Audio Synthesis

[Gizza]

I was surprised to see that no-one had included this fine brand in this section, so I thought I definitely needed to start the ball rolling...

So here's my starter for ten...

My first AS purchase was my Baby Passion passive pre, pre-owned, from Orpheus Audio. Having listened to some active preamp, which coloured and degraded the sound pretty noticeably, it was a joy to hear the Passion pre and the way in which it barely changed the sound of the source signal. An added bonus was the superb built quality and weight of the item.

The guy at Orpheus used AS silver cables and swore by them, so I phoned David Heaton at AS to order some. What a lovely guy he turned out to be. Helpful, not in the least pushy, but obviously very knowledgeable and confident in his products.

Forward in time, I wanted to upgrade my Meridian 203 dac. Following much online reading of reviews, owners' comments and a feeling of trust in the company, I auditioned and purchased a used Dax 2. Quite an improvement on the 203.

Move on further in time, I had the funds to upgrade my system and decided, after speaking to David and 1 or 2 dealers, to buy the latest dac offering, the Discrete.

Wow, another big step up, especially with the purchase of an asl'd Pioneer 757 multi-format player/transport.

A further purchase, of a used Passion phono stage during another foray into an analogue strengthened my belief in the brand.

The analogue kit was sold on a year or so later, as I found it wasn't used much, since I preferred the sound of my digital setup.

My Dax Discrete and Passion passive pre are used on a daily basis and have been in my possession for over 15 years now. The sound quality, to my ears, is delightful. The built, fit and finish is a joy and it is very reassuring that if and when a problem appears with the items, the ongoing support is there. It is always an absolute pleasure to speak to David and it's a great feeling to know that our country still has some great audio engineering companies, in the face of the fierce competition from the East.

Experiences and comments from other AS owners please...

 

[hifinutt]

the late john dolan was an as fan , we miss him greatly . I certainly liked their cables

 

[Gizza]

Sorry to say I never met John, Phil.

AS cables - yes, pure silver cables, well-designed well specced using quality connectors, at prices that put many silver cables to shame. Although I haven't found much difference between stranded cables from different manufacturers, I do seem to prefer solid core AS cables, for whatever reason this may be. Consequently, my favourite AS cables are the SQ (star quad) analogue i/c's and their silver plated copper triax digital i/c.

I found their solid core SP speaker cable to be excellent too, but had to sell them on when I rearranged my kit and they were not long enough.

 

[SMEagol]

I think owners club threads are a bit wanky, that said I have an Audio Synthesis Dax Ultra DSM 2 - 2 box job, with the ultra analogue chip. David really likes that.

I spoke to him at Audio Synthesis, and he said mine was a special edition due to the matching gold logo face plates, and 1 of only 100 ever made. So quite chuffed really. Real hifi jewellery, it looks pure class on my rack. Smooth, lithe, musical, with depth is how I'd describe it. Transport whatever the nay sayers claim makes a huge difference.

 

[Gizza]

Thanks for the info re your AS kit, Chris. Are you pleased with the sound of it and what about vfm?

As for owners clubs, my main aim of this thread was to give some recognition and praise for a small, enthusiastic one-man band company that I don't feel get the publicity that they deserve.

So not an exercise in gloating or saying 'look what I've got', but simply an invitation to give David and his team some well-deserved praise.

 

[SMEagol]

Yes the sentiments with this thread are worthy and just. Davids a very friendly and very modest to boot chap. He deserves far greater backing. What he has produced is pretty incredible. I accept its not a "well done, life's been kind, can't you just quietly get on with it" type of thread you do see! ;-)

 

[bandit pilot]

I bought my balanced DAX Decade purely on recommendation and never regretted it. There's nothing not to like about AS products. I fully intend to grab a power amp when space allows.

 

[divedeepdog]

I snapped Dax2 up after hearing Rick's, one of the best things I've bought. I'd only change it for a Discreet :upgrade:

I'm happy to say the old products are supported by David, both service and upgrade. Something that can't be said of all manufacturers.

Not so happy with you lot saying transports make a difference though, not had a CD player for quite a while...........

