Dac ?

[FloridaBoy]

From a review:

As to high-rez audio, "let's be frank. 99% of all existing software is still RedBook. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's the early generation converters that were the culprits. Before one worries about a few hi-rez recordings, one should get every last bit of data from one's CD-type files.

Dcooney and I have been comparing notes on the phone and via email regarding the MHDT Orchid Dac. It gets Red Book right. Yes, a bad recording is what it is but still highly listenable. Good recordings are toe tapping excellent. We are streaming Tidal with an Arcam rPlay (on sale for $299), no digital artifacts just

[smithyy]

Hi FloridaBoy I've been reading this thread with particular interest because I already have an Orchid and have lived happily with it for over a year.

I replaced the chip with the S1 and S2 versions to try and squeeze some extra performance out of it. The stock chip is noticeably rougher than these two, I found. I'm now interested in one of Abbas Audio dacs.

I'm thinking of the 2.1SE that uses the 5687, EZ35, E180F and EAA91 tubes. It's different to the one you have, as it has higher quality components and different tubes. But Abbas probably have a certain house sound that can be found across their TDA1541 dacs.

How would you say the Orchid compares to your Abbas? I find the Orchid has quite a forward presentation which is something I like about.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by smithyy

... I find the Orchid has quite a forward presentation which is something I like about.

smithyy,

What are you comparing to that is a less forward presentation?

The reason I ask, tonight I compared playing my Orchid DAC switching back and forth streaming between two different streaming service providers, via CD, and via server stored files. It was a quick reminder just how different (more forward or less forward) it can be when comparing different version recordings of the exact same song track.


...
.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by smithyy

Hi FloridaBoy I've been reading this thread with particular interest because I already have an Orchid and have lived happily with it for over a year.

I replaced the chip with the S1 and S2 versions to try and squeeze some extra performance out of it. The stock chip is noticeably rougher than these two, I found. I'm now interested in one of Abbas Audio dacs.

I'm thinking of the 2.1SE that uses the 5687, EZ35, E180F and EAA91 tubes. It's different to the one you have, as it has higher quality components and different tubes. But Abbas probably have a certain house sound that can be found across their TDA1541 dacs.

How would you say the Orchid compares to your Abbas? I find the Orchid has quite a forward presentation which is something I like about.

The Abbas has a wider sound stage and is not as forward as the Orchid. More of a mid hall presentation. The Abbas does not have a USB but he does sell one that someone on another for preferred to a more expensive Teddy Pardo unit. The unit I have uses a 6N6P Soviet tube that is very good. The best ones are from the Foton factory from the 60's and they are not expensive.

Abbas is also classical musician, double bass, and his English is much better than my Ukrainian. I would contact him and ask about the difference in the Dac models. They can also be purchased as complete units w/o an enclosure. I am going to keep both units. No regrets on either Dac. I did get
a SPDIF cable from Abbas and it is quite good.

Chips? Where did you get your S1 and 2? I e-mailed Dutch Classics but did not get a response. I got a couple of legit TD 1541A chips but have not tried them yet?

Are you using the stock caps in the Orchid?

[smithyy]

Originally Posted by decooney

smithyy,

What are you comparing to that is a less forward presentation?

The reason I ask, tonight I compared playing my Orchid DAC switching back and forth streaming between two different streaming service providers, via CD, and via server stored files. It was a quick reminder just how different (more forward or less forward) it can be when comparing different version recordings of the exact same song track.

I was comparing to some OS dacs I previously owned and a couple I had at the same time as the Orchid. Gungnir Multibit, Chord 2Qute, Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 MK2 and SFD-2 MK2. The Sonic Frontiers dacs with their Ultra Analog D2400A chips were the only ones I could tolerate.

In any case, I prefer NOS implementations much more, but the Orchid is also more forward than all of these and it's one of the main reasons I prefer it.

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

The Abbas has a wider sound stage and is not as forward as the Orchid. More of a mid hall presentation. The Abbas does not have a USB but he does sell one that someone on another for preferred to a more expensive Teddy Pardo unit. The unit I have uses a 6N6P Soviet tube that is very good. The best ones are from the Foton factory from the 60's and they are not expensive.

Abbas is also classical musician, double bass, and his English is much better than my Ukrainian. I would contact him and ask about the difference in the Dac models. They can also be purchased as complete units w/o an enclosure. I am going to keep both units. No regrets on either Dac. I did get
a SPDIF cable from Abbas and it is quite good.

Chips? Where did you get your S1 and 2? I e-mailed Dutch Classics but did not get a response. I got a couple of legit TD 1541A chips but have not tried them yet?

Are you using the stock caps in the Orchid?

