Abbas dac 2.1 se

[cal3713]

@charles1dad
I wait for the answer of Abbas and will report what he says about the "Signature"

I too would like to hear the summary of the SE vs Signature comparison. I hope you get it sorted out and get a response.

 

[trinley]

@trinle
Yes, this misunderstanding of country of origin/nationality could very well explain the lack of a response to you. Abbas clearly states on his website, due to the war, he will have no dealings with Russia, Belarus or Zimbabwe. He is adamant about this.
Charles

Abbas replied to me, he says that he only does not deliver to the three countries. He delivers to all other countries.

He will answer to my other questions later.
Jurij

 

[gerihifi]

Hello all, it is great to see how everyone supports Abbas!

I was struggling between SW1x and Lampizator, but than I read read about Abbas background, as well how he builds stuff. I own a Weiss DAC 501 (before Merason dac1) and finally wanna see something different from an tda1541 tube-based DAC. Also have an vintage Pioneer PD-93/1992 with PCM63p-k (20bit at its best) love it...

I joined the club and ordered 3.2SE + RCA from him today. Very excited, once delivered the next months.Compared to Audio Note, SW1x and Lampizator, i'd say he has really very fair pricing!

Anyone has some comparison to Abbas and Audio Note DACs?

ThX
Gerald

 

[Devg]

Hi Folks,

those who are ordering the 3.2SE, which I am also very interested in, what is the lead time given by Abbas ? In my recent communication, he was very reluctant to provide me with a date, not even an approximate one. He only said it will take months which is a bit vague, though he said the 2.4/4.2 will only take a month. I understand the supply chain issues these days (and also the war that might effect the delivery). I am just curious to know what is the reasonable wait time these days for the 3.2SE ?

 

[gerihifi]

Hi Folks,

those who are ordering the 3.2SE, which I am also very interested in, what is the lead time given by Abbas ? In my recent communication, he was very reluctant to provide me with a date, not even an approximate one. He only said it will take months which is a bit vague, though he said the 2.4/4.2 will only take a month. I understand the supply chain issues these days (and also the war that might effect the delivery). I am just curious to know what is the reasonable wait time these days for the 3.2SE ?

I paid him today, so will see what he response in the next days. It is for sure still a tough situation (war is still going on!) and he also mentioned to re-register his company in a different country.

So i do not expect anything before Dec.

 

[Devg]

I paid him today, so will see what he response in the next days. It is for sure still a tough situation (war is still going on!) and he also mentioned to re-register his company in a different country.

So i do not expect anything before Dec.

Did you pay in full or partial ?

 

[gerihifi]

Did you pay in full or partial ?

Full, because like to support him and in conversation with him since a couple months.

 

[charles1dad]

Well hello to fellow future Abbas 3.2SE DAC owners. I placed my order with Abbas 1 week ago with a 50% payment. He told me to expect 2 to 3 months for completion of the DAC.

So I’m prepared to just patiently wait it out. Given the war, his location, supply chain issues, complex built of the 3.2 etc. If I have mine by the New Year I’ll be happy. If possibly sooner, then great.

Based on the recent posts here, he has 4 3.2SE DACs to complete. Abbas has reminded me a few times that the 2.4SE can be built in several weeks and it’s quite good.

Of course, I do not doubt him for a moment. The problem is I have convinced myself that the 3.2 SE is meant for me.

So I’ll pay more and have a longer wait time. No problem, I truly believe it will be worth it once I have this DAC in my audio system. Good things come to those who wait.
I blame @jespera , he started all of this with initiating this very positive thread.
Charles

 

[charles1dad]

@gerihifi
You have had some highly regarded DACs. I was very interested in the Merason DAC 1 and the Lab 12 Reference DAC. I lost interest in the SW1X due to markedly aggressive price escalation and somewhat the same with LampiZator and AudioNote products. I believe that Abbas is the real deal for very reasonable cost.
Charles

 

[charles1dad]

I have read quite a bit of Abbas’ articles on his website and I have appreciation for how long he has been at this and his evolution.

Going to the SW1X website and reading their philosophical and technical approach,well it appears they are “greatly “ inspired/influence by Abbas. Eerily similar.
Charles

 

[djsina2]

I've done a little comparing between my 2.4SE and vintage Marantz CD-15 modified by Audio Tekne. I'm using the CD-15 as the source for both. The CD-15 has lowered gain from stock and the 2.4SE is high gain. So when I switch inputs on my passive pre I need to adjust volume to get them fairly close in output but it's not perfect.

