Thrax Maximinus DAC & Libra Pre are here …

[ashandger]

Today we replaced the Thrax Maximinus with our EMM DA2 V2. The magic re-appeared. We called Germany and spoke with Rumen Artarski of Thrax. We adjusted the gain and tried different filters. It must be a bad tube, but not sure.

With the Thrax Libra the SQ is off the charts. It’s incredible. The Libra seems to play all kinds of music well. The sound stage is off the charts. Multiple layer upon layer upon even more layers. Pretty incredible. And the bass - just wow. Everything is indescribably excellent.

We are going to try the Vitus SL 103 Line Stage this coming Monday. We will be doing back to back comparisons with the Libra and the Vitus. Thrax LIBRA will be difficult act to follow. But we will need to keep in mind that the Vitus I’m re-demoing is one step down from the Masterpiece MP-L201 Mk.II, which is my intended purchase if I go with Vitus.

With the Thrax Libra I’ll be able to try some Takatsuki 300Bs. Yummy.

Many thanks for sharing your impressions. Very interesting indeed, especially your comments about excellent bass.

 

[Audire]

We’re finished testing the Libra Pre. It’s a wonderful line stage. It does many things that we liked. The air around the instruments was fabulous, incredible sound stage. The bass is great!

However, when we plugged in the Vitus SL-103, it was more suited for my ears and my system. Everything with the Vitus placed me with the angels and a heavenly sound. The Vitus MP-L201 Mk.II - the top of Vitus’ Line-Stages - will be our next Pre.

 

[ashandger]

We’re finished testing the Libra Pre. It’s a wonderful line stage. It does many things that we liked. The air around the instruments was fabulous, incredible sound stage. The bass is great!

However, when we plugged in the Vitus SL-103, it was more suited for my ears and my system. Everything with the Vitus placed me with the angels and a heavenly sound. The Vitus MP-L201 Mk.II - the top of Vitus’ Line-Stages - will be our next Pre.

Many thanks for your update and congrats on deciding on the MP-L201. Would it be possible for you to expand on the key differences you heard between the Libra and SL103? Does the SL-103 match Libra's soundstage? How do they compare in terms of timbres, transparency and micro dynamics? Any feedback you could share would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

 

[Audire]

Many thanks for your update and congrats on deciding on the MP-L201. Would it be possible for you to expand on the key differences you heard between the Libra and SL103? Does the SL-103 match Libra's soundstage? How do they compare in terms of timbres, transparency and micro dynamics? Any feedback you could share would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

Many thanks.

The Libra is exceptional. We enjoyed it a lot and thought it would be our final selection. It sounds better than our EMM to my ears (and we really really enjoy the EMM). But I told my dealer that I desired to hear the Thrax back to back against the Vitus. We had heard Vitus before - but it had been a while.

The Vitus is a giant step above to my ears. When we connected it (we had it warming up for a hour while we listened to the Thrax) the evidence was immediate to my ears (literally a few seconds and I knew it), and to the other two people here. We were all grinning. We all knew we were at the end of the rainbow - we hit gold.

Everything was a step above including the soundstage, bass, timber, transparency, etc. Everything was elevated. There was absolutely no perceptible noise. A canvass of black … which the music soars against. The Vitus isn’t overly analytical (you hear the macro and micro detail), but it has an unbelievable sonic texture; a balance of perfect warmth, tonal purity, richness, and tube-like liquidity IMO. Liquid may be the best description - everything just flows naturally … The 300Bs in the Thrax were awesome (just WOW), but Vitus outdid them IMO (to my ears and in this specific system).

Through Vitus everything sounds like real music. It’s rather spooky, but the instruments and the artists feel like they are really in your room. I don‘t know how Hans does that. Vitus is world-class IMO.

In part this may have been it’s synergy with the Vitus SM-103 mono amps - which are also beyond anything else we’ve ever heard. We enjoyed it above numerous other high-end amps.

