Keces Da-131 Sp Dac

tonyb

Yeah, I kinda got that about head-fi too. You have to read 50 pages of b.s. before any conclusions can be made.

heiney9

I agree, but I did find a couple professional reviews of the Keces DAC's and they were favorable, if not downright complimentary. I'll spend sometime with this and keep looking for a used Audio GD and eventually I'd like to do a comparo in a few months, even if that means I have to buy a new Audio GD to review.

Headfi.org just aren't as hardcore as here and are looking for good sound, not always great sound. I did find a review on Audio Asylum as well as a stellar, almost too stellar, review on Audiogon w/discussion. The reviews and impressions outside of headfi.org are what prompted me to pull the trigger. Seems to be a well regarded, super well built product, that delivers higher than it's price point. I also understand the limitation of the dac chipset they use. They use very good parts, like Audio GD does.

I'm into her for about 1/2 the cost of a new DA-151 so if I end up having to flip it, I won't lose. It should arrive today, can't wait.

H9

heiney9

I recently purchased the Keces DA-151 MK I.

I have to say so far I am very impressed and it certainly lives up to all the hype. The detail and soundstage is simply amazing. I am hearing ambient recording cues I have not heard before on my office rig. It does everything pretty right. Very neutral and the sense of "air" in recordings is impressive. I have had very little time to listen since I received it, but I spent a couple hours this afternoon and I have to say initial impressions are excellent.

One thing that is necessary is to use a bit perfect plug-in. I use Media Monkey with the ASIO4ALL plug in and it sounds much better than just using the generic Windows USB plug-in, by a lot.

I will start a regular review thread w/pics, etc after I really spend some time with it. So far this thing is impressing the hell out of me. Parts selection and build is absolutely top notch.

More to come.........

H9

falconcry72

heiney9 wrote: »

I recently purchased the Keces DA-151 MK I.

I have to say so far I am very impressed and it certainly lives up to all the hype. The detail and soundstage is simply amazing. I am hearing ambient recording cues I have not heard before on my office rig. It does everything pretty right. Very neutral and the sense of "air" in recordings is impressive. I have had very little time to listen since I received it, but I spent a couple hours this afternoon and I have to say initial impressions are excellent.

One thing that is necessary is to use a bit perfect plug-in. I use Media Monkey with the ASIO4ALL plug in and it sounds much better than just using the generic Windows USB plug-in, by a lot.

I will start a regular review thread w/pics, etc after I really spend some time with it. So far this thing is impressing the hell out of me. Parts selection and build is absolutely top notch.

More to come.........

H9

Congrats, H9!:biggrin:

I know you've been looking for a new office USB solution for some time now.

heiney9

Even in the short time I've had it, it's a keeper. You know, when you just know things like this have synergy. I just keep turning it up louder and louder. I need to go out for the evening and I'm having a hard time pulling myself away from the rig.

Completely different and IMO, much better presentation than what I was using before. The layering and layering of all the notes, sounds is really addictive. My 5B's sound like much bigger speakers than before. The air and depth of sounds is amazing. Laid back and neutral.

So far the best my office rig has sounded by a lot.

I am listening to an acoustic disc of The Cure's Greatest Hits. It was an extra disc included in the special edition release. I can hear the bass drum resonate in the recording room after each kick of the pedal. It actually sort of eerie to hear these sounds in the recording room. I can also hear the slight "grating" sound of the pick sliding on the acoustic guitar strings at certain times.

I am really, really amazed at what a $250 piece of gear can do. The design, execution and parts used make this a really nice dac. I have to send this to Assimilated (Danny) for inclusion in his dac shoot-out.

H9

audiocr381ve

heiney9 wrote: »

Even in the short time I've had it, it's a keeper. You know, when you just know things like this have synergy. I just keep turning it up louder and louder. I need to go out for the evening and I'm having a hard time pulling myself away from the rig.

Completely different and IMO, much better presentation than what I was using before. The layering and layering of all the notes, sounds is really addictive. My 5B's sound like much bigger speakers than before. The air and depth of sounds is amazing. Laid back and neutral.

So far the best my office rig has sounded by a lot.

I am listening to an acoustic disc of The Cure's Greatest Hits. It was an extra disc included in the special edition release. I can hear the bass drum resonate in the recording room after each kick of the pedal. It actually sort of eerie to hear these sounds in the recording room. I can also hear the slight "grating" sound of the pick sliding on the acoustic guitar strings at certain times.

I am really, really amazed at what a $250 piece of gear can do. The design, execution and parts used make this a really nice dac. I have to send this to Assimilated (Danny) for inclusion in his dac shoot-out.

H9

Do they offer other versions with optical and coax inputs?

I'd like to see how it stacks up in your home rig Brock.

heiney9

audiocr381ve wrote: »

Do they offer other versions with optical and coax inputs?

I'd like to see how it stacks up in your home rig Brock.

Yes, the DA-131 has optical and coax. Since the DA-151 is USB only I'm trying to figure out how to compare it to the modded Adcom.

[Deleted User]

heiney9 wrote: »

Yes, the DA-131 has optical and coax. Since the DA-151 is USB only I'm trying to figure out how to compare it to the modded Adcom.

Does the DA-131 have pretty much the same innards just different I/O ? Are you still going to review the Audio GD ? :cool:

heiney9

nap wrote: »

Does the DA-131 have pretty much the same innards just different I/O ? Are you still going to review the Audio GD ? :cool:

Pretty much. The Dac chip they use is still a Burr Brown but it is capable of higher resolution should you have the music. Some say the 131 is actually a little better, but in general terms they are almost identical.

I do evaluate with different expectations when it comes to my office rig, probably overall a little less critical. But this DA-151 is impressing me more and more. The music just flows. At this point I'm not sure about the Audio GD. I hope to send this to Assimilated to include in his "budget" dac shoot out. He has the Audio GD as part of the shoot-out. My only concern is this being USB only and keeping things relatively apples to apples.

If you use any USB device for audio in the computer environment, the correct plug-in is a must. There was a marked improvement using the ASIO plug-in (bit perfect) with Media Monkey vs. the standard Windows USB driver and WAV out in Media Monkey.

H9

heiney9

Normally I don't get this excited about something new. I am already up this morning getting ready to spend the day with other Club Polk audio geeks at SCompRacer's house and I had to fire up the office rig to get more listening time in.

FANTASTIC

A little Norah Jones, Ani DiFranco and Miles Davis.

H9

tonyb

Sounds like you found a keeper Brock....nice man, congrats. Why don't you drag that puppy over to Rich's ?