22nd March 2012, 03:01 PM   #1050

johnmarkp , diyAudio Member,  Join Date: Apr 2004, Location: Wisconsin

I just finished hooking a exaU2I to a Buffalo III. I am using JRiver as my server on a dedicated machine. The build was easy, the directions where spot on and the driver installed in seconds.

I am still trying to decide what I think of the sound. The combo has a scary amount of detail with no one part of the spectrum dominating the whole. It just seems to lack some of the emotional involvement of my Rega Saturn / BIII setup. I am wondering if the exaI2U takes time to break in like analog components. (those who do not believe in such things need not reply)

John

24th March 2012, 08:32 AM   #1053

exa065, diyAudio Member,  Join Date: Feb 2011

exaU2I is a very transparent device. There is no coloration, no makeup. The good recordings benefit from that. On the flip side you may be disappointed to discover that some disks are kind of ... lacking something. Have you tried any high-resolution downloads?

I haven't noticed any benefit from braking in the device. But definitely your brain needs some time to appreciate the new sound. After a week or so, try again your old setup and do some A-B testing.

-Best,

George

24th March 2012, 09:14 AM   #1054

johnmarkp. diyAudio Member,  Join Date: Apr 2004, Location: Wisconsin

I have a few more hours of listening with the exaU2I / BIII combo. I will say this, it is absolutely ruthless. But not in the bleeding ears way that I normally think of when I hear that something is accurate and not colored. It is not bright or etched in any way. Its just all there with no added romance.

I am starting to think that everything else I have listened to highlighted and / or depressed some parts of the sound. With the U2I it is all there. I still hear a highlighted passage from before, it is just part of the mix now. The exa really shows how badly done reverb can ruin a recording. The exa has changed my thinking on the amount of data available with the CD format. Vocals are amazing, with detail and emotion like I have never heard before. It will be interesting to see what I think of this thing in three months. I run the BIII into a ARC Ref 5, ARC VS115 to Quad 988's. I use Kimber Silver wire for interconnects and Kimber monocle XL's. So the system is on the accurate, revealing side as well.

2nd April 2012, 02:25 PM   #1072

johnmarkp, diyAudio Member,  Join Date: Apr 2004, Location: Wisconsin

George,

...By the way, you were right about being patient with the Exa / BIII setup. It does take a while to get used to the sound. I am convinced that it is the best thing I have ever heard in my listening room. This with everything from CD's to hi res downloads. Every once in a while I get some weird things out of it. This usually happens on recording with a lot of reverb from the 80's and 90's. I think that this might be due to the fact that the recording engineer never heard the song through a state of the art DAC. They over did the reverb to get the effect they wanted. Only within the last few years could we hear it the way it was recorded verses they way they wanted it to sound.

John

DIYAudio.com, posts #1050,#1053,#1054,#1072 by johnmarkp