Post by steveeb on Sept 2, 2015 9:58:03 GMT
Dared DV-6C (modified) - £400 including delivery
This model will no longer be produced, so time to sell my personal/demo unit. This is the actual last one to be manufactured but has been modified by an accomplished DIY tube amp builder. It is quite a unique piece of kit and a real wolf in sheep's fur - marketed as a computer add-on but far more capable when used in an audiophile quality environment.
Here is a detailed review that has every performance and product detail you could think of www.6moons.com/audioreviews/dared4/dared.html , including testing it's limits.
In summary, it is a Triode preamp mated with 65w p/ch Class D power, fully remote controlled. It has two switchable inputs, one dedicated stereo and the second 5.1 multichannel. It does not perform this signal processing, simply six channels of amplification with individual volume control and something like an Oppo player or a conventional receiver is needed for decoding.
The modifications are:
# Spring clip speaker connections have been replaced with banana plug sockets
# Output Caps upgraded
# Cosmetic Cap housing removed and plastic valve trim replaced with wooden plate
# Valves replaced with JJ ECC83S Cryo
The amp is in perfect working order (better than new) and only cosmetically marked by a scuff on one side of the transformer housing, which is how it arrived from Dared.
The sound quality easily justifies the asking price even if considered only as a stereo amp; it is exceptionally open and transparent, musically engaging, fast, dynamic and full bodied. Having owned a few, I'd describe it as a grown up 2020 chip amp fed by a valve preamp, capable of driving less sensitive speakers and adding weight and scale.
Having the tool to bring this sound to a combined movie set up is a rare bonus, a task at which it is equally capable.
A couple of points that are not brought out in the review that I have found particularly useful:
# The sub output is active but allows connection to a self powered sub, giving remote volume control. This works well in a 2.1 arrangement, where the sub can not only be adjusted for volume remotely on the fly but also put in/out at the touch of a button.
# The stereo input has a 'virtual surround' processing option (again remotely engaged). This is no 'effects' program but an extremely powerful and usable processing option included on the Philips chip, one which was a patented algorithm purchased to form the basis of the original Dolby system. Given a stereo signal and 5.0 or 5.1 speaker arrangement it combines the front L/R and sends this to the centre speaker to reinforce the centre image, sub bass to the sub if available and separates the ambient information out for the surround speakers. This means that you can get a quality immersive sound for TV program material that is not encoded for surround sound. Also I have a professional classical musician friend who claims this is the only program to faithfully reproduce concert hall acoustics (he has compared recordings of concerts he attended) and he uses one huge Tannoy centre speaker through which 80% of the sound is produced, using small speakers for the front L/R to add soundstage width only and surround speakers for the acoustic field.
Hell, what am I thinking - I should keep this thing!
This model will no longer be produced, so time to sell my personal/demo unit. This is the actual last one to be manufactured but has been modified by an accomplished DIY tube amp builder. It is quite a unique piece of kit and a real wolf in sheep's fur - marketed as a computer add-on but far more capable when used in an audiophile quality environment.
Here is a detailed review that has every performance and product detail you could think of www.6moons.com/audioreviews/dared4/dared.html , including testing it's limits.
In summary, it is a Triode preamp mated with 65w p/ch Class D power, fully remote controlled. It has two switchable inputs, one dedicated stereo and the second 5.1 multichannel. It does not perform this signal processing, simply six channels of amplification with individual volume control and something like an Oppo player or a conventional receiver is needed for decoding.
The modifications are:
# Spring clip speaker connections have been replaced with banana plug sockets
# Output Caps upgraded
# Cosmetic Cap housing removed and plastic valve trim replaced with wooden plate
# Valves replaced with JJ ECC83S Cryo
The amp is in perfect working order (better than new) and only cosmetically marked by a scuff on one side of the transformer housing, which is how it arrived from Dared.
The sound quality easily justifies the asking price even if considered only as a stereo amp; it is exceptionally open and transparent, musically engaging, fast, dynamic and full bodied. Having owned a few, I'd describe it as a grown up 2020 chip amp fed by a valve preamp, capable of driving less sensitive speakers and adding weight and scale.
Having the tool to bring this sound to a combined movie set up is a rare bonus, a task at which it is equally capable.
A couple of points that are not brought out in the review that I have found particularly useful:
# The sub output is active but allows connection to a self powered sub, giving remote volume control. This works well in a 2.1 arrangement, where the sub can not only be adjusted for volume remotely on the fly but also put in/out at the touch of a button.
# The stereo input has a 'virtual surround' processing option (again remotely engaged). This is no 'effects' program but an extremely powerful and usable processing option included on the Philips chip, one which was a patented algorithm purchased to form the basis of the original Dolby system. Given a stereo signal and 5.0 or 5.1 speaker arrangement it combines the front L/R and sends this to the centre speaker to reinforce the centre image, sub bass to the sub if available and separates the ambient information out for the surround speakers. This means that you can get a quality immersive sound for TV program material that is not encoded for surround sound. Also I have a professional classical musician friend who claims this is the only program to faithfully reproduce concert hall acoustics (he has compared recordings of concerts he attended) and he uses one huge Tannoy centre speaker through which 80% of the sound is produced, using small speakers for the front L/R to add soundstage width only and surround speakers for the acoustic field.
Hell, what am I thinking - I should keep this thing!
