Aries Cerat Kassandra II Ref DAC: Wow!

[Legolas]

Hello Francisco
I am pleased you are liking the Kassandra. You have it on the 10v output?

I heard more body to the notes, more weight and also more detail than my previous Audio Note DAC 5 (30K).

If a product can 'remove itself' from the music, and let us believe the illusion of a performance in our homes, then it is working. I find I got more relaxed and more enjoyment out of the music after the Kassandra arrived. I tried many DACs before it and they all had the synthetic sound still in various amounts. The CH Precision C1 was possibly the best out of the ones I tried before the Kassandra, but never convinced me to buy it, and the Kassandra is better than that DAC for sure.

I am getting used to the impact the Genus has had on my system. You must come over again to listen some time. The sound is more organic and fantastic texture and natural detail, especially the midrange and treble. The Plinius was good when played loud, but less so at normal or lower levels, where is sounded flatter and more sterile. The Genus sounds amazing, as good at any volume, which is a trait of a good SET.

I was worried about the bass control with tubes, but it has incredible drive and deep bass / sub bass details.

I changed my power cord today to a used Audioquest NRG 10 which has cleaned up the sound a bit as well. I am running Mullard E280Fs in the Genus at the moment, but think I like Siemens E280Fs best, more transparent. The Mullards are probably made in Holland anyway, possibly by Siemens.

Enjoy your Kassandra Francisco, it may run in a bit more yet.

Kind regards
Julian

 

[nonesup]

Yes 10 volt.

 

[nonesup]

Another thing I would like to comment for those who have a Kassandra.
The change of the fuses of stock by fuse "Audiophilos" has been a remarkable improvement and relatively little cost given the price of the DAC.
I've compared AMR Gold, Furutech, Sinergystic Research Black and Sinergystic research Blue. As in the rest of my devices, SR Blue has been the clear winners. If someone is encouraged, do not forget to try them in both directions, the difference is easy to notice.

 

[Legolas]

Good tips there, thank you. I am not a fan of the AMR fuses as I noticed the ends can dull over, show some signs of corrosion? SR fuses might be my next try out then. But I have UK plugs which are fused, so need double the fuses....

 

[nonesup]

I agree with you, the AMR fuses are the worst in the lot. I bought them at the time to test, but I did not like them.
My order of preference is:
SR Blue..SR Black..Furutech..AMR.
The fuse holder of my Kassandra has two fuses, so 260 €.
Who said that this hobby was cheap .........

 

[nonesup]

This weekend I have been doing tests on the sound quality depending on the output voltage and definitely with my pre amplifier I prefer the 5 volt output.

 

[admin1959]

This weekend I have been doing tests on the sound quality depending on the output voltage and definitely with my pre amplifier I prefer the 5 volt output.

That is interesting. It could be a quirk with your ARC Ref 5? I found the 10v best into the Genus, it sounds bigger and wider, more alive.
Also the same into my V281 headphone amplifier.

Keep us posted on this, I am very interested.

 

[nonesup]

When I listen to classical orchestral music and a tutti arrives, when the output is 10v, the music is as advanced, coming out of the speakers. When it is at 5v that same tutti is further back, and the width and height of sound is much higher, with a denser sound. It is like a wall of sound.
When I had turntable there was a record that I liked to listen to because it sounded very good.
The Spanish caprice of Rimsky Korsakov conducted by Ataulfo Argenta and the LSO recorded by Decca. In 10v it sounds good, but there is no comparison with the LP. A 5v sounds like I remembered it.
Let's go to jazz. Another LP that I loved Satchmo Plays King Oliver and his wonderful St James Infirmary. Again it is better to 5v, more like the LP, more "pasted".
Then I reconnected my Lumin A1 and I heard these tracks again. I think the following summarizes what I feel: at 10v the Kassandra sounds like my Lumin, only better. A 5v Kassandra sounds like I remembered my Turntable.

 

[bonzo75]

Is that the Decca sxl 2020, did you have the speakers corner reissue? It's very good

 

[nonesup]

Of course, reissued. Those who have heard it say that the original Decca was even better. Something very special.

