Danish Audio ConnecT. High quality audio parts - TESTIMONIALS. Read here what DACT customers have experienced with DACT products.

Received from Tony De Lobelle, Belgium, about his experiences using CT102 to power his DAC.

Dear DACT,

Since I no longer feel the need to "improve" my vinyl section (DACT CT102+CT100) I was wondering what the PSU CT102 could do for me in the CD department:

I have a "old" Sony CDP-X777ES which gave me a lot of pleasure in the past.
But this player will not play forever and I don't want to spend K's of EURO's to replace it when he retires

So I bought a DAC evaluation board (AD1853) and connected your CT102...
I used the 777 as CD transport and connected the digital out to the digital in of the DAC:

After one day of playing:
This is not bad at all...(not worse than the 777) so my goal was achieved.

After one week:
WHOW...I know I have never heard a CD player playing music like this!!!
It is impossible to say that the bass or trebles or mids are better, higher, lower or whatever, because for the first time I am listening to music (from CD!) in all its glory...the same way I hear music from my vinyl system. (well pretty close, but anyway I can enjoy music from both systems now)

After one month:
Well...I think I hit the jackpot.

And the good thing is: It is almost as good with a 150 EURO DVD player!
So I will probably buy in the (not to near) future a good DVD player to replace the 777 when he retires.

I could not resist to put 2,7µF MKP caps on the DAC power supply input terminals...this is like going from pentode to triode in my valve amps: MAGIC!

I did some CD mods for some friends on their CD players (super clocks, SACD upgrade module etc.) but none gave the same result as what I did with your PSU and this DAC. (Vacuumstate SACD upgrade module was also very good, fair is fair, but the DACT DAC is even better)

BTW: I had two critical visitors to listen to this CD setup...and they both will order the evaluation board and your CT102 PSU

Any plans on making a DACT DAC??? could be a hit!
Attached a picture of the setup.

Kind regards

Review in Vinyl Asylum by Yoyo.

Read the review here.

Received from Tim Lengfeld about his DACT CT2 audio attenuator.

Just wanting to let you know that I have received the CT2 in the post this morning.
After a small amount of Reaming, Deburing, filing and soldering it found place in my monitoring controller.
What a revelation. The good recordings sound far superior, whilst the bad recordings have become almost unlistenable.
Its amazing how non-linear conductive plastic can cloud the image information.

Death to potentiometers in audio!

Fine Business!

Best Regards
Tim

Received from John Sero about his DACT CT100 phono stage and CT102 audio power supply.

My System
Klipschorns/ALK, rewired damped horns and taped into the rooms corners
Golden Tube Mono's totally modified with KR 300BXLS tubes
ClearAudio Champion Level 2 w modified Rega 250 arm w Cardis wire upgrade

I manufactured steal enclosures and wired the phono wires and interconnects directly to the CT100 board.. A Very nice touch.  After installing the CT100/CT102 it took me about a week to dial in the inputs and settings to get proper performance out of the phono.   Day after day the CT100 continued to impress me.. in a very big way.  This is by no means a normal piece of electronics.  This is an incredible audio delight.

I understood the CT100 supports dual mono power supplies.  After one week without reservation I ordered a second power supply.

After adding the second power supply WeLLLL this a whole Other ball park OOoooh Yah!  Big time!  I found the difference to be Quantum!

Where it took a week to dial in the phono stage, this change was like an instantaneous 3D holographic revelation. The sound and the soundstage bloomed and opened right up.
The musical expression became much "thicker".   Individual instruments took on an awesome spatial presence.  Listening to large orchestral music individual tones became very focused and defined.  Defined and Isolated in Space.. but now there was a Pronounced Expression of Tonal Power.  Well defined isolated powerful spatial tones.   The two power supplies, two powerful discrete channels in stereo.. creating an awesome musical organic holographic 3D soundscape.

The second power supply added Apr. one third more to the cost, but yielded a HUGE increase in musical expression and enjoyment.  With out a shadow of a doubt I would use dual mono power supplies.   Now I understand why all the best gear has dual mono power supplies.

