DAC Shootout Starts This Weekend

@willgolf 

” I thought the X-1 was the best DAC I had heard under $18k.  I purchased a Lampizator Pacific and at first there was very little difference between the two. “

Most interesting Will , I assume that you havn’t posted that consideration over on WBF where you would be burnt alive at the stake.

@klh007 I have the D-2.  You can add an external 10MHz Clock but it is not required.  The D-3 requires the clock but is $30k combined and in completely difference class of DACs. 
 

@yyzsantabarbara i will try but I don’t have gear here for the fiber setup and this unit is for sale at a sharp price and could go any minute. 
 

@willgolf I like the X-1 very much.  I think that says a lot since I am not a Lumin dealer.  That said, I think it is quite competitive in the $10k range (Bricasti, Weiss, Chord, Rockna Edition, Soulnote ) and preference for it is a matter of taste.  I would say it is a clear step down from the Rockna Signature, Playback, Jadis and Aries Cerat, three of the five units are under $18k.  That said, I hear wonderful things about the Horizon and I am planning to buy in and become an Aries Cerat dealer any day now so I get it. 

@verdantaudio,

Christiaan Punter at hifi-advice.com very recently did highly favorable reviews on Playback Designs MPS-X and then later on MPD-6.  I have been a fan of his review style.  The MPD-6 in his review had the Steam-X2 option installed.   I found it very interesting that as part of the MPD-6 review he additionally tested Antipodes K50 USB and AES/EBU as well as Grimm MU1 USB to MPS-X and then PLINK to MPD-6.  He is very enthusiastic on the results doing so with the K50 (original model).  If you have MPS-X, I would be interested in reading your impressions of the K50, MPS-X, MPD-6 combo.   

 @azwill   I haven’t purchased and tested an MPS-X yet.  I have been extremely happy with K50 before and now Oladra performance with my Playback.  I would be unsurprised if the MPS-X takes it up a level.  The only challenge is that you do need a server to feed the MPS-X if you are going to run Roon. 
 

I find USB vs AES conflicting with antipodes.  Most of the time I prefer AES and send DSD via DOP and it is fine.  With Playback, USB is preferred for DSD.  This DAC really excels at DSD so I find myself really liking USB more with this one unit.  

Okay, regarding the Soulnote D-2. I brought this unit in having never heard a Soulnote product but multiple people had said it is THE brand and in a year, it will be noteworthy.

So, it arrived quickly. It is heavy. The box is over 40 lbs. Unit looks nice with a brushed aluminum finish and wood (ash maybe) sides. The unit retails at $9000 and is fully, differentially balanced. So I dropped the unit into my system, plugged it in with AES and it was...okay. So, I took it out of the system and attached it to a secondary system and let it play for three weeks. I put it back into the system. It sounded much better.

There are several filters on the synchronous connections including a NOS filter which I thought sounded best. I typically hate NOS DACs so this was a surprise. After reading the manual, I decided to swap to USB and all of a sudden this unit came to life. I swapped this in for the Playback and got the X1 in while I was testing.

Opening track of In a Sentimental Mood - piano has good sparkle. Drum rolls lack absolute definition of Weiss or say the Chord Dave.

On Be Still My Beating Heart, it is obvious that the Soulnote is a bit brighter/more forward than the Playback meaning it is probably a touch forward overall. That said it is not close to as bright as say the Weiss. The forwardness is present in staging but does not come through in terms of sibilance. The sound stage is big and deep. It extended well beyond the outside of the speakers. Noise floor is very low. When there should not be noise, there is no noise.

Liberty is the same. Forward but not sibilant. effects come from where they should, well beyond the boundaries of the speakers.

Duende is superb. Opening bass notes are clear and undistorted. Dynamics are big. String separation is fabulous on the berg piece. There is nothing not to like.

This unit is extremely competitive in the $10K price range. Incidentally, I was writing up my notes on X1 not long after I wrote this and discovered they were very similar. So similar that I decided to do some more testing. I decided I would connect both at the same time and see how similar they were.

Second set of XLRs was found, both DACs connected and I played the same track on both zones off the Antipodes, USB to the Soulnote and Ethernet to the X1. I struggled to tell the difference. I went way beyond the standard five test tracks. On track after track, sounded very similar. I would think I was listening to one and look up and it would be the other.

Now I was doubting myself. Could they be that close? So I took out the Soulnote and connected the MPD-6. Differences were immediate and obvious. Tonally the Playback was slightly warmer, the soundstage was much deeper and the image was bigger and more detailed. Swapped out the X1 for the Soulnote. Same difference.

So I looked an unsurprisingly they use exactly the same chip. They have done something in terms of output stage to generate similar sound profiles. Really superb. If you don’t need volume control or streamer it seems like the Soulnote is an ideal option if you like Lumin’s sound.

.What I am most intrigued by is that the Soulnote allows for a 10Mhz clock to be attached and I am wondering if that will take it to the next level. I would suspect it will push this to a level that will outperform the X1.