Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 *Review*

Z

Zaluss

Audioholic
Manufacture Link: http://www.mavaudio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1/
Price Paid: $199 + $20 upgraded tube. Free Ship. *Presale price*


Current Setup:

Yamaha DV-S5860 SACD/DVD-A/DVD Player
Onix SP3 Integrated Tube Amplifier
Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC/Preamp
AV123 X-Omni Diamond Black Speakers

First thing I want to say about Maverick Audio before I start my review is that the Ryan, the owner, is great to work with and is excellent in responding to emails and maintaining communication. On top of the friendly service, shipping was fast and easy from Shanghai, China to San Francisco, CA via DHL. Shipped out Monday and got here Friday! How is that for speedy international shipping?

Packing and Initial Inspection

This thing is a ton heavier than I expected. Smooth, brushed black aluminum and very nice knobs for the volume and source selection. Still smells like it was recently assembled. Upon further inspection everything looks absolutely gorgeous from the delicate white lettering of the logo right down to the screws used to assemble the casing. I opened her up to take a peak at the internals and everything is as it should be. Here is a quick pic of the internals I've stolen from Head-fi.




I had the tube upgraded to NOS GE 5670W from the stock chinese tube for $20 more ontop of the presale price.

The packaging was excellent. Shipped in a very sturdy box with foam protecting the unit from moving and covered in a plastic sleeve. The contents also included a USB cable, auxiliary cord, power cord, 1/8" to 1/4" headphone jack converter, and a quick start guide.





Initial Impressions

Setup was a breeze. Plug your sources in, select source, done! You have two options for the analog out. One tube out and solid state out depending on what flavor of sound you wanted for your music. I opted for the tube out to start with since I love the tube sound so much.

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me

WOW! Quite the difference from using my cd players dac with this one. Clarity is a notch or two higher as well as the 'sound stage', giving me a more entertaining listening experience. It definitely feels warmer but not quite the impact I was expecting however after reading some other user experiences with this there is a burn in period that must be done before 'optimal audio nirvana is attained' whatever that means. A very (very) quick A/B vs the Yamaha's DAC there was obvious greater detail and separation improvement with the Maverick.

Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase. More impressions to come as well as the solid state out impressions. Stay tuned!
 
Z

Zaluss

Audioholic
Update #1: Tube Out vs Solid State Out.

John Mayer - Why Georgia, Why

To put it very simply, the tube out was very relaxed and almost recessed while the solid state out was very strong, forward, and pronounced. The solid state out felt very punchy and precise, like science giving an almost appearance of being neutral despite playing on a tube amplifier. Overall I prefer the sound of the tube out for nice vocals while the solid state out for rock and hip hop. My ears were focusing much on the instruments rather than the lyrics with the solid state out.
 
adwilk

adwilk

Audioholic Ninja
I kind of want one. Thanks for the review Z. I think it would pair nicely with, i dunno, a capable little 2 channel rotel amp? What do you think, Seth? :p
 
B

Boerd

Full Audioholic
1) Does anybody know what DAC chip are they using?
2) Is it a DAC only or is it a DAC/preamp ?
 
Z

Zaluss

Audioholic
1) Does anybody know what DAC chip are they using?
2) Is it a DAC only or is it a DAC/preamp ?
It can work as a stand alone dac with the volume bypass (direct). Not sure what chip it uses.
 
danrgleason

danrgleason

Audiophyte
DAC Chip is LF353N as I understand it from a reply on Head-fi

www*futurlec*com/Linear/LF353N*shtml
I have no posts yet, so links are not allowed yet.

I have just completed reading about 100 posts on head-fi about this DAC.
I have been considering an Audio GD Compass, but I love the hybrid design of this as sometime tube, sometimes SS makes a lot of sense (I currently have a HiFiMan EF2 hybrid) and it only outputs analog tube to cans, not SS.

I am going to buy this D1 and play with using the RCA bypass out as input to EF2 (I have two JAN-GE 5654W in replacement of stock 6J1 tubes) to see how that might sound also. My buddy here at work lends me his Compass now and then and I really love the punch it has. From what I've read on head-fi and impression above, it looks like this is a great contender to the compass.

I have Denon D5000's with JMoney pads and I need a bit more punch than what the EF2 can deliver since the Jmoney pads add about an inch of thickness between your eardrum and the driver.

I hope the chip link helps you. Since Ryan disclosed the info on Head-fi already, I do not think it is an issue to disclose (although it was back in Sept/Oct/Nov timeframe from what I saw on the forum).

I just joined this forum to enjoy another source of quality info on what I love to do.
I'll post my full rig info on profile after post.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
iPhone.

Yes this little beauty is quite the performer.
I was wondering, the pictures of the internals looked pretty well in focus and free from noise. The ones taken of the external look like they where taken with a completely separate camera.
 
B

Boerd

Full Audioholic
This Maverick DAC looks cool; I just wish it had a remote option for the preamp so that I can use it in my system as a DAC + preamp.
 
J

justvisit

Audiophyte
Maverick Audio web address has been changed

Please note that Maverick Audio web site address has been changed to mav-audio.com. They no longer has the access to the old domain name.
 
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