Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
After buying a Schiit MB and Topping D30 I had all but forgotten the 7 year old Audio GD DAC gathering dust in my closet. A few weeks ago I decided to put together a secondary system using a Miniwatt amp, Sain Smart preamp, Tekton speakers and bucket subs.
At first I didn't think of the AGD so I used a CD player as the source. When I added a CCA paired with a $20 Fiio DAC that combination lacked sufficient output in my flea watt set up. Then I remembered the AGD with it's volume control and high/low gain settings. Placed it in the system using the high gain fixed setting and UREKA I had what I was looking for. I now use the CCA connected to the AGD's optical input and a Rotel 855 playing through it's coax input.
With the full range single driver Tektons on stands in near field they have never sounded better. As I said elsewhere they're like huge headphones that sound real.
As for my old friend I'm glad he's back. I know there's the Wolfson which some would say is dated but the AGD sounds good, is not sterile, oozes build quality and looks better than most. The Schiit MB which cost about the same looks like a cheap toy in comparison. And with the AGD's you get a real built in power supply and no dangling wall wort common to so many DAC's in this price range.
At first I didn't think of the AGD so I used a CD player as the source. When I added a CCA paired with a $20 Fiio DAC that combination lacked sufficient output in my flea watt set up. Then I remembered the AGD with it's volume control and high/low gain settings. Placed it in the system using the high gain fixed setting and UREKA I had what I was looking for. I now use the CCA connected to the AGD's optical input and a Rotel 855 playing through it's coax input.
With the full range single driver Tektons on stands in near field they have never sounded better. As I said elsewhere they're like huge headphones that sound real.
As for my old friend I'm glad he's back. I know there's the Wolfson which some would say is dated but the AGD sounds good, is not sterile, oozes build quality and looks better than most. The Schiit MB which cost about the same looks like a cheap toy in comparison. And with the AGD's you get a real built in power supply and no dangling wall wort common to so many DAC's in this price range.
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