Yes, I've experienced that. At this point, any change that further increases truthfulness of timbre would be reason for an upgrade.
“Antipodes? Just too out there for me.”
not sure what you mean by this statement. Lots of Antipodes owners on this site (including me) and dont recall anyone describing it this way
Hello
Yeah that did not come across very well, sorry. I guess it is just a feeling, and I can not substantiate it. They seem less mainstream than several other big streamer companies. And yet I went with Grimm, which is a bit esoteric and am strongly considering a Taiko Extreme when the new DAC is out. I was also a very early owner of a Makua with internal DAC, when most thought MM was just a fish. Point taken. I would love to listen to a top Antipodes in my system.
@fast.freight , Did you happen to compare Makua w onboard Tambaqui vs. Makua w outboard Tambaqui with the same amps?
Hello PYP. Yes I have compared, but not with all identical equipment. It was the amps I was changing: At the time system 1 had Audionet Pre G2, Audioinet Max amps, Tambaqui and YG Hailey speakers. System 2 had Makua w onboard Tambaqui, MM Kaluga amps, Revel Salon 2 speakers. Both had K-S Elation interconnects but the Hailey's had better speaker wires. I liked system 1 so I brought the Max amps upstairs to try in place of the Kalugas. Huge improvement. The Audionet Max amps are special, so much more lifelike, better resolution and sparkle, and easy to love. The onboard Tambaqui in the Makua was certainly not the bottleneck! The onboard streamer in either Tambaqui is however. Better sound was had first with the Auralic G2, and now the Grimm MU1 which seems a great match for the Tambaqui. I am demoing the XACT S! and it is easily better still in sound, but at the (?cost) of not running Roon. Seems the XACT S1 and the Taiko Extreme get better sound by NOT running roon. I have not heard the Taiko, but listeners state it achieves the best roon they have ever heard.
I found out Tambaqui plays the best straight without digital volume to the amps with its own volume reg. So much better then with NAT Magnetic preamp or any other pramp I tried so far. Now with Horning Agalme wow, never heard anything like that in my life, maybe very strong statement but that what it is
Unfortunately I like to try Lampizator Pacific so I will let it go, if Im a sorry I can always get it back, we shall see
I have never tried any DAC without a preamp. Most every "expert" has advised a good DAC always sounds better with a preamp, provided, of course that it is an excellent preamplifier. I use the Makua preamp and it's fantastic.
Makua I had at home, But I did not have so revealing spekers as Horning now, i also tried makua with internal Tambaqui before and it was better then Tambaqui itself then
Interesting. Did you have it long before making this determination? I ask only because at first I didn't like the sound of the Makua. It took a LONG time to break in, but eventually revealed its true majesty.
Long as in, say, four months? Or was it longer?
I ask because I'm considering the Makua but really don't like long break-in periods. I would most likely trade in the Tambaqui for a Makua with the built-in Tambaqui (since my preference is few cords and less space taken), so the built-in DAC would probably take a few months for its own break in (if my memory is correct about the Tambaqui).
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No, nothing at all like that. I'd say a week to 10 days at most. Even after 3 days it sounded considerably better than it did out of the box. I had two dealer friends - not even dealers for Mola Mola - who know the piece well and both feel it punches at 3 times its weight, price wise. One said it easily competes with 30K preamps. I find it to be a top shelf piece on every level. Sublime
How about Lampi Pacific going to Makua pre/Tambaqui combo just for fun to try time to time to switch Tambaqui/Lampi?
Thank you for commenting about this. I'm seriously considering the Makua, possibly with the internal DAC just for a backup (and the fun of comparing it with my Lampizator), as well as some other contenders... but I keep thinking the Makua "feels" right to me.
VTL's TL6.5 Series II is also a contender. I've read owner complaints about having to send their VTL hardware back to the factory for minor issues, but they're about 25 minutes away from me so that's not a hindrance *unless* they won't allow me to drop it off personally.
The Makua is a true, hi-fi piece of art and built at industrial grade.level. I've not heard of anything ever "breaking down," as their units are built like tanks. Ultra reliable and some reviewers/critics have said of the Tmbaqui that one can spend 100K and not get a better sound. So for sure it is a value even at 13.5K US. That said, I have also heard fantastic things about Lampizator. Clearly each will sound very different - one being tube based and the other solid state. It will come down to personal preference of course.
The ability to switch between the Makua's DAC (which is a Tambaqui) and another DAC like the Lampizator is such a great option. If budget and rack space allows, having two different DACs (tubes and not) seems like the perfect setup if your streamer has two outputs.
The demo Makua (well-used by the distributor) has only been playing music for six hours but its strengths are already evident vs. the Tambaqui's volume control. I assumed there would be some loss of transparency due to additional circuitry and another set of ICs. But that just isn't the case.
What is intriguing is the ability of the whole setup to follow the flow of the music so closely. Nuances in touch, volume (as controlled by the musician) for example, are more obvious but the additional detail isn't highlighted. Rather it is presented within the fabric of the music.
I also have a Grimm MU2 to compare with the MU1 + Tambaqui once I have heard more of the Makua. My wife cares nothing for gear and never makes comments on anything but the music. But she could see two new boxes and asked which one was playing because she said she really liked the way the music was portrayed (music that is very familiar to her). Wow. That is a first.
The other listener in our family -- the feline -- is really curious about the turning volume control knob and the clicking sound it makes. He has not commented on the sound, probably because I have mostly played Jazz and he is more into Classical music, Mozart in particular (assumed by how close he gets to the speakers).
I'm still comparing. Seems the MU2 was not fully broken in, thus it has been cycling between good and dull sound. But when it has been in the good part of the cycle, I prefer the MU2 to the MU1 + MMT. The MU1 refines the sound of the MMT and the MU2 takes that same refinement further. It seems to square the circle by being both relaxed and dynamic. I believe the aim was to provide a piece of gear that disappears as much as possible.
Of course, only an in-home demo to compare the MU2 to the MMT will tell your ears in the context of your system whether this is the direction you prefer. The MU2 and MMT direct to amps are equally good (that is, very very good), but different in presentation. The MM Makua preamp improved both MU2 and MMT vs. direct to amps. At least to my ears in my setup. Both DACs gain nuance and fluidity with the preamp. As someone who has not used a preamp in many, many years, this was a surprise.
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