Aries Cerat Kassandra II Ref DAC: Wow!

morricab

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I don't have any open/closed stake here. I am just telling you what I heard. I have heard 38s at Christoph's, and 32s at Michael's. I like Unis much more. I can see what shortcomings of Unis are compared to Trio and Apogees and a couple of custom built one-off horns I have heard, but not w.r.t Odeons. I just told you that coz I do not want further displeasure in case I do not like it after listening to it. What would you say if I had new Magico model and invited you over? (not comparing Odeon to Magico, btw)

If you had Magico, it would depend on what ancillaries you have if I would even want to hear it. If you were trying something bold like a high powered SET I would be curious to see if those speakers can be properly "woken up".
 

bonzo75

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Which gear at Michael's? Did he have the Incito + Lamms? I think that was well before when you were there and it was with Crimson SS pre and amps. You didn't hear a fraction of what is possible. As for the 38s at Christoph, it seems bass is a challenge in his room...I don't think the Universums will be any different.

He had the SL pre with Lamm, and also heard it with KR integrated. It sounds nice, but not horn magic, more like what I was used from a sensitive cone like Verity
 

morricab

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He had the SL pre with Lamm, and also heard it with KR integrated. It sounds nice, but not horn magic, more like what I was used from a sensitive cone like Verity

SL?
 

bonzo75

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Legolas

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Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref II incoming

Hi guys, I have the Kassandra Ref II coming end next week or the following week. I will post my finding on here, plus pics. My system has had various Audio Note DACs with the Audio Note UK DAC 5 Special (with Duelund Caps) until November last year. I have been wanting this huge DAC for some time, and finally it is coming. It appeals to my NOS and tube preferences, and the AD1865 chips (16 of them) plus output transformers and transformers on the I/V stage, those tick all my boxes.

I've also had the DAVE on home demo, and the CH Precision C1, and a Spanish buddy brought his Lampizator Golden Gate 2017 spec. I have built 4 Audio Note kit Dacs over the last 3 years, many of them highly modded.

So, could the Kassandra be my end game Dac? Next is the listening to find out. I will try it on USB and also with my Ethernet to SPDIF Rednet 3 which has it's own word clock. I'll use Redbook files and also higher res off Tidal Masters via Audirvana+.

Besides it's size and weight (60 kilos) the DAC also outputs up to 10V which could be interesting for me as I run a passive pre-amp.

I'll run it to my 2 channel Zingali Horn speakers, plus use my Audeze LCD4 in the mix as well.
 

LL21

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Wow...fantastic. Looking forward to hearing what you think. Many congrats on what should be a very exciting time for you.
 

morricab

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Just reread this and saw you were comparing the Odeon horns with a Verity speaker...LOL...they sound NOTHING like yours or anyone else's Verity speakers...silly comparison, really...
 

morricab

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Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref II incoming

Hi guys, I have the Kassandra Ref II coming end next week or the following week. I will post my finding on here, plus pics. My system has had various Audio Note DACs with the Audio Note UK DAC 5 Special (with Duelund Caps) until November last year. I have been wanting this huge DAC for some time, and finally it is coming. It appeals to my NOS and tube preferences, and the AD1865 chips (16 of them) plus output transformers and transformers on the I/V stage, those tick all my boxes.

I've also had the DAVE on home demo, and the CH Precision C1, and a Spanish buddy brought his Lampizator Golden Gate 2017 spec. I have built 4 Audio Note kit Dacs over the last 3 years, many of them highly modded.

So, could the Kassandra be my end game Dac? Next is the listening to find out. I will try it on USB and also with my Ethernet to SPDIF Rednet 3 which has it's own word clock. I'll use Redbook files and also higher res off Tidal Masters via Audirvana+.

Besides it's size and weight (60 kilos) the DAC also outputs up to 10V which could be interesting for me as I run a passive pre-amp.

I'll run it to my 2 channel Zingali Horn speakers, plus use my Audeze LCD4 in the mix as well.

So, out of all those DACs you have tried at home to date...how would you rank them and what were the strengths/weaknesses of them? Looking forward to your Kassandra observations once you get it up and running and properly settled in your system :).
 

bonzo75

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Just reread this and saw you were comparing the Odeon horns with a Verity speaker...LOL...they sound NOTHING like yours or anyone else's Verity speakers...silly comparison, really...

Calling Rigoletto and la boheme a horn is what's silly.
 

bonzo75

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It's like having a Bose at home and saying you have cones, or the vertical B&O as panels
 

morricab

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Calling Rigoletto and la boheme a horn is what's silly.

