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Minimax DAC Plus

PostPosted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 5:57 pm
by jadis
KAMIKAZE DAC ATTACK... :lol:

EASTERN ELECTRIC MINIMAX DAC

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After one 'karate kid' session with Pat Morita a few weeks ago, we were both heading to our cars in the car park and without any apparent warning, Morita hauled out a box and shoved it into my car which took me by surprise. Ano yan? DAC! Huh? Did I order one? :lol: Testing mo lang! Oh. Even before I said yes, the box was already inside my car. I told him I don't have a good transport, just a DVD player which I use to play CDs while warming up the system. OK na yan!, he replied. When I arrived home, I unpacked the Minimax DAC Plus and turned it on.

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So many options to choose. But I only had a makeshift digital coaxial cable on hand so I used that setting.

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The DAC Plus uses a single 12AU7 tube in the main signal path as I learned from the owner's manual and can be switched on or bypassed.

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While I have not been seriously using digital sources, all I can do is to recall my old sound coming from my previous DAC - the Theta Pro Generation Ii. Off the box, the DAC Plus sounds uninvolving but after a few days of burn in, the sound became very decent and listenable. What I noticed too after some more days is that it produces a very balanced top to bottom tonal quality. And the bass noticeably has weight. The mid's are actually warm and airy on tube mode, and dry and flat on SS mode. I had to repeat that a few times to be sure. I wish I could have heard it via other sources like hi res files but I have none and I'm quite in the stone age when it comes to these things. One thing I can honestly say is that DACs have come a long, long way, and is easy to use and set up. And while analog is painstaking to set up to sound good, this thing can sound good just by sitting it in a rack and plugging in the cables. And I can only imagine how good it can get when it's mated with a proper player. Very promising thing. And now, it's back to Morita's base. :lol: