We had a small CDApS (Chicago Decware Appreciation Society) meeting this past weekend. Decware forum member ProggRob and CDApS member in good standing moved to Seattle a couple of years ago. When he moved back to the Chicago area, he sent me an email pre-Covid and asked to hear some of his gear in my room.
Well, given the whole Covid mess, we waited till we thought it was safe to get together (I’d recently had a test, etc.).
On Sunday we got together and he brought some of his higher end gear: a Denafrips Terminator DAC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tGmD6j8fC0, a ZOTL Ultralinear amp
https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/lta3/ and Black Cat XLRs and speaker cables
https://blackcatcable.com/pages/reviews. All well reviewed gear and definitely a step above what I spend on audio. I think the combined street value of what he brought over was in the neighborhood of $14,000.
At home Rob also has a Decware UFO Zen Select (precursor to the 25th) and Caintuck Audio Betsys with the alnico drivers supplemented on the low end with Hawthorne Augies.
My room (12.5’ X 16.5’) has pretty much wall to wall diffusers plus bass traps in the corners. I also have a dedicated power line into a PS Audio P5 Power Plant with a combination of PS Audio (AC10/12) and DIY power cables.
Source was my upgraded Mac Mini running running Tidal via Audirvana with USB output into a Amber USB Regen and Curious Cable USB cord. My DAC is a Brooklyn DAC + to a Zbit and then to the mighty 25th anniversary Zen amp.
My ICs are DIY silver formula from VH Audio with Rhodium connectors on the XLRs and knock off silver Eichman connectors on the RCA cables. Speaker wires are 8 gauge silver coated copper with silver bananas a la Zen Styx.
We started out with my system to set the baseline then added cables, then the DAC, and finally the amp. Speakers were my DIY Crystal 10s/Acoustic Elegance LO15s open baffles and then later my Big Betsy’s.
It was gratifying to get positive feedback on my system/room from Rob. He has a critical ear and really loves listening to music. While it’s a work in progress, I truly get pinpoint imaging and a large three-dimensional sound stage which Rob very much appreciated.
To be honest, neither of us heard substantial gains from the cables. I later did some more A/B as Rob left them with me and there were subtle differences, perhaps a little smoother, but not “I have to have these cables” kind of reaction. This is somewhat of a testament to the VH Audio IC design and/or the great value of the Zen Styx. I didn’t have time to test each set independently, so all my comparisons were for both ICs and speaker cables combined.
Let’s just say the DAC was a different story. I had heard rumblings of the terminator DAC being a top tier DAC and tend to trust the reviews of John Darko, but other than that, I didn’t have any other research under my belt on the amp or cables to set expectations.
Wow. Smooth, “analog” and extremely engaging. It just really sucks you into the music. Monster soundstage as well. Not more detail than my Brooklyn DAC+ but smoother, fuller and less analytical. Longer decay times for sure which also tended to draw me in.
I am basing this on audio memory that is years old, but I found it to be fuller than the PS Audio Direct Stream (several firmware upgrades from the most recent). Maybe some more micro detail in the Direct Steam but again, its been some time since I heard it. I’d love to hear them both back to back.
After the session, I found Steve Guttenberg’s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsgCMjEMe6c review to be on point as well as the one by John Darko referenced above.
Next, we put in the Amp. To do this, we had to switch to the Big Betsy’s because I bi-amp the Crystal 10s/LO15s with a crown amp on the low end and we didn’t want to mess with trying to bi-amp with the ZOTL.
In terms of this combo, the results were no less than magic. The amp/dac combo made the most of the Big Betsy’s giant soundstage. Only on a couple more electronic songs did I find myself wanting more low end. The ZOTL has a little more grunt than the Zen and filled out the bass better on the Big Betsy’s. The engagement factor was really off the charts.
The soundstage reminded me a lot of Aaron’s OTL amp that he bought from Steve. It would be a great comparison to hear those two OTL amps back to back.
I could spew out some more adjectives, but instead I’ll tell a story of the last song we listened to: If you Wait by London Grammar. This is a big, emotional song that I had heard maybe 50 times. When I am in the right place mentally, it can be very moving. All I can say is we experienced simultaneous goosebumps – for nearly the whole song. When the song was over, Rob stood up and said something to the effect of, “I’m leaving this with you, keep it for a couple of days. I can’t take this away from you.”
So I have been listening the last two days and really enjoying the hell out of it. The plan tonight is for Rob to come get his gear and then I am going to pack up the Big Betsy’s for him to listen to for about a week.
I’ve been doing some limited swapping out of gear and here are some of my thoughts:
1. The 25th Zen holds up extremely well compared to the ZOTL. The ZOTL is a much more (2X) expensive amp so this is a testament to the value of the 25th. The fact that it can hang in detail and soundstage with this OTL amp is something.
2. The key to the formula was the combination of the DAC and the Big Betsy’s. I think those speakers can find a home in any high-end system. Also, it might be mentioned that Steve’s sound better than mine – fuller, better low end due to thicker wood and huge base. Rob aptly made the comment that the Cyrstal 10s were more “audiophile” and the Big Betsy’s were more musical. He really liked the C10s and we discussed a build until he heard the Big Betsy’s. Just more synergy there with his gear.
3. My cables can compete with the more expensive, boutique cables.
4. The Denefrips deserves top tier DAC status. While my DAC is no slouch, the Terminator is a step above (and a pretty big one) in liquidity.
5. I have to keep both sets of speakers. I’ve thought about abandoning one or the other, but I don’t think I can. They both bring so much to the table.
6. Getting together and listening to gear and providing feedback really helps you figure out where you need to go next. I already improved my sound with the Brooklyn, but maybe another DAC is in my future.