One power supply or two the Dact phono in itself will represent a HUGE upgrade to any system.   The difference is so pronounce it is like getting a Very good preamp! for free when buying the Dact phono stage.

any ways... always in the search of excellence... and the extraordinary! you have done a fine job.. and not only that you are providing your product at an incredible price.. thank you Very much for not gouging the general public...   This is an exceptional product, and could help revolutionize the expression of Vinyl..   For the people that know Vinyl still is and always will be the highest form of recorded musical expression.

enjoy
John Sero.

Received from Toni De Lobelle about his DACT CT102 audio power supply.

It's connected now [CT102, DACT] (since Friday evening).
After two days of listening I am very pleased with this PSU!

Yes, it is brighter, for the better in my opinion. (I've used two CT100pow adaptors till now).
But apart from being brighter it has far more control in the lower regions and this makes it possible to hear a lot more details in rest of the audio spectrum.

I have a lot of hours experience listening to Mark Levinson, Linn, E.A.R., Michell, Electrocompaniet, Naim and some home brew phono stages...this DACT Phono and PSU combination can compete with the best!!!!! (in fact...it is the best!)

I am playing with:
Michell Gyrodeck with Decca unipivot tone arm and a Ortofon MC 30 MKII gold
DACT phono
EF86 line amp (with DACT attenuator and input selector)
KT88 mono power amps
IMF TLS80 MKII (maybe not he best speaker in the world, but at least I can hear the lowest and the highest octaves of the audio spectrum in which the "magic" can be found)
(everything silver wired internal and external)

For the moment I feel no need for a dual mono PSU or extra caps between the PSU and the PHONO...
Anyway, my system is warming up now and I am gonna play some vinyl now...

btw: I would like to thank audiocomponents (The Dutch dealer) for sending me this PSU for evaluation. They will NOT get it back, so this means I will have to transfer some euro's next week...

The only DACT item I have not tested (and bought) yet is the line stage..I wonder if this is as good as the rest...

kind regards,

Tony

ps: it was well worth waiting for this PSU...I am glad I did NOT make a 500VA or something PSU myself.

Received from Toni Matla about his DACT CT2 attenuator:

I have received the CT2, and modified my preamp.
New caps, resistors, wire, RCA's and the DACT.

I have to say, the CT2 is a great attenuator.
Not only is it good looking, a beautiful piece of engineering, but it also sounds great.
Maybe a better description is that it doesn't sound at all ;-))

Channel separation is also great  !!

Well, I am a happy customer, and will recommend Your product highly!!

Thanks for all Your effort, I appreciate it !!

Best regards,
Toni Matla, Netherlands

Received from Alejandro Saez Duncan about his DACT CT2 attenuator:

It has been a week now since I installed a CT2 10 k attenuator in my VTL power amp. To say the least, it was a giant step in musicality and resolution. I am now selling my Audio Research SP14 preamp. since I find it´s not a match for going passive with your excelent attenuator.

I will highly recomend this product to all my audiophile friends.

From Spain, thanks again, Alex.

Received from Malcolm Fear about his DACT CT2 / CT3 / CT101 combination:

Impressions of DACT equipment.

I have been using the CT2 100K stepped attenuator, CT3 selector switch and the shaft extensions as a passive pre-amp, for the last couple of months. I thought that this was as good as it gets.

I have just added the CT101 line stage (using sealed lead acid batteries for power). It just got better.
There are better dynamnics, tighter and deeper bass, and much more in the way of soundstage. I am now getting a sense of height and sound that extends beyond the left/right bounderies of the speakers.
I am very impressed.

Thanks for your help.

Regards
Malcolm Fear, Australia

Received from Emil Andreevski about his DACT CT2 / CT101 combination:

I have received the modules and attenuators, the connectionkit also. Thanks!