 

[It Cost How Much!?!]

Well, as the ex-owner of Chris's DSM and owner of a DAX Decade balanced and DAX Discrete, you could say I quite like them. The Decade is probably the longest owned bit of kit I have at the moment, very wonderful DAC that sounds like good analogue. The Discrete is more detailed, but to me has lost a bit of the warm magic.

I don't ever see me selling the DAX Decade.

 

[Gizza]

To be fair, Chris, I probably would have been better to name the thread "In praise of Audio Synthesis". Ah, well, at least we are reading from the same page.

Yes, definitely one of life's good guys and in the business for all the right reasons.

Rick- funny you should say that you bought on recommendation. Although I bought my previous Dax2 2nd hand after driving some distance to hear it, would you believe that I bought my Dax Discrete without hearing it. It's not like me to take big risks, but I bought it after speaking to a couple of stockists and was it also based on the trust that I felt for David after previously having chats with him on the phone and buying a few sets of cables from him. He just came across as someone who was very knowledgeable, passionate about his work and not in it purely for the money.

I'm happy to say that my instincts served me well. I've had the Discrete for some years now and I still get 'wow' moments when listening to music.

So glad to hear that you're also pleased with your Decade. I've still not heard their Desire amps, but again, I would be highly surprised if they're anything other than excellent.

 

[bandit pilot]

I snapped Dax2 up after hearing Rick's, one of the best things I've bought. I'd only change it for a Discreet :upgrade: I'm happy to say the old products are supported by David, both service and upgrade. Something that can't be said of all manufacturers.

Not so happy with you lot saying transports make a difference though, not had a CD player for quite a while...........

I've got that 703 idle in the kitchen if you want to have a play Mark.

To be fair, Chris, I probably would have been better to name the thread "In praise of Audio Synthesis". Ah, well, at least we are reading from the same page.Yes, definitely one of life's good guys and in the business for all the right reasons.

Rick- funny you should say that you bought on recommendation. Although I bought my previous Dax2 2nd hand after driving some distance to hear it, would you believe that I bought my Dax Discrete without hearing it. It's not like me to take big risks, but I bought it after speaking to a couple of stockists and was it also based on the trust that I felt for David after previously having chats with him on the phone and buying a few sets of cables from him. He just came across as someone who was very knowledgeable, passionate about his work and not in it purely for the money.

I'm happy to say that my instincts served me well. I've had the Discrete for some years now and I still get 'wow' moments when listening to music.

So glad to hear that you're also pleased with your Decade. I've still not heard their Desire amps, but again, I would be highly surprised if they're anything other than excellent.

Yes I would Gary. I'm confident that there has never been a bad product to leave AS so I'd buy blind too.

 

[yoda900]

DAX Decade balanced owner here as a result of having a loan of one of Bob's ICHM and SWMBO asking me " are you buying that as it's much better than yours" :doh:

 

[bandit pilot]

DAX Decade balanced owner here as a result of having a loan of one of Bob's ICHM and SWMBO asking me " are you buying that as it's much better than yours" :doh:

Bob should be on commission. :doh:

 

[Gizza]

I snapped Dax2 up after hearing Rick's, one of the best things I've bought. I'd only change it for a Discreet :upgrade: I'm happy to say the old products are supported by David, both service and upgrade. Something that can't be said of all manufacturers.

Not so happy with you lot saying transports make a difference though, not had a CD player for quite a while...........

Good to hear your happy experiences, Mark.

Regarding your comment about us saying the transports making a difference, do you mean that you're now streaming digital music and that its as good? I have to admit that despite me believing that my asl'd transport sounds better than my audiocommed Meridian, yesterday I played 'Talking Timbuktu' on my asl'd transport, then I streamed it in CD quality from Tidal on my SBT into the DAC. I'd have to listen again, but I swear that the streaming sounded better.

I asked David earlier in the week if he had any plans to address the streaming side of things. Unfortunately, some of his technicians have retired and he has to concentrate on servicing customers that already own AS products. Shame, as I'm sure he could produce something very worthwhile, given the capacity.

