Finally got a new DAC (Tambaqui!)

taww

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Jun 12, 2020
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On week 3 and the Tambaqui sound has taken a few notches up. It continues to do an exceptional job balancing detail with naturalness, vividness with smoothness, while developing real power and depth. Cello and piano in particular have gotten significantly richer and more resonant - zero leanness concerns. The perspective is also more forward now, but in a good way - initially it was very dimensional and detailed, but up-front recordings sounded a tad too airy and not visceral enough. Now close mic’ed material sounds big and bold as it should, dare I say even emulating great tube sound in its presence. I switched back to the PS audio briefly, which had been powered down so I think it was a bit cold, but the gap between the two has widened significantly.
 

PYP

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Jan 13, 2022
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On week 3 and the Tambaqui sound has taken a few notches up. It continues to do an exceptional job balancing detail with naturalness, vividness with smoothness, while developing real power and depth. Cello and piano in particular have gotten significantly richer and more resonant - zero leanness concerns. The perspective is also more forward now, but in a good way - initially it was very dimensional and detailed, but up-front recordings sounded a tad too airy and not visceral enough. Now close mic’ed material sounds big and bold as it should, dare I say even emulating great tube sound in its presence. I switched back to the PS audio briefly, which had been powered down so I think it was a bit cold, but the gap between the two has widened significantly.
I also had a PS Audio DS prior to getting the Tambaqui. The Tambaqui I listened to was a fully broken in demo unit, so I was able to compare apples to apples. Although I truly enjoyed the DS, the Tambaqui is in a different league (of course, within the context of my system which also uses Mola Mola amps, presumably the amps used to develop the Tambaqui).

If I remember correctly, the Tambaqui sounded great after about one month, but I noticed small improvements over the next two months or so. YMMV (different room, ears, preferences, systems).

As mentioned, in my setup the power cable made a difference. I'm trying to arrange a in-home demo of a Shunyata power distributor to determine if that will increase the Tambaqui's (and all other gear) qualities (as well as providing excellent over-current protection, which is needed where I live).
 

AMR / iFi audio

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Aug 21, 2019
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On week 3 and the Tambaqui sound has taken a few notches up. It continues to do an exceptional job balancing detail with naturalness, vividness with smoothness, while developing real power and depth. Cello and piano in particular have gotten significantly richer and more resonant - zero leanness concerns. The perspective is also more forward now, but in a good way - initially it was very dimensional and detailed, but up-front recordings sounded a tad too airy and not visceral enough. Now close mic’ed material sounds big and bold as it should, dare I say even emulating great tube sound in its presence. I switched back to the PS audio briefly, which had been powered down so I think it was a bit cold, but the gap between the two has widened significantly.
Are you turning it off when not listening? I'm always leaving my SS gear running, especially DACs and preamps. They don't need music to burn in, even being powered on helps.
 
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taww

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Are you turning it off when not listening? I'm always leaving my SS gear running, especially DACs and preamps. They don't need music to burn in, even being powered on helps.
No, I never turn off any of my source gear, and in fact I’ve been running the Tambaqui nonstop with either Roon or AES-EBU playing. I only shut down the Gryphon set for obvious conservation and temperature reasons. :)
 
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AMR / iFi audio

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No, I never turn off any of my source gear, and in fact I’ve been running the Tambaqui nonstop with either Roon or AES-EBU playing. I only shut down the Gryphon set for obvious conservation and temperature reasons. :)
Great minds think alike :) Yes, it's gonna be hard to listen to the hot running gear in the upcoming months. It's headphone season ;)
 

ihmeyers

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Nov 13, 2017
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I'm interested in the Tambaqui, but my preamps are single ended only. Any opinion on the XLR to RCA adapters Mola Mola supplies? I'm generally not a fan of those kinds of things because I think you lose too much vs the XLR outputs, Has anyone compared them to the straight XLR out sound? Is the loss in sound quality enough to exclude the Tambaqui from purchase?

Thanks.

 

PYP

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Jan 13, 2022
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I'm interested in the Tambaqui, but my preamps are single ended only. Any opinion on the XLR to RCA adapters Mola Mola supplies? I'm generally not a fan of those kinds of things because I think you lose too much vs the XLR outputs, Has anyone compared them to the straight XLR out sound? Is the loss in sound quality enough to exclude the Tambaqui from purchase?
There are so many variables that what others experience may not be relevant. Needless to say, if you can demo the Tambaqui then you can test it within the context of your system. As you know, the benefit of balanced cables is greater immunity to noise vs. single-ended, so if you have very long single-ended cables and lots of EMF and RFI, then balanced would be better. But absent those challenges, perhaps the cable design/composition determines the sound more than the use of an adapter (it seems like you might have more than one to try).

