Hi
I burning my terraberry dac for more than 100 hours before doing an analysis, and I’m glad to do so or it would not have been fair. I do not understand the people (nobody in this forum) who do an analysis with the component just removed from the box and still cold.
I agree with the majority of opinions of @Jonners and @Mark_Jpn, to whom I have great appreciation, and thanks for their help. Thanks again guys.
The first impression with Terraberry is that I lacked high frequencies, the burning has given me those high and pleasant high frequencies, especially for balanced. Xlr connection has also given more silence and clarity, and of course gain, although it is possible that a little less body, precisely by adding that transparency. Because I have an unpleasant ground noise, I’m not sure if my unit is defective. By xlr connection no problem.
I agree that DSD is more complete, but any of the other two are also good, it is very interesting to have three different sound profiles: the ear is accustomed to what it hears, although it is excellent, it is good to change to perceive something different, and Above all, rediscover the best of configurations. If this is not enough, the possibility of changing the chip configuration by serial port allows changing filters and configurations. I have done tests with this and the result is that you can change the sound profile giving the system more or less sharp or bass, advancing or receding the scene, adjusting it to your personal tastes and your team. But if you are an undecided or sick of settings, better not touch anything.
In this thread https://volumio.org/forum/boss-piano-audiophonics-sabre-9028-terraberry-dac-t8033.html I do some comparative comments of this dac with others, I will not repeat them here. But it is when you compare at the same time with the rest of dacs that you realize how good this dac is, and you must do it as I have done, from “worse” to “better”, which requires having very listened to those dacs. If you do it backwards your ears have memory and can deceive you and not hear what is sounding, but your brain remembers how good you have heard before.
This dac is wonderful with headphones. It’s the first time I enjoy music with headphones, I do not use headphones because I love the scene and the depth, as well as deep and powerful bass. I have loved music for the first time with headphones with this dac, for the air that there is around instrument cads, the realistic timber and the good bass. If you have a good headset equipment you should have this dac. To have a reference to my previous best headphones equipment that I have not loved, but sold have been Sennheiser Hd800 with Sennheiser Hdv800 amplifier / dac, and the wonderful first generation sr007 Stax with an improved clone amplifier from KGSSHV. And I have sold not because they were bad, they are the best that can be bought, but because I did not enjoy the scene with headphones, now I do it with a much more modest headphone system.
It is very difficult to get what Terraberry dac 2 does, a compromise between musicality and detail, between high and low frequencies. The acclaimed Chord Hugo and TT, are very detailed dacs, but they can sound strident in some audio systems, then you compare them with a system like kali and piano 2.1, and you do not have that detail, but you have a musicality and a character analog that chord with a traditional source (a conventional computer or even a digipi) does not have. Because terraberry dac2 is the son of Chord Hugo and Allo Boss: there is a compromise and balance between detail and musicality, very difficult to achieve. I thought that the maximum exponent of that commitment was Allo Piano 2.1 mono dual (with kali) but Terraberry is much more detailed, much, and also more musical. It is also more expensive, but if your audio system and your ears know how to appreciate that difference, it’s worth that price difference.
With Volumio the Terraberry is not easy to use if your amplifier does not have a preamplifier stage, as it is my case. Controlling the hardware volume by ssh through the serial port is not pleasant.
Best regards
(It’s the HifiBerry case)