 

[morricab]

When I listen to classical orchestral music and a tutti arrives, when the output is 10v, the music is as advanced, coming out of the speakers. When it is at 5v that same tutti is further back, and the width and height of sound is much higher, with a denser sound. It is like a wall of sound.
When I had turntable there was a record that I liked to listen to because it sounded very good.
The Spanish caprice of Rimsky Korsakov conducted by Ataulfo Argenta and the LSO recorded by Decca. In 10v it sounds good, but there is no comparison with the LP. A 5v sounds like I remembered it.
Let's go to jazz. Another LP that I loved Satchmo Plays King Oliver and his wonderful St James Infirmary. Again it is better to 5v, more like the LP, more "pasted".
Then I reconnected my Lumin A1 and I heard these tracks again. I think the following summarizes what I feel: at 10v the Kassandra sounds like my Lumin, only better. A 5v Kassandra sounds like I remembered my Turntable.

Interesting because we also found a clear preference on 10V.

 

[Aries Cerat]

Hi nonesup.
What is the preamplifier used?

 

[nonesup]

Audio Research Ref 5 SE.
I know that it supports up to 18v in balanced mode.

 

[Aries Cerat]

Are you using the balanced out or the RCA?

I would make an educated guess that the volume control Integrated chip in the ARC doesn't like the 10v input and prefers the 5v.10v is too hot for it and near(or over ) it's limit thus altering the signal.
Yes 10v is superior sounding but since the pre uses the IC volume method,then use the 5v.

I would also try using the RCA input just out of curiosity

 

[nonesup]

Well I've tried it, but the two RCA cables I have are too short to connect Kassandra with AR Ref 5SE. Anyway with the SE input in the AR and output of 10v in Kassandra if we could have problems, since the maximum input voltage admitted in SE is 9v.

 

[Aries Cerat]

Exactly.The reason why 5v sounds better that 10v even in balanced is the method of volume control in the pre.which in your case it is no issue.Since you can use the 5v. I would try to get loaner RCA cables from Julian to try though

 

[nonesup]

This makes me think that you consider that the connection of Kassandra by RCA is superior to XLR (independently of the concrete problem with my AR 5SE.). Is that correct?

 

[Aries Cerat]

They have the same measurements as both outputs are fed directly from the same windings of the output transformer.However in RCA it does sound better.(assuming identical input stages in the preamp ,which is difficult to control when you compare).That is why I said try and find out for yourself as is system dependant

 

[Legolas]

I was wondering the same thing, but not sure on the technical aspects. If an amplifier is SE as in a typical SET, is it best to stay SE right through? Unless and amplifier is true balanced, i.e. duplicate stage for left and right, totally separate. And in this case, cable run issues don't come in to it as Francisco's are 1.5 meter or less.

On the 10v compared to 5v possibly the character of the SS power amp will affect the sound here? Possibly it is sounding bit 'forward' or shouty. I would love to hear a big SET in this system..... I am shocked how different the Genus sounds v my Plinius. That power amp was no slouch, it sounded as good as the Lamm ML2.2 to my ears, and had 150W into 8 ohms, over 200 into 6ohms which my speakers are rated at.

With the Genus, I expected the amazing midrange, the vocals and strings to be incredibly realistic, as I have had SETs before and demo'd a few as well. But I was not expecting the dynamics to embarrass my SS power amplifier. According to some, a 25W SET (when well designed) can swing over 100W peaks. I have no idea if that is correct, but I am startled how some music leaps out of the soundstage.

The other great aspect, one that is incredibly important to me, is how well it retains the FR and dynamics at medium to lower levels. It increases my enjoyment 100% and makes for a really practical system. For example I can listen at night and feel I am not missing anything.

I don't hear that on an SS amplifier. On my Plinius, the soundstage collapsed and the bass got sucked out at lower levels, making it sound more like a pumped up transistor radio I guess. I posted about this aspect last year, and was confused about it. As it turns out, it isn't my speakers or my source, it was the amplifier.

 

[microstrip]

Audio Research Ref 5 SE.
I know that it supports up to 18v in balanced mode.

It seems you are mixing the max output specifications taken from Stereophile measurements with maximum input. Although ARC says the balanced input can accept up to 20V RMS , I do not see the point of using such high input level with a line preamplfier having 12 dB gain.

The modern ARC attenuators can accept much higher levels than the old ones.