Given the quality of your beautiful setup, I would anticipate that the Tambaqui is going to sound great even with an adapter. It will be a matter of personal taste of tubed DAC (Lampi) vs. non-tubed. To me, the Tambaqui just lets the music through.
 
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ihmeyers

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Nov 13, 2017
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There are so many variables that what others experience may not be relevant. Needless to say, if you can demo the Tambaqui then you can test it within the context of your system. As you know, the benefit of balanced cables is greater immunity to noise vs. single-ended, so if you have very long single-ended cables and lots of EMF and RFI, then balanced would be better. But absent those challenges, perhaps the cable design/composition determines the sound more than the use of an adapter (it seems like you might have more than one to try).

Given the quality of your beautiful setup, I would anticipate that the Tambaqui is going to sound great even with an adapter. It will be a matter of personal taste of tubed DAC (Lampi) vs. non-tubed. To me, the Tambaqui just lets the music through.


Thanks. The Tambaqui would actually go into a 2nd system for now using a custom DHT preamp and some open baffle speakers. The DHT preamp doesn't have balanced inputs but it sound's very natural (albeit with pretty low gain). I have a Line Magnetic As-133 DHT preamp I had built for me in China coming within next month and that does have one balanced input. But then I need to buy quality balanced cables. My SE cables (in this system) are Audio Note. This is more a 'screw around with system' that has a completely different sound from my main system. I had never had an SET before and now I have 4 of them. This is bucket list stuff for me as I try to explore a more 'vintage' type of sound.

BTW, the Tambaqui I have my eyes on is a dealer trade-in so there would be no home demo.
 

Davidny

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Nov 29, 2014
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I'm interested in the Tambaqui, but my preamps are single ended only. Any opinion on the XLR to RCA adapters Mola Mola supplies? I'm generally not a fan of those kinds of things because I think you lose too much vs the XLR outputs, Has anyone compared them to the straight XLR out sound? Is the loss in sound quality enough to exclude the Tambaqui from purchase?

Thanks.

If you’re buying a Tambaqui from GTT Audio in New Jersey, Bill will supply XLR/RCA adapters. Mola Mola doesn’t supply them. He told me he has auditioned many adapters and thinks the ones he uses sound the best. I’ve auditioned other equipment and tweaks with him at his place and he’s quite conscientious when he does A/B comparisons. Also he auditions on his “big system” which must retail for close to $1M. Not saying that cost is equal to best, but he is recommending a Tambaqui with single ended outputs in a otherwise cost no object system. It’s up to you to decide why he recommends the $14K Tambaqui.
I’ve owned a Tambaqui to 3+ years using his adapters and think it sounds great. Over that time I’ve made multiple tweaks to my digital set up upstream of the DAC and never felt that the Tambaqui was a bottleneck in the changes that I’ve made and improvements I’ve been able to hear.

Here’s a video he recently did to explain the virtues of single ended vs balanced
 
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speakerlust

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Mar 26, 2011
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I was fortunate to find and purchase a preowned Mola Mola Makua with newly updated DAC card. I already had a DHT preamp with a installed DAC module and also a Lumin X1. I had previously run the X1 through the preamp, but changed to active crossover and amp direct with the Leedh processing option of the X1. Leedh surprised me with the dynamics and great sound quality experience, which I found better to my liking. My DHT preamp did not have a home theater bypass for integration with my HT processor. I employed a passive switch box with XLR inputs/output, which seemed to work well, but was an inelegant solution, but still thought better sound quality. The Makua, for me, proved to be a highly transparent preamp that simplified use of my DACs while providing excellent sound quality. As much as I liked Leedh, I found I preferred using the Makua volume control. The Makua can set of optional inputs to Direct, using the device volume control and performing as a HT bypass. I compared both Direct with Leedh and using preamp volume control without Leedh, and at that time preferred Makua volume control. Admittedly, I have not revisited comparing these at this time. The Makua has ended up being an excellent piece in my system. I still have the X1 and play it as well as ethernet Roon Ready of the Makua, as well as USB and AES/EBU to the Makua DAC module (Tambaqui). The stand alone Tambaqui does have I2S input, while the Makua DAC module does not.