I have installed one CT101 already - this is an AMAZING device!! Very easy to install, works from first, and it sounds w o n d e r f u l  !!!!!!!  Congratulations on the simple and elegant solution! This changes my perception of a pre-amp, and I really wonder WHY would any preamp be more complex than this! It sounds like .... "nothing".  Actually, like "nothing" with juice to drive anything. ("nothing" being my ideal pre-amp so far, the simple passive pot). Of course, the CT2 itself is a class of its own, I tried it as a passive and it really shows the "plastic" aura in other pots, some of which were (note the past tense!) quite good - I was using ALPS black beauty and Sfernice cermet. Honestly , I did not expect the difference to be so obvious and almost immediate! On a live CD from a exceptional guitarist (my friend) Vlatko Stefanovski - KRUSHEVO (MA records - P.Garfunkle, eng.; 24/96; recorded live in a church; Calrec ribbon mics thru EAR mic-preamps to Pioneer modified DAT - I was actually there during the session - the music is heavenly! Macedonian-folk based played by a master!) I could CLEARLY hear the different brand of guitar strings!!!

Rgds , Emil Andreevski / Skopje / MK

Received from Joseph Ramon about DACT’s CT100 phono stage module:

............ For me, the best one so far is the Naim card inside my preamp, but these can't be used by non-Naim owners.  Two friends of mine have tried several top phono stages/transformers already (CAT, AR, Mark Levinson, Jadis, Sonic Frontiers, Acoustech, etc.).  Both use Lyra, one a Helikon and another a Clavis.  Siva did bring an FM Acoustics phono stage to entice one of them, and he agrees that the FM Acoustics is the best he's heard so far, if not for the price ($9000 is the cheapest model).

Anyway, both now use the DACT CT100 phono stage, marketed in Singapore by Zenn Audio, and are happy with it. I did try it, two in fact, each with a different power supply. In short, they have the versatility of the Klyne (various gain settings and load settings), the Klyne sound too depending on the power supply. So the sound can be either Klyne sound, or very warm sound, or neutral (which my friends have). Basically, the CT100 is a tiny phono card, which Zenn Audio can house in any box you may have in mind, and build the power supply to suit your sonic preference  (dual-mono even, or tubed !).  I believe it will serve you well into the future, as it will be able to accept any cartridge, and any connector (I would suggest BNC, the true 75ohm version, crimped, not soldered).

Price varies depending on how you want the box, and power supply ... you can call Zenn Audio to inquire (www.zenn.com.sg).  The card itself is less than 1K (forgot exact price).   You could supply the box, or ask him to get one for you.  One of my friends actually had it mounted inside his Conrad
Johnson transformer's box.

The DACT CT100 didn't have any review last time, but it has finally got one recently, and favorably too, from The Absolute Sound magazine (TAS). Anyway, for this, even if not yet famous, consider it on par with some of the best.

Thanks & Regards
Joseph Ramon, Singapore

Received from Pat Morford about his DACT audio attenuator samples.

Some time ago you sent me samples of your stepped attenuators, and switch assembly.
I have been very very busy, in my work, with recording contracts, and trips abroad, etc.

The short of it is this..
I finally had the occasion to hook up the pots, and switch assembly with my own high end preamp, used as the central hub of my recording studio, as both preamp, switching network, and headphone amp.

Perviously, I was using high quality conductive plastic pots, and it was my experience that they sounded about as good as you would get, in the application.
In my equipment there is LITERALLY only TWO resistors, the pre and post pots on the preamp.
Everything is capacitor coupled, and transformer coupled.
I believe in a very simple signal path..there is only ONE coupling cap in my preamp, and one in the amps, and one in the tweeter path.
All are polypropylene, RIFA brand. (I found these to be the best polypropylene period).
When I found out what your stepped units COST, I was frankly skeptical about HOW much better they could sound, resistance being resistance, or so I thought.

Suffice it to say, I was DEAD WRONG.
These have improved my stereo system SO MUCH that I can't believe it.
Subjectively, about a 30% improvement in clarity (the headphone amp sees only the selector switch and ONE of the stepped attenuators...).
I have been using both Bournes, and ALPS conductive plastic pots, as well as home made ladders with discrete regular resistors.
They aren't even remotely CLOSE to these things.