First impression is they are remarkably similar! So much so if I am listening in the dark and cannot see which input is selected I can lose track of which one I am actually listening to. If I analyze instead of just listen you could say the 2.4SE has a more "solid" presentation due to slightly more weight and the CD-15 is a more "open" presentation with greater transparency. The CD-15 also seems to have a tad more bloom. Detail seems equal between the two. Must reiterate the differences are very slight. As an example, I can hear greater A/B differences just changing the platter mat on my turntable. 2.4SE was used with RCA red base 6SN7 and a National Union 6X5GT rectifier. I also briefly tried the Melz metal base 6H8C.

I then changed the rectifier to a JAN 6X5GT and this brought about bigger change than swapping between the output tubes. Not enough time to digest what is happening there yet.

 

[charles1dad]

@djsina2
Thanks for your update. How extensive were the modifications to your Marantz CD-15? How much burn-in does the 2.4SE require? Seems that you have two really good DACs.
Charles

 

[djsina2]

@djsina2
Thanks for your update. How extensive were the modifications to your Marantz CD-15? How much burn-in does the 2.4SE require? Seems that you have two really good DACs.
Charles

The mods are fairly significant, the main one being extracting the audio output of the DAC and running that through Audio Tekne transformers. The stock output stage seems bypassed. There are also measures taken to mitigate vibration. I believe Abbas burns his DACs in for 50hrs before shipping and considers that enough. I've also put another 50hrs or so on it. The Abbas is meant for my office system so I'm happy it was able to perform at the level of the CD-15.

 

[charles1dad]

Yes, it seems that the 2.4SE has met your expectations. Will you be using it with an active or passive line stage in your office system?
Charles

 

[charles1dad]

Oops! I just saw that you are using a passive preamplifier.
Charles

 

[djsina2]

Oops! I just saw that you are using a passive preamplifier.
Charles

Abbas is in my main system now since I’m still gathering pieces for the office. It will likely be an integrated or amp with single input and VC. Abbas will be fed from CEC TL5. I don’t stream or maintain files.

 

[charles1dad]

Abbas is in my main system now since I’m still gathering pieces for the office. It will likely be an integrated or amp with single input and VC. Abbas will be fed from CEC TL5. I don’t stream or maintain files.

You are going to have a very nice office audio system. Good already, I suspect that the 2.4SE will further improve with additional hours of use,
Charles

 

[gerihifi]

Well hello to fellow future Abbas 3.2SE DAC owners. I placed my order with Abbas 1 week ago with a 50% payment. He told me to expect 2 to 3 months for completion of the DAC.

So I’m prepared to just patiently wait it out. Given the war, his location, supply chain issues, complex built of the 3.2 etc. If I have mine by the New Year I’ll be happy. If possibly sooner, then great.

Based on the recent posts here, he has 4 3.2SE DACs to complete. Abbas has reminded me a few times that the 2.4SE can be built in several weeks and it’s quite good.

Of course, I do not doubt him for a moment. The problem is I have convinced myself that the 3.2 SE is meant for me.

So I’ll pay more and have a longer wait time. No problem, I truly believe it will be worth it once I have this DAC in my audio system. Good things come to those who wait.
I blame @jespera , he started all of this with initiating this very positive thread.
Charles

Absolutely... it is not an industrialized product, nor something made in mass production. So for sure he needs several months to build and test. I'm also sure he builds based on order date and not who paid most. For sure Abbas is not someoe like that.

 

[gerihifi]

@gerihifi
You have had some highly regarded DACs. I was very interested in the Merason DAC 1 and the Lab 12 Reference DAC. I lost interest in the SW1X due to markedly aggressive price escalation and somewhat the same with LampiZator and AudioNote products. I believe that Abbas is the real deal for very reasonable cost.
Charles

Merason DAC1 is for me an absolutely hidden champion and extremely underestimated. I would have kept it, but due the fact I've already 2+ Abbas DAC coming in....Very well performing. Great soundstage, detailed but not analytical/synthetic, more on the warmer side of presentation. Build is astonishing perfect swiss made, output/inputs high quality.

Yes, he has not fancy features, nor PreAmp, but for me easy beats several DACs the 8-10k range!
LAB12 i tested as well (just 4 days), really good price/value, but cant compete with Merason.

 

[Artnet]

fed from CEC TL5. I don’t stream or maintain files.

Ditto, feed my 4.1SE from a TL51XR (modified) and sounds terrific. Look forward to hearing about more of the 2.4 Journey.