CEntrance DacMini & Burson HA-160DS
AsSiMiLaTeD
Posts: 11,726
So I've been looking to upgrade my headphone setup and in my search stumbled across these great pieces of gear. I previously had a Peachtree DAC-IT feeding a Schiit Valhalla and that setup was (and still is) very good, but I was curious what else was out there.
I went through several pieces of gear before I found the DacMini and DS. I started with the Peachtree NovaPre since I like my DAC so much and it sounded good but didn't play so well with my setup, was getting occasional pops. I then moved on to pairing my existing DAC with a Woo Audio WA3 and it sounded good as well but not really much better than my Schiit, in fact in some ways it was not as good. I then moved on to the Burson HA-160D, which sounded fantastic but I don't care for the stepped volume and the pop I got at each position. I swapped it out for the DS version which uses an Alps pot, which I actually prefer over the more expensive stepped attenuator.
The HA-160DS is a DAC / Headphone amp, and a very good one at that. It actually gives up a little bit in the way of impact to the D version since it doesn't have the stepped attenuator, but it's not enough to really care about and if anything I prefer the slightly smoother sound. These actually have a tube-like sound, probably more so than any other SS amp I've heard. Coming from the Schiit, this gave me exactly what I was looking for, a bit more body and impact in the sound without loosing any of the details.
So after I'd found my new amp I stumbled across the CEntrance DacMini. I don't even remember now how I found it, maybe on Head-Fi. I started doing some research and really like what I was reading. They're based in Chicago and do alot of design work for other companies who build DACs, seems like they're a think tank that other companies turn to when they need help with a chip design or implementation. They also write alot of the better USB drivers on the market. So I felt comfortable trying their DAC, the only unknown was really the headphone amp.
So even though I'm completely satisfied with the Burson, I decided to give the DacMini a shot, and am glad I did.
I've got both devices fully burned in and am going to take some time this weekend to sit down a do a thorough comparison between the two. My very early impressions are that the Burson has more impact to the sound while the CEntrance has more resolution, very early impressions often change though. I can already say that this will be a tough decision, maybe I'll find a way to keep both.
More to come
I went through several pieces of gear before I found the DacMini and DS. I started with the Peachtree NovaPre since I like my DAC so much and it sounded good but didn't play so well with my setup, was getting occasional pops. I then moved on to pairing my existing DAC with a Woo Audio WA3 and it sounded good as well but not really much better than my Schiit, in fact in some ways it was not as good. I then moved on to the Burson HA-160D, which sounded fantastic but I don't care for the stepped volume and the pop I got at each position. I swapped it out for the DS version which uses an Alps pot, which I actually prefer over the more expensive stepped attenuator.
The HA-160DS is a DAC / Headphone amp, and a very good one at that. It actually gives up a little bit in the way of impact to the D version since it doesn't have the stepped attenuator, but it's not enough to really care about and if anything I prefer the slightly smoother sound. These actually have a tube-like sound, probably more so than any other SS amp I've heard. Coming from the Schiit, this gave me exactly what I was looking for, a bit more body and impact in the sound without loosing any of the details.
So after I'd found my new amp I stumbled across the CEntrance DacMini. I don't even remember now how I found it, maybe on Head-Fi. I started doing some research and really like what I was reading. They're based in Chicago and do alot of design work for other companies who build DACs, seems like they're a think tank that other companies turn to when they need help with a chip design or implementation. They also write alot of the better USB drivers on the market. So I felt comfortable trying their DAC, the only unknown was really the headphone amp.
So even though I'm completely satisfied with the Burson, I decided to give the DacMini a shot, and am glad I did.
I've got both devices fully burned in and am going to take some time this weekend to sit down a do a thorough comparison between the two. My very early impressions are that the Burson has more impact to the sound while the CEntrance has more resolution, very early impressions often change though. I can already say that this will be a tough decision, maybe I'll find a way to keep both.
More to come
Post edited by AsSiMiLaTeD on
Comments
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Cool man, congrats on the new toys. I think 6 moons did a spot on review in describing the Burson sound. More analog sounding, akin to a good vinyl setup. A tad rounded on the edges but they get the tone right and bass slam. Will be interested to hear your thoughts on the Centrance. Have also heard good things about them.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
I am also interested in hearing your thoughts on the 2Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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6Moons also has a review on the DACMini. I find the information in their reviews useful but the actual process of reading their reviews very frustrating.
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The 160D is a very nice sounding unit."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »6Moons also has a review on the DACMini. I find the information in their reviews useful but the actual process of reading their reviews very frustrating.
Yeah man, I hear ya. Same with me....they seem very.....uh....long winded.:biggrin:
They go far into detail than I need to know and lots of meaningless dribble. But...they do give you the meat of the matter, can't take that away from them. I think they could do it in about 2000 less words per review though.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's