Sending my payment on Monday. New amp to replace my Marantz PM17 (which I sold for a tidy profit). The Dayens had a short period of intense hype due to the 6Moons review, but later quietened down. It ticks many of my boxes:
- Simple solid state, no frills. I'm a USB DAC > Integrated > Speaker person. An analog tuner (which will be obsolete within this year in Singapore) for my father means I only need 2 inputs. The Dayens provides that in spades.
- Toggle switches. Why twiddle your knobs when you can flick switches
- Discrete, through-hole PCB construction means easy repair even way in the future. Class D SMD need not apply. It potentially presents a good alternative to the higher-end Tripaths and TPAs, in my opinion.
- Great parts quality; 2 * 10,000 uF Mundorf M-lytics and M-Cap ZNs. Alps Blue Velvet pot. Toshiba bipolar transistors.
- Handmade in an European country. Never underestimate the power of suggestion on the human mind's perception of sound.
- Fantastic, personal customer service with the founder of the company. Zoran was professional and engaging throughout our e-mail interactions. He tells me they've never had a customer return for a working Ampino; even those who upgrade, whether within the Dayens line or not, tend to keep the Ampino for a bedroom/second system. That bodes well, in my opinion.
- Keen pricing. VERY keen, in fact. Dayens switched to offering a shipped price of 400 euros worldwide (direct), for countries with no distributor. Less known is the cheaper version, at 350 euros. 2 * 6,800 uF Chinese Jamicons with the entry-level white M-Caps. Dayens can also accommodate further customization. Zoran told me they couldn't do Elnas/Nippon-Chemicons/Nichicons though. They are priced similarly to Mundorfs in Serbia. Pick your poison.
Will be pairing it with a sealed Jeff Bagby-designed standmount (http://meniscusaudio.com/docero-full-pair-p-1408.html) and a Geek Out 450. 25 wpc is enough for my needs. Definitely taking pics and reviewing it. Just getting it off my excited shoulders first.
- Simple solid state, no frills. I'm a USB DAC > Integrated > Speaker person. An analog tuner (which will be obsolete within this year in Singapore) for my father means I only need 2 inputs. The Dayens provides that in spades.
- Toggle switches. Why twiddle your knobs when you can flick switches
- Discrete, through-hole PCB construction means easy repair even way in the future. Class D SMD need not apply. It potentially presents a good alternative to the higher-end Tripaths and TPAs, in my opinion.
- Great parts quality; 2 * 10,000 uF Mundorf M-lytics and M-Cap ZNs. Alps Blue Velvet pot. Toshiba bipolar transistors.
- Handmade in an European country. Never underestimate the power of suggestion on the human mind's perception of sound.
- Fantastic, personal customer service with the founder of the company. Zoran was professional and engaging throughout our e-mail interactions. He tells me they've never had a customer return for a working Ampino; even those who upgrade, whether within the Dayens line or not, tend to keep the Ampino for a bedroom/second system. That bodes well, in my opinion.
- Keen pricing. VERY keen, in fact. Dayens switched to offering a shipped price of 400 euros worldwide (direct), for countries with no distributor. Less known is the cheaper version, at 350 euros. 2 * 6,800 uF Chinese Jamicons with the entry-level white M-Caps. Dayens can also accommodate further customization. Zoran told me they couldn't do Elnas/Nippon-Chemicons/Nichicons though. They are priced similarly to Mundorfs in Serbia. Pick your poison.
Will be pairing it with a sealed Jeff Bagby-designed standmount (http://meniscusaudio.com/docero-full-pair-p-1408.html) and a Geek Out 450. 25 wpc is enough for my needs. Definitely taking pics and reviewing it. Just getting it off my excited shoulders first.
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