 

[Gizza]

DAX Decade balanced owner here as a result of having a loan of one of Bob's ICHM and SWMBO asking me " are you buying that as it's much better than yours" :doh:

Sounds like the ideal partner there, Yoda. Only fools disagree with the fair sex. :nerves: Only joking, my wife is golden. Only today, I offered to buy some cloth protective covers for my ESL63's seeing as I'm now resolved to using them with the speaker cloth rolled down. "No, its fine, I quite like the look of them like that" she answered.

 

[kneesup]

I think owners club threads are a bit wanky, that said I have an Audio Synthesis Dax Ultra DSM 2 - 2 box job, with the ultra analogue chip. David really likes that.I spoke to him at Audio Synthesis, and he said mine was a special edition due to the matching gold logo face plates, and 1 of only 100 ever made. So quite chuffed really. Real hifi jewellery, it looks pure class on my rack. Smooth, lithe, musical, with depth is how I'd describe it. Transport whatever the nay sayers claim makes a huge difference.

Christopher! Owners Club threads a bit wanky…?! That does it… I'm going to start a VertexAQ Owners Club thread immediately. I agree the show-and-tell of OC threads is seriously boring, but a chance to compare notes is really handy. I will start it with very much with the same motives as Gary's here. And I agree about David Heaton. A totally top bloke and with immense knowledge. When the dust of experimentation and R&D has settled with my system I will definitely try AS.

 

[divedeepdog]

Good to hear your happy experiences, Mark. Regarding your comment about us saying the transports making a difference, do you mean that you're now streaming digital music and that its as good? I have to admit that despite me believing that my asl'd transport sounds better than my audiocommed Meridian, yesterday I played 'Talking Timbuktu' on my asl'd transport, then I streamed it in CD quality from Tidal on my SBT into the DAC. I'd have to listen again, but I swear that the streaming sounded better.

I asked David earlier in the week if he had any plans to address the streaming side of things. Unfortunately, some of his technicians have retired and he has to concentrate on servicing customers that already own AS products. Shame, as I'm sure he could produce something very worthwhile, given the capacity.

I've never been a fan of CD's, always prefered the physicality of vinyl, so in my small space I've had to commit to vinyl. Few years ago a friend brought round a little Muse DAC, connected to my computer it was as good as my MF player, so CD's are stored under my bed once ripped, and I went on a DAC rolling exercise .......till the DAX

I use iMac's optical output, but am curious about SACD's. I'd need a transport for those, but then again it's not a popular format and I've no disc's here?

I've tried the USB output and a cheap convertor, but its different rather than better than optical. I'm a fan of John Kenny's DAC, (had Ciunas previously) and would try his convertor when one comes along at the right price.

I'm not sure how much more 'Streamer' functionality is needed? I've had Spotify Premium and Qubus here, but prefered ripped CD's to those.

As always, I'll listen for myself, cheers Rick :^

 

[Gizza]

Hi Mark. Interesting post. I couldn't go back to vinyl now. Too many colourations for my taste, but you're in good company.

Myself, I hear no difference between streamed CD quality files from Qobuz or Tidal and flac files on my Network HDD. What I would be interested for David Heaton to do though, is to create a way of working his adl on a streamed file, splitting the timing info from the rest and feeding it into the DAC via the twin ST&T glass cables. He has to access the data before it gets to the S/PDIF stage.

If it gave the improvement that the asl transport conversion yields, it would be worthwhile.

 

[artless]

Another very satisfied user here. I've got an Audio Synthesis DAX Decade (black gate - single ended). I've had it for about 8 years now and I can't see myself changing it. (Okay, I occasionally dream about the Devialet kit.)

Streaming via Sonos ZP80 (using a mains filter - a must) has surprised the hell out of me. It's now my main source, replacing vinyl and cds (even via an AS transcend cd player).

My experience driving power amps direct has been absolutely fine with this dac. I do try the occasional preamp in the chain (about once a year) but to no avail. I prefer the sound direct. I must just have a good match with my power amps (Bel Canto Ref 1000s).

David has always been very helpful whenever I've contacted him and is, as others have said, an absolute gentleman.