It's hard to take much of what you say seriously when you display this level willful ignorance.
 

Legolas

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Kassandra in the house - I am speechless....

My Kassandra Ref II has landed. I unpacked the crate from UPS, then had to take the dogs out for 2 hours and go to the post office. When I got back I set it up in my system. I already had made room for it on my marble desk - all 53cm width of it. It is big and heavy, but is manageable, I got it from the floor to my desk no problem on my own, mainly as the sides are curved and easy to grip. My Plinius power amp is harder to move TBH as it has front handles.

The DAC has AES, Coax RCA and BNC, then USB with double clocking. I asked for the super clock option on the SPDIF and also the bias meter built in for the tubes. Also it has 6v and 10v output option. I run a passive pre, so set the DAC to 10v which is 55 ohms output impedance I believe.

To keep things simpler for comparisons for now, I am feeding it from my Mac Mini with 12v DC mod and LPS outputting Ethernet to my Rednet 3 DAW on LPS that outputs SPDIF to the Kassandra. I had this chain in my previous Audio Note UK DAC 5 and my DAC 4.1 modded, plus most others I had on demo last year. I beat USB in all cases so far. I will try USB later, as that may be even better on the Kassandra, I am open to that.

I will post a longer (much longer) review in a few days, as it runs in plus pics. but for now I will say a few quick observations. All files on Redbook for now.

1. The very first bar on one of my favourite test tracks (some EDM) it was obvious, this thing is on another level to anything I have heard before.

2. The punch and drive to the speakers, it is an iron grip and super charged, really big dynamics. It isn't fake or false either, it just sounds very hard wired, nearer live music in energy. The Zingalis are flying off the stands I am not kidding.

3. The bass goes so low and has so much texture, my listening room is energised like I haven't heard before, it reminds me of being it a kev'd up car but this time it sound real, not false in any way. It makes you take notice. It does this without any smearing either, everything is right there. It makes my previous DAC sound saturated as though it was struggling in complex and fast music. For example there is an Armin Van Buuren track that has an pumping bass line that I always thought on my previous DACs was constant, like an blurred rumbling earthquake in the distance. But I can now hear it is pulsating on and off with a fall and rise like a rapid heart beat. This is an example how the Kassandra is handling the bass energy IMO, it isn't fazed or confused, it is in total control at all times. That is how it sounds to my ears.

4. The midrange at first seemed more forward than I was used to, but after a few hours it settled. It is so detailed and textures, really beautiful, so layered, and so deep and wide. The soundstage is enormous and very 3D. Is it the tubes? My Audio Note had nice Telefunken tubes and tubes in the Power Supply as well, but it didn't sound like this, far off in fact. Vocals also have great body and weight and very natural.

5. The treble, oh my. My love / hate thing with digital since I bought my first CD player right back the 1980s. The Kassandra nails it to me. Vocals are very very smooth and natural, the detail is all there, but it has no extra edges or emphasis. Female vocals have no pitching on the chorus. It is all very natural to my ears. Beyonce, amazing.

It is early days yet, and why I will do my main review in a weeks time. Against my Audio Note DAC 5 it is more of everything good, and crucially more detail, pace and dynamics without any payoff, i.e. no dulling down or filtering. It seems to sound like an open gate, nothing held back to me, and no price to pay for it either. Remarkable.

Last year before I talked to Stavros I demo'ed at home the Chord DAVE, the CH precision C1, a used Naim CD555, an MSB Platinum. I owned the Audio Note DAC 5 for a year till November, and sold it to keep searching. I used my stand in DAC - an AMR DP-777 till the Kassandra arrived, plus I still have my Audio Note 4.1 modded here as well. All these DACs had good points, but I kept thinking there was more.

I am using the Kassandra on my Zingali Client EVO 1.2s and also with the Audeze LCD4 headphones driven by a Metrum Aurix headphone amp.

So, super happy with this beast so far. I feel I can say Stavros is the real deal. Very highly recommended.

BTW the build quality is excellent, as good as the CH Precision but obviously bigger and heavier as well. It is even better in the flesh than the photos on the Aries Carat website.

PM me if you want more, but I will share more later.
 
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lordcloud

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Legolas

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Insane but I have spent nearly every waking hour with my LCD4s on and listening to the new Kassandra DAC. It is so addictive. I spoke to Stavros and he told me I can tune the sound a bit using the built in tube bias. I have it on 2.4 volts, and it can go up to 2.9v or as low as 1.8v. Right now, it sounds so good I'll leave it as it is for now, and experiment later after I get more used to the step change after my last DACs.