I appreciate the pleasurable sound quality tube preamps can provide. I have had Cary SLP-05, Vinnie Rossi DHT LIO, and Vinnie Rossi DHT L2 Signature preamps in my system. I rolled a variety of tubes, and enjoyed the results. In earlier years, I pursued tube preamps for midrange magic and to mellow bright edge of some of my other equipment at the time. I find the Makua very transparent and not at all bright or edgy. I have found cabling does influence the presentation with the Mola Mola DAC and preamp, and have somewhat tuned what I find right in my music choices using cabling, but did that as well with earlier equipment choices. My choices now, including the Mola Mola and X1 already are in the camp of what sounds right to me, and do not require compensation with other equipment pieces to emphasize more detail for my tubed gear or more warmth to take away perceived irritating brightness and etched detail. This is where I am now in my audio travels, and does not preclude further changes down line. I was far from unhappy with my previous preamp, but was looking for more elegant solution to fit my needs of my system, and the Makua has been superior for me in that regard. If possible, suggest you work with your dealer to explore auditioning the Makua or Mola Mola integrated, if it fits. All the various parts of our audio systems contribute to the perceived sound we get. Best of luck to you on your audio travels.
 

AMR / iFi audio

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Aug 21, 2019
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Thanks. The Tambaqui would actually go into a 2nd system for now using a custom DHT preamp and some open baffle speakers. The DHT preamp doesn't have balanced inputs but it sound's very natural (albeit with pretty low gain). I have a Line Magnetic As-133 DHT preamp I had built for me in China coming within next month and that does have one balanced input. But then I need to buy quality balanced cables. My SE cables (in this system) are Audio Note. This is more a 'screw around with system' that has a completely different sound from my main system. I had never had an SET before and now I have 4 of them. This is bucket list stuff for me as I try to explore a more 'vintage' type of sound.

BTW, the Tambaqui I have my eyes on is a dealer trade-in so there would be no home demo.
Have you talked to the dealership about a loan with a security deposit? All the dealers I know are very flexible when it comes to auditions, especially with more expensive stuff :)
If you are afraid of the quality lost in the adapter, maybe get an XLR to RCA cable? It will serve as a converter but without any new points of contact in the signal path. Just a thought.
 

snopro

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2012
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Yes, needs more break in and leave it always on and at 6 volts. Run it with a preamp.
Mid bass will fill out and the soundstage will expand. It is an excellent dac!
 

Echos

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Jul 14, 2019
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Yes, needs more break in and leave it always on and at 6 volts. Run it with a preamp.
Mid bass will fill out and the soundstage will expand. It is an excellent dac!
my 2c is if you run it with a preamp it better be a top notch preamp....otherwise I prefer to run it direct to the amp.
 
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NC Lee

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Oct 23, 2014
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Another connection trade-off question.
My Aurender, according to a couple of reviewers, outputs better SQ from AES. The Tambaqui limits AES to 192 khz resolution vs 384 via USB. Also, USB supports DSD.
Should I have a preference? I'd rather buy one cable rather than 2 and compare.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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That seems to be a "you" question. There should be some cables with a loaner or r return options.
 
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PYP

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Jan 13, 2022
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Another connection trade-off question.
My Aurender, according to a couple of reviewers, outputs better SQ from AES. The Tambaqui limits AES to 192 khz resolution vs 384 via USB. Also, USB supports DSD.
Should I have a preference? I'd rather buy one cable rather than 2 and compare.
Agree with the post suggesting in-home demo of two cables. Your setup, your ears.

My Grimm MU1 server/streamer/DDC has a SPDIF and AES output. I'm using the AES to the Tambaqui and it sounds very musical. To my ears, in my setup.
 

taww

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Jun 12, 2020
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Agree with the post suggesting in-home demo of two cables. Your setup, your ears.

My Grimm MU1 server/streamer/DDC has a SPDIF and AES output. I'm using the AES to the Tambaqui and it sounds very musical. To my ears, in my setup.
I'm also not sure how important a 384khz interface is. I have no recordings in that format, and Qobuz only goes up to 24/192. I would not sweat it unless you have source material you care about in the format, or you really like the upsampling from your Aurender. Personally I have found upsampling/filtering to be more a matter of flavor than actual improvement, and prefer to let DACs with superior processing (like the Tambaqui) handle the original, bit perfect signal.
 

Yorky

New Member
Aug 6, 2023
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taww How is the Tambaqui sounding now? Im about to take delivery of one and im interested in what improvements to the SQ I can expect in the first few weeks and months.
 

Yorky

New Member
Aug 6, 2023
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Agree with the post suggesting in-home demo of two cables. Your setup, your ears.

My Grimm MU1 server/streamer/DDC has a SPDIF and AES output. I'm using the AES to the Tambaqui and it sounds very musical. To my ears, in my setup.
I believe that the MU1 takes over clocking duties when AES is used.
Which AES cables have you tried and was any particular one an obvious improvement over the others using AES?
 

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