Abbas dac 2.1 se

[vinhxn]

@Artnet sorry I didn't respond to your last PM. I was waiting for Abbas' answer and wanted to let you know about it. Abbas didn't answer for almost two weeks. I wrote him again shortly before the New Year.

Because it may interest others, I report here somewhat about it.

The power supply does not work at the moment, the diesel generator had also given him problems in recent weeks. Abbas writes that he also had to be a master of the generator

About a week ago, a missile was shot down over his house. The fragments hit about 15m from his house.

He writes that he and his family are doing well.

About my 3.2 Signature he writes, that the thicker case of higher quality and all other components have arrived. Mounting has already started.

As soon as I know more, I will report here.

He said the same to me about his situation. The only thing we can do is be patient and understanding of his circumstance. It's difficult to work in war environment. A room treatment company also sources their products from the Ukraine and I've been waiting more than 6 months for them to restock and still nothing. You might have to wait another 2 months or more as it will take him a lot of time to tune the DAC (~2 weeks), plus 300 hours of burn-in time plus shipping.

But congrats on your 3.2 Signature (Plus). It seems you will be the first person who will have the enhanced 3.2 Signature. He offered for me to ship it back and he would make the changes for free but the shipping cost back and forth (at least $750) plus waiting 3 months or more it's probably not worth it. He'll continually improve on the design so I might wait a bit more.

 

[vinhxn]

The brand name is now on top.

What about the front face? I'd rather have a natural wood front vs piano laquered MDF (that chipped easily). Most of the cost went into components and his time but if he wanted his units to look high-end, it would be nice to have a thick aluminum case with thich aluminum faceplate. I hope he has a good cooling solution for you. This thing is a heater. I have to put it on the top rack running with the case open. It will be difficult to use this DAC in the summer.

 

[charles1dad]

What about the front face? I'd rather have a natural wood front vs piano laquered MDF (that chipped easily). Most of the cost went into components and his time but if he wanted his units to look high-end, it would be nice to have a thick aluminum case with thich aluminum faceplate. I hope he has a good cooling solution for you. This thing is a heater. I have to put it on the top rack running with the case open. It will be difficult to use this DAC in the summer.

Abbas has added a cooling device to the rear panel of my 3.2SE. He acknowledges there is considerable heat due to the utilization of the "big bottle" 6080 tube of 1 per channel. The trade off I guess is component heat for big 6080 output stage sound. If the cooling device is effective, great. If not, I'll just keep the top lid off. I've done this for the past 8 years with my current Yamamoto DAC. Per jespera, it's worth it to get the big bottle sonic attributes.
Charles

 

[jespera]

@Artnet sorry I didn't respond to your last PM. I was waiting for Abbas' answer and wanted to let you know about it. Abbas didn't answer for almost two weeks. I wrote him again shortly before the New Year.

Because it may interest others, I report here somewhat about it.

The power grid does not work at the moment, the diesel generator had also given him problems in recent weeks. Abbas writes that he also had to be a master of the generator

About a week ago, a missile was shot down over his house. The fragments hit about 15m from his house.

He writes that he and his family are doing well.

About my 3.2 Signature he writes, that the thicker case of higher quality and all other components have arrived. Mounting has already started.

As soon as I know more, I will report here.

Good to hear that he’s ok.

Sad that the futin pucker will rather spend his resources on messing up neigbouring country’s electricity and water than sorting out the same for his own population.

 

[jespera]

@jespera
How well do the hi resolution recordings sound down sampled via the DAC?
Charles

Some of the hires has been remastered and those usually sound poor. But if it hasnt been remastered then downsampled hires sound as good as ordinary 44/16. In some cases even better — most likely because they were made from better/closer-to-the-original source material.

 

[djsina2]

He offered for me to ship it back and he would make the changes for free but the shipping cost back and forth (at least $750) plus waiting 3 months or more it's probably not worth it. He'll continually improve on the design so I might wait a bit more.

Where are you located? I shipped my DAC back using Meest for about $100 from the US.

 

[charles1dad]

@vinhxn
I do not know if Abbas is trying to maintain his "devices" within a particular accessible price range or not. A thick aluminum case/chassis and front panel would certainly escalate the cost of his components. He may even say he does not like the sound of that material for audio (As some manufacturers have claimed)'
Charles

 

[charles1dad]

Some of the hires has been remastered and those usually sound poor. But if it hasnt been remastered then downsampled hires sound as good as ordinary 44/16. In some cases even better — most likely because they were made from better/closer-to-the-original source material.