With my previous DACs I had many USB to SPDIf convertors, Offramp 5, M2Tech Evo stack, many others, and got fed up with USB around 2015. I then started outputting via Ethernet using Dante with a Rednet 3 DAW to SPDIF. That beat any USB I could get my hands on, till now... Stavros told me the USB is very good on this DAC. So I connected it up tonight and indeed it is better. At first it was difficult to tell, but I finally zeroed in on it. The treble is a tiny bit smoother, but dynamics have jumped up even more, and the soundstage just went super 3D, enormous, wow. It must be very well designed USB as the noise aspect to that connection before always IMO affected the sound too much.

This is all good news, as besides my Redbook collection and some high res, I also use Tidal Masters which can be 44.1, 88.2 or 96K, and USB is easier to manage the sample rates.

The big deal with most non oversampling DACs is feeding them unaltered data, no up sampling. That is what I am doing here.

I will do a big review soon with pics, and will compare to the CH Precision C1, DAVE, Audio Note DAC 5 etc. But I am realising all those DACs in my mind, to my ears did some things right, but failed in other areas. So maybe they were all wrong? My best comparison of that would be the speed and transparency of the C1, the midrange of the DAC 5, and the bass of, well none of them, just off the scale good, that and the incredible dynamics, best I have heard in any digital. Pity I have no TT to compare it to, and I have no mates near me who have one either.

More to come.....
 
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morricab

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Insane but I have spent nearly every waking hour with my LCD4s on and listing to the new Kassandra DAC. It is so addictive. I spoke to Stavros and he told me I can tune the sound a bit using the built in tube bias. I have it on 2.4 volts, and it can go up to 2.9v or as low as 1.8v. Right now, it sounds so good I'll leave it as it is for now.

With my previous DACs I had many USB to SPDIf convertors, Offramp5, M2Tech Evo stack, and got fed up with USB around 2015. I then output Ethernet using Dante with a Rednet 3 DAW to SPDIF. That beat any USB I could get my hands on, till now... I connected up the USB input tonight on the Kassandra, and it is better. At first it was difficult to tell, but I finally zeroed in on it. The treble is a tiny bit smoother, but dynamics have jumped up even more, and the soundstage just went super 3D, enormous, wow.

This is all good news, as besides my Redbook collection and some high res, I also use Tidal Masters which can 88.2 or 96K, and USB is easier to manage the sample rates.

I will do a big review soon with pics, and will compare to the CH Precision C1, DAVE, Audio Note DAC 5 etc. But I am realising all those DACs in my mind, to my ears did some things right, but failed in other areas. So maybe they were all wrong? My best comparison of that would be the speed and transparency of the C1, the midrange of the DAC 5, and the bass of, well none of them, just off the scale good, that and the incredible dynamics, best I have heard in any digital. Pity I have no TT to compare it to, and I have no mates near me who have one either.

More to come.....

So far what you report mirrors my own first (and ongoing) impressions of Kassandra. I haven't had as many super high end DACs in my system but the story sounds the same.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Insane but I have spent nearly every waking hour with my LCD4s on and listing to the new Kassandra DAC. It is so addictive. I spoke to Stavros and he told me I can tune the sound a bit using the built in tube bias. I have it on 2.4 volts, and it can go up to 2.9v or as low as 1.8v. Right now, it sounds so good I'll leave it as it is for now.

With my previous DACs I had many USB to SPDIf convertors, Offramp5, M2Tech Evo stack, and got fed up with USB around 2015. I then output Ethernet using Dante with a Rednet 3 DAW to SPDIF. That beat any USB I could get my hands on, till now... I connected up the USB input tonight on the Kassandra, and it is better. At first it was difficult to tell, but I finally zeroed in on it. The treble is a tiny bit smoother, but dynamics have jumped up even more, and the soundstage just went super 3D, enormous, wow.

This is all good news, as besides my Redbook collection and some high res, I also use Tidal Masters which can 88.2 or 96K, and USB is easier to manage the sample rates.

I will do a big review soon with pics, and will compare to the CH Precision C1, DAVE, Audio Note DAC 5 etc. But I am realising all those DACs in my mind, to my ears did some things right, but failed in other areas. So maybe they were all wrong? My best comparison of that would be the speed and transparency of the C1, the midrange of the DAC 5, and the bass of, well none of them, just off the scale good, that and the incredible dynamics, best I have heard in any digital. Pity I have no TT to compare it to, and I have no mates near me who have one either.

More to come.....

Fantastic. Look forward to reading more. Been particularly taking note of Aries Cerat over the last 18 months or so.
 

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