And the best news is we only listened to the Vitus Signature Line-stage. The Masterpiece Line-stage is another step even above it, with a separate power supply and some other developments.

I hope this helps.

 

[ashandger]

Many thanks.

The Libra is exceptional. We enjoyed it a lot and thought it would be our final selection. It sounds better than our EMM to my ears (and we really really enjoy the EMM). But I told my dealer that I desired to hear the Thrax back to back against the Vitus. We had heard Vitus before - but it had been a while.

The Vitus is a giant step above to my ears. When we connected it (we had it warming up for a hour while we listened to the Thrax) the evidence was immediate to my ears (literally a few seconds and I knew it), and to the other two people here. We were all grinning. We all knew we were at the end of the rainbow - we hit gold.

Everything was a step above including the soundstage, bass, timber, transparency, etc. Everything was elevated. There was absolutely no perceptible noise. A canvass of black … which the music soars against. The Vitus isn’t overly analytical (you hear the macro and micro detail), but it has an unbelievable sonic texture; a balance of perfect warmth, tonal purity, richness, and tube-like liquidity IMO. Liquid may be the best description - everything just flows naturally … The 300Bs in the Thrax were awesome (just WOW), but Vitus outdid them IMO (to my ears and in this specific system).

Through Vitus everything sounds like real music. It’s rather spooky, but the instruments and the artists feel like they are really in your room. I don‘t know how Hans does that. Vitus is world-class IMO.

In part this may have been it’s synergy with the Vitus SM-103 mono amps - which are also beyond anything else we’ve ever heard. We enjoyed it above numerous other high-end amps.

And the best news is we only listened to the Vitus Signature Line-stage. The Masterpiece Line-stage is another step even above it, with a separate power supply and some other developments.

I hope this helps.

Hello Joe, many many thanks for taking the time to provide such wonderfully detailed feedback. Very helpful and informative indeed. Congrats on your selection and please share your impressions of the Materpiece linestage whenever you receive it. Enjoy your wonderful system in good health.

 

[Yuen A.]

Today we replaced the Thrax Maximinus with our EMM DA2 V2. The magic re-appeared. We called Germany and spoke with Rumen Artarski of Thrax. We adjusted the gain and tried different filters. It must be a bad tube, but not sure.

With the Thrax Libra the SQ is off the charts. It’s incredible. The Libra seems to play all kinds of music well. The sound stage is off the charts. Multiple layer upon layer upon even more layers. Pretty incredible. And the bass - just wow. Everything is indescribably excellent.

We are going to try the Vitus SL 103 Line Stage this coming Monday. We will be doing back to back comparisons with the Libra and the Vitus. Thrax LIBRA will be a difficult act to follow. But we will need to keep in mind that the Vitus I’m re-demoing is one step down from the Masterpiece MP-L201 Mk.II, which is my intended purchase if I go with Vitus.

With the Thrax Libra I’ll be able to try some Takatsuki 300Bs. Yummy.

Hi Audire,

Has the issue with the Thrax Maximinus Mk2S DAC resolved? Thanks!

 

[Audire]

Hi Audire,

Has the issue with the Thrax Maximinus Mk2S DAC resolved? Thanks!

Hi Yuen,

Thanks. IMO, it wasn’t the best match for our specific system. Please don’t get me wrong it’s an excellent DAC, but it it just wasn’t a good match for us. It may not have liked our Aurender N30, not sure. We didn’t have the opportunity to try it in our system with our friend’s Taiko Extreme.

We have two more DACs to demo now, the Lampi Horizon and the Ideon Absolute E. They are both tentatively scheduled for demo after the first of the year.

Every other DAC has been eliminated per our taste, hearing, etc. I’ll post a complete ranking of DACs we’ve attempted after we finish after the last two demos. Our rankings are of course: (1) system specific, (2) according to our hearing abilities, and (3) our preferences.