Thanks, that is good to know.
Charles

 

[jespera]

… and mqa is a scam: sounds like some same-same high freq glittery sparkle (“air”?) has been added to all recordings. Number one reason to switch from tidal to quboz.

 

[vinhxn]

Where are you located? I shipped my DAC back using Meest for about $100 from the US.

I'm in the Portland, OR area (West coast USA). He shipped the 3.2 Sig in 2 big boxes. One has the DAC (heavy). The other one has faceplate, tubes and cables. I think $310 was the cost.

 

[vinhxn]

@vinhxn
I do not know if Abbas is trying to maintain his "devices" within a particular accessible price range or not. A thick aluminum case/chassis and front panel would certainly escalate the cost of his components. He may even say he does not like the sound of that material for audio (As some manufacturers have claimed)'
Charles

If he had his way, nothing would be in a case. Components need to "breathe". He's trying to emulate music from the 30s-60s. Having a thicker case and proper shielding helps with interference. Without the top and sides, I can hear a hum standing close to the DAC.

Today I bypassed the AN M5 pre-amp and connected the DAC directly to the tube amps. Oh my, the soundstage increased by a third it seems. Downside is that the noise floor is much higher as well. When no passage is playing I can hear some noise but when a song plays, the noise floor increased. I've never recorded a clip before but I will try to record some clips and post them here.

 

[charles1dad]

@vinhxn
A recommendation for a TVC /passive line stage was given to you recently and it’s an idea to consider. Given the effect of the high output voltage of the DAC in your audio system.

You have a long way to go with regard to burn-in and the 3.2 Signature settling in. At this early stage is the sound quality what you anticipated?

Do you use any form of vibration/isolation footers or platform? This Imay be beneficial for a fairly heavy DAC with 3 transformers and multiple tubes. Just a thought.

Additional time (Abbas told me 200 hours required for complete burn-in) and fine tuning make a difference. A lot of man hour labor is put into the Abbas DACs, especially for the 3.2 versions. Numerous special parts will need additional hours of usage.

Abbas has explained due to the presence of the “powerful and big” 6080 tubes, it’s essentially an amplifier inside the 3.2 DACs, I get his connotation.

One example, the Blackgate capacitors utilized are known to have a long burn-in period. This is likely so for the considerable amount of transformer iron (And chokes) in the DAC as well. I do appreciate you sharing your early experiences with your new DAC.
Charles

 

[Artnet]

The power grid does not work at the moment, the diesel generator had also given him problems in recent weeks. Abbas writes that he also had to be a master of the generator

About a week ago, a missile was shot down over his house. The fragments hit about 15m from his house.

He writes that he and his family are doing well.

About my 3.2 Signature he writes, that the thicker case of higher quality and all other components have arrived. Mounting has already started.

As soon as I know more, I will report here

Thanks Jurij for the news. The realities of the war there are increasingly dreadful to hear about. My last communication I commented to Abbas that its incredible that he can get anything done.
Amazing and generous with his time!!
look forward to hearing more.

 

[Artnet]

If he had his way, nothing would be in a case. Components need to "breathe".

If only well vented timber boxes were an affordable option

 

[charles1dad]

If only well vented timber boxes were an affordable option

In terms of money,time and focus expenditures it seems 5% exterior (Purposeful) and 95 % interior (Passion , parts and layout implementation). I’ll take that ratio. The bling resides inside.
Charles

 

[jespera]

If only well vented timber boxes were an affordable option

Abbas did this one-off project years ago.
I like the way its cased. Much better than those milled alu boxes that seem to be the standard for high end stuff.

??????? ?????????? — Abbasaudio

www.abbasaudio.com

 

[charles1dad]

Abbas did this one-off project years ago.
I like the way its cased. Much better than those milled alu boxes that seem to be the standard for high end stuff.

??????? ?????????? — Abbasaudio

www.abbasaudio.com

I recall reading that article. I also like the wooden case aesthetic. BTW I heard from Abbas today. He’s hanging in there.
Charles

 

[limberpine]

I'm in the Portland, OR area (West coast USA). He shipped the 3.2 Sig in 2 big boxes. One has the DAC (heavy). The other one has faceplate, tubes and cables. I think $310 was the cost.

I'm in Portland, OR too! I have an Abbas 4.0. We should meetup sometime!

 

[limberpine]

Abbas did this one-off project years ago.
I like the way its cased. Much better than those milled alu boxes that seem to be the standard for high end stuff.

??????? ?????????? — Abbasaudio

www.abbasaudio.com

That is amazing!

 

[Artnet]

That is amazing!

It or one similar would surely make you 2.0 kit sound better and handsome too.

It inspires me with my USB to SPDIF kit. might be time to test the cabinet making skills.