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REVIEW: Audio Note DAC Kit 2.1 Signature DAC Processors

Model:	DAC Kit 2.1 Signature
Category:	DAC Processors
Suggested Retail Price:	$1799
Description:	Tube output DAC 1X oversampling
Manufacturer URL:	Audio Note
Model Picture:	View

Review by driguy (D) on August 11, 2006 at 01:11:11 IP Address: 70.59.111.40

Add Your Review for the DAC Kit 2.1 Signature

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I purchased this DAC Kit after hearing Audio Note products at an audio show which I was attending as an exhibitor. As many audiophiles have noticed, digital gear has gotten very detailed in it's presentation especially at the top levels but after a while the sound is not very endearing and it can leave one cold upon extended listening. The smooth organic feel I got at the show was very relaxing to one's ears, body and mind so I thought that I would give it a try via the kits available.
The DAC took about 200-300 hours to "burn -in" due to the amount of iron and the BlackGate Caps in the power supplies. I did not listen much at all during this time so there was not the opportunity to let myself "get used to the sound". Just enough listening to get a sense of improvements at various stages. I will not go into the various stages as I feel they are not truly important.
This DAC is probably not one that on first listen will "WOW" you with unbelievable details, soundstage, and new sound cues in comparison to top end players with tons of oversampling and other processing. I use the word "unbelievable" for a reason. See Peter Q's essay on this subject at the main Audio Note site. What you will notice is the incredible ease that you will sense in the musical presentation and yourself as you listen through this unit.
The soundstage is plenty wide and deep enough but what really comes through for me is the added space between instruments and vocalists. This allows the true details and nuances to be heard. What had always seemed to be unintelligable vocal passages now came clearly into focus. This also applies to the instrumentalists. One can hear more of the details and energy that they put into the performance. The dynamics are also surprising as one listens to oft heard recordings and gets stunned by how much dynamic range there really is. Part of this is due to the very low noise floor and "black" background that the music has as it's base.
This DAC allowed me to hear more layering in older jazz recordings which were sometimes recorded with bass and drums in one channel making it difficult to follow individual players. Try Bill Evans' "Live at the Village Vanguard" to get a sense of this. You should be able to hear the players at different depths of the stage instead of on top of one another.
Sibilance is one thing that has made me crazy for years. The effect is more pronounced on high resolution systems. This DAC has a way of eliminating a lot of what I thought were mistakes or lack of care in the recordings. Of course, some recordings still have this effect but they are usually recordings that have a lot of artificial boost in the treble region overall. I can now listen to some recordings that would make me cringe before. This is not to say that the sibilance is smoothed over. It is just presented in the way that you would hear it from a person, not a recorded voice. Very big difference in my book.
The overall sense that listening to this unit gives me is that the performers are not just performing, they are performing for you. I cannot count how many times I have been listening and have had an involuntary reaction in my gut to passages I have heard a hundred times before. There are some discs that have languished in my collection that have found new life with this unit. If you haven't found yourself listening to a CD from start to finish for a while, skipping all but your favorite cuts, give this DAC a try. It is not the music you are tired of, it may be the presentation of it. Just be sure that you don't have to get up early the next morning, it may be morning before you finally stop listening.
As an added note; the output tubes supplied are fine and one will probably be very happy with them as is. All of the above comments are made using those as a reference. I changed them to a pair of Telefunken tubes because of what I had read on the AA A/N kits forum. All of the above positive attributes are even more obvious when using the upgraded tubes. A bit more realism, focus, and organic feel can be had with the upgrade.
It took me about 20 hours to build the unit. It is not hard to build but it will take time a patience but not an inordinate amount of skill.

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Product Weakness:	You have to build it.
Product Strengths:	Natural and relaxed presentation.

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	DIY HiFi LadyDay MkII (300B SE)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Sonic Euphoria TVC
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Audio Alchemy DDS Drive
Speakers:	Bastanis Apollos (100db efficiency)
Cables/Interconnects:	Bastanis Meta, Power, speaker and interconnects
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, Pop, Rock
Room Size (LxWxH):	24 x 32 x 12
Room Comments/Treatments:	No room treatments
Time Period/Length of Audition:	1 month
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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