I emailed Dutch Classics a year or so ago and he wanted something like 500 euros for a pulled S2 chip. I heard he asked for even more recently. S1 chips shouldn't be too hard to find on eBay - just as long as you don't buy from Asia. Plenty of fakes out there so you need to do your homework on identifying fakes. S1 aren't counterfeited nearly as often as S2 chips though.

S2 chips are very hard to find but your best bet is to try and get in touch with some DIYers who may have been holding onto some for years for future projects but may let go for the right price. I managed to get a NOS S2 chip this way. My only regret is that I only bought the one when he was selling two.

The only changes I've made in my Orchid are replacing the chip and the tube to a GE 5670 5 Star, which I prefer to the more expensive WE 396A.

[Masterlu]

smithyy... Welcome to AA!

[decooney]

re: TDA1541 R1 stock chip AND stock GE 5 Star Triple Mice tube in the MHDT Orchid

fyi, before removing the the R1 chip that comes stock in the MHDT Orchid, take Juin's (developer) advice and give it time if your DAC is still new. He did tell me a month and perhaps he meant a solid month of listening time vs casual listening over 30 days. A member on another forum ran all three chips R1, S1, S2 and ended up going back to the R1 and reselling the S1 S2 chips because he found the R1 was better than he first thought. Tried a few different tubes and went back to the stock GE 5-Star Triple Mica tube.

With a few more weeks on my Orchid now, apparently it needed a little more time to settle in. Today I noticed more changes in sound stage after leaving my Orchid on an playing the past few days. At one point there were tracks where the sound started sounding as if it was coming to the sides of my seating position and a few times effectively bouncing off the rear walls coming from behind me oddly enough.

Definitely worth giving it the full amount of break-in time first before making too many changes.

[Formerly YB-2]

Not just break-in time. Not that my Oppo is the same, but it is the oddest piece of solid-state gear I've owned. It absolutely requires ~2hr of warm-up before it sounds decent. Each and every time I listen, must run thru 3-4 discs before it sounds good. Very strange beast and hope to never run into a similar one (pita).

Am wondering if an SACD drive and MHDT might not be the better way to do?

[smithyy]

I had the Orchid for 8-9 months before changing the chip. I can't personally see how anyone could prefer the R1 over the S1 or S2. Going from the R1 to S1 was a bigger difference than going from S1 to S2. But different gear, preferences etc.

I feel that that the Orchid needs a bit of warm-up time and sounds better the longer it is on, but it's by no means unlistenable without this.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Not just break-in time. Not that my Oppo is the same, but it is the oddest piece of solid-state gear I've owned. It absolutely requires ~2hr of warm-up before it sounds decent.

------

Originally Posted by smithyy

...a couple I had at the same time as the Orchid. Gungnir Multibit, Chord 2Qute, Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 MK2 and SFD-2 MK2. The Sonic Frontiers dacs with their Ultra Analog D2400A chips were the only ones I could tolerate.

In any case, I prefer NOS implementations much more, but the Orchid is also more forward than all of these and it's one of the main reasons I prefer it.

-------

Originally Posted by smithyy

I had the Orchid for 8-9 months before changing the chip. I can't personally see how anyone could prefer the R1 over the S1 or S2. Going from the R1 to S1 was a bigger difference than going from S1 to S2. But different gear, preferences etc.

I feel that that the Orchid needs a bit of warm-up time and sounds better the longer it is on, but it's by no means unlistenable without this.

smithyy, Floridaboy,
Great information on both counts, it helps a lot to compare to others who've already been down roads the rest of us haven't taken yet. I did read others who had (confirmed authentic chips) liking the S1 almost as much as the S2. And thanks again for the heads up on the counterfeits from China. Take a look at the perfectly brand new looking on on fleaybay now, looks like a brand new never used crisp $100 bill, made me wonder how to look for examples of fakes and sharing info with each other to ID them. Most importantly, how to confirm it for sure, who would know... would like to figure this out, is there a certified seller?

re: WARM UP TIME - 120 minutes; argh, me too it seems..
I feel like we are in a mind-meld right now. Just last night I sent an email to local audiophile friend and colleague Dave @ Martihart Audio going back over the exact same question of warmup time at 30,60,90,120 minutes to compare notes.. We have the same tube power amps and DAC layouts in concept. While I have the Orchid, he has that special custom gutted/upgraded Oppo DAC with two tubes in it. At 30-60 minutes of warm-up my brain starts thinking about tube and cap changes. At 120 minutes of warm-up, I just seem to go back to listening to music, not thinking about changes until I turn it on cold again the next time.
It is ODD, right at two hours, I do really enjoy what I'm hearing a LOT more. I can't say for sure if it's my DAC or my preamp/amp, but with the Orchid in the mix 120 minutes of warm up time does seem to be the ticket for me in my own system for whatever reasons.