2. digital
  3. 1401590604

Resonessence Mirrus vs Sony HAPZ-1ES

Both of these units would allow me to eliminate a computer in my living room. I just heard both at The Show 2014 in Newport.

The Sony was played in many rooms with top notch gear and speakers. So that was a good endorsement for the Sony. I think the convenience factor of the Sony also played a role in why it was used in many rooms. All the systems sounded very good. I spent close to an hour in the Sony room listening to their top of the line speakers with he HAPZ. I could not get the demo person to turn off the DSD up-sampling. So the up-sampling must have been considered the way to go.

The Resonessence Mirrus DAC was played directly to a new 108 watt class A Resonessence stereo amp that has not been released yet. The DAC has a digital volume control that is supposed to be very good. The speakers that were used were 15 year old B&W, purchased by Resonessence from eBay for $400. I was quite blown away by how good the sound was and the fact that they did not purposely use top notch speakers. I was thinking wow what would this system sound like with some top notch speakers. The SD-Card feature of the Mirrus is maybe a better solution than the fan based eSata hard drive of the Sony. The theoretical limit of the cards the Mirrus supports is 2 tera-bytes. I think today you can buy 256 giga-byte cards.

I cannot directly compare the Sony and Mirrus since I have not heard them in the same system, but if I had to bet money, I would place it on the Mirrus based on my cursor listen. Has anybody compared the 2 DAC's in their systems? If so, I would appreciate any feedback.

If I go with something like the Mirrus I can eliminate by very good pre-amp and go directly to my amps. Has anybody with a Mirrus done this? Did you prefer it direct vs a analog pre-amp?

The Sony is very good sounding unit, 50%+ cheaper, extremely convenient, and I would keep my pre-amp. Which I am happy with (BAT VK-42SE).
yyzsantabarbara
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
calvinj, Sorry for the slow response, I didn't see this post.

My ModWright HAPZ1 is doing fine. Over the last couple months, I have added an Audio Magic Illusion umbilical, which in my opinion is a must have for the ModWright Sony. Going from the ModWright truth umbilical to the AM Illusion umbilical was a very substantial improvement. As substantial as the ModWright modification over the stock Sony (and for a lot less money). Also, I picked up a pair of NOS Telefunken 6922 output tubes from Upscale audio. They are as good as Upscale claims.

I have about 1000 albums loaded to the hard drive now. One of the things I find surprising is how good some music sounds that was ripped from awful sounding CDs. Almost everything sounds really good through the HAPZ1, and there is a lot that is just ravishingly beautiful.

I love the convenience. While my CD collection is well organized, you just can't beat the convenience of having it all right there on my tablet.

No regrets. This has been a great way to go for me.
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
Brownsfan, Can you download to the hard drive and play internet radio concurrently? This is my plan to breaking in and downloading my music to the Sony.

BTW, I agree with you comments on Upscale NOS Telefunken 6922 but 60's Siemens e88cc is my favorite. It's more musical and less dry.

What rectifier tube are you rolling? In past MWs, my favorite is TS NOS 5U4GBs and I asked Dan to punch a hole in the PS. Surprisingly, JJ GZ34 is also excellent. Mullard NOS GZ34 and GZ32 are too warm for my taste.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
KNGhifi, I haven't tried playing the internet radio while downloading, but it should be no problem. I frequently playback from the hard drive while downloading.
I also want to pick up a pair of the Siemens. I have heard great things about them. I do not find the Telefunkens dry at all. I have found them to be very sweet.
Are you using a PS 9.0 or a 9.9? I wasn't aware that 5u4s could be used in the 9.0. I have settled on new production cryo'ed Gold Lion 5AR4s in the PS 9.0. I like it better than JJs (which weren't bad), Create Synergy, and NOS Mullards. If it is OK to use the 5U4Gs in the 9.0, I have some NOS GEs I would like to try.
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
KNGhifi, I haven't tried playing the internet radio while downloading, but it should be no problem. I frequently playback from the hard drive while downloading.
Brownsfan, that's fantastic. Save me break in time and download.

I also want to pick up a pair of the Siemens. I have heard great things about them. I do not find the Telefunkens dry at all. I have found them to be very sweet.
It's relative. This is my experience in my preamp.

Are you using a PS 9.0 or a 9.9? I wasn't aware that 5u4s could be used in the 9.0. I have settled on new production cryo'ed Gold Lion 5AR4s in the PS 9.0. I like it better than JJs (which weren't bad), Create Synergy, and NOS Mullards. If it is OK to use the 5U4Gs in the 9.0, I have some NOS GEs I would like to try.
Getting the PS 9.0 and it works with 5U4GBs. Thanks for reminding me, now I have to order a Create Synergy.

Are you using after market fuse? Dan told me correct direction is back to front FYI.

Should get my Sony back from MW in ~2 more weeks.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Knghifi, I have not tried any aftermarket fuses with the HAPZ1 yet. I did put an Audio Magic Liquid Air in the PS 9.0 power supply. By the way, I have found the power supply to be very sensitive to power cord selection. I use a VH Audio AirSine with mine.
More to discover