more powerful and articulate bass. The Orchid does not sound as thick.

However, I see hope now for the Amber and sense it may be quite good with more time.

I will report back at 120 hours.

Thanks for the feedback Grannyring.......