My only concern is price..they aren’t cheap, for the average guy.. Oh well. With proper design, you don't need a lot of em, for hi fi equipment anyway.

Both myself, and all the studio musicians who have heard this headphone setup so far, all are knocked out.
It's by FAR the best sound I have ever heard, barre none.

I will be doing a review  on my web site (finally, once again, sincerely sorry it took so long) and heartily recommending these components to my upper end clients.

I frankly CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
Thanks again for sending me the samples, I will send you some business.
I will be ordering, and using them myself, in my upper end gear.
Thanks again.

Pat,
from ISLAND TUBE WORKS,
and PATS TUBE AND RECORDING EQUIPMENT SCHEMATICS.

                                                         
POSTAL ADDRESS:----
           PaT MorforD 
           C8 Site28 RR2 Gabriola, BC Canada              
           V0R-1X0  

Received from Rainer Goehringer about his CT1/CT101 combination:

How  to start commenting on such a special product combination? How to find words for such a great piece of engineering resulting in a wonderful  sound?
First let me come to the size: Normally you expect a huge PCB full of  components and a huge PSU for a good Preamp. This one is so small that together  with the DACT extension set you can place it virtually anywhere in any  housing. Biggest advantage ==> you keep the signal path as short as possible!  I installed my CT101 only 3 cm away from the cinch output and utilized the  CD-player’s PSU, which is delivering +/- 30V into the CT101. To better decouple  it I connected 2 10Ohm resistors in series and 2 0.01uF Caps in parallel.
And  now the sound: Up to now I have been testing and using several Preamps, last it  was a relatively good tube preamp. I also have tried passive preamps with the  DACT CT1 and the Panasonic Potentiometer. But none of these even match the sound  coming out of the CT101 in combination with the CT1! Soundstage, focus, speed,  bass, midrange, treble, depth, ... everything as good as it gets considering the  price for the CT101 and the CT1 and providing the rest of the equipment can cope  with such high level.
After this experience I must ask why all these well  known good brands always consider it to be an advantage to build their products  in a fully discrete way and some of them claiming that tubes are the best of  all. Yes they have produced great big machines but is it all necessary when you  can get OPAMPs as good as the one utilized in the CT101? Anyway, considering the  technical specifications OPAMPs are far ahead of any discrete solution, and in  this case it is even sounding as good as it promises. So probably its time to  reconsider. The theory is showing clear advantages for the OPAMPs and now it  seems finally that the reality is achieving what the theory is promising. Its  like in physics; first they foresee that there must be Quarks and after a longer  period of experimenting they prove they exist.

Congratulations DACT for this little wonder!

Rainer Goehringer, Toulouse,  France
rainergo@infonie.fr 

Received from Stephen K. Chen - a copy of his  e-mail to the Editor of Audiophile Voice about his experiences with DACT’s CT2  attenuator:

Dear editor,
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . Secondly, a suggestion for improvement for Joel's passive preamp. I had an Alps Black Beauty pot, wired in stereo, in my preamp, which is the original  Australian version of the TARA Labs Space and Time Passage preamp. This caused an increase in transparency from my original stock Allen-Bradley pot. A further increase in transparency can be gained from replacing the Alps with the Danish  Audio ConnecT (DACT) CT2-100k-2, 24 step attenuator. Its compact size makes for ease of installation, as well as a shorter signal path, than the more bulky and expensive CT1 series, which DACT will soon be phasing out. It is no contest. The Allen-Bradley and Alps are slider type variable resistors. The readers understand that in a step attenuator, the signal passes through one resistor at a time. The DACT also is reasonably priced, compared to similar products from  Shallco and Holco. More and more manufacturers are using DACT pots, which are available in values from 10k to 500k, in mono, stereo, and stereo balanced. DACT's excellent web site contains a rave review of the CT1 attenuator from Audio  Electronics magazine (www.dact.com). Further information can be obtained  from Allan Isaksen here.

Please advise on your results, either by a follow-up in these pages, or a private e-mail to the address supplied.

Stephen K Chen
Sydney, NSW,  Australia