GIESELER KONVERTER (DAC/Preamp) Official release.

[Gieseler Audio]

Finally it is finished! Sorry for the huge delay but I have had a ton of other things happening over the last six months which caused the delay.

OK down to some details.

Inputs Digital                      USB, Coax & optical.

Inputs Analogue               2  x  RCA

Outputs                               1  x  XLR  + 2  x  RCA

DAC Chip                             Asahi Kasei Microdevices AK4497EQ

Output level is variable by remote control with a maximum of 3v RMS or 4.5v RMS depending on a PCB gain jumper setting. I find these levels work well with most power amps but I’m happy to reconfigure them to a custom output if required. The unit has full remote control of all functions except main power on/off. Settings, filter, input etc information is via a large OLED graphics display. There is a main menu with all the info & also sub menus using much larger characters eg volume so you can read it from across the room. Also a display off mode.  The muting system is very sophisticated so no pops at all during sample rate change & DSD PCM format changes. At this stage there will only be one version which uses two additional Jensen transformers for the output of the DAC chip. In comparison to the usual op-amp stage the transformer was miles ahead in terms of sound quality.

Cost  -  Unfortunately the build time is massive with three separate pcbs, inter-board wiring & lots of manual chassis & panel work + four expensive Jensen transformers so ie ended up  $4k. This may change a little when we streamline production  & have some more accurate build times.

OK that’s all for now as I just wanted to get the basic info out there ASAP. Down the track a bit I will supply more tech info & some measurements.  Feel free to ask any questions.

Oops – almost forgot – how does it sound you ask? – bloody fantastic but of course I’m biased!

[Cafad]

Nicely done Clay.  Looks a million bucks too.

 

Is the "HT Bypass" effectively a "DAC out"?

[Gieseler Audio]

Thanks Cafad,

no the HT Bypass sockets connect directly to the main output sockets when the unit is powered off. Normally you would have the HT bypass sockets connected to say the line out of a AV receiver so you could share the power amp between two system if that makes sense.

 

[thathifiguy]

This looks incredible Clay, brilliant job!


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[Jventer]

It is looking fantastic!
 

[woadl]

It looks very professional, I love the case

looking forward to hearing one

[Ancientflatulence]

                     Clayton Gieseler  ............... GENIUS!!!!                

[~Spyne~]

Looks beautiful Clay.

My order is in, as previously discussed I miss having something (MUCH) better than the internal DAC of my SBT.

[qwerter]

Congratulations with another great product! Looks fabulous! 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

Looks great Clay.

Out of interest, can the outputs be run simultaneously (for example, the RCA outs to a power amp and the XLR to a sub)?

 

Edit: just seen there's a switch there so I'm guessing the answer is "no"

Edited February 18, 2017 by Sir Sanders Zingmore

[niss_man]

Case work has come a long way from pdx days. Looks fantastic and I bet sounds just as good.

[Bill125812]

Wow Clay

 

Looks amazing.  I think I'll have to come down and have a listen. 

 

Its about time I had a new piece of equipment I think 

[matth]

Great work, Clay,

looks terrific!

Looking forward to your DAC only with the same technique.

 

Matt

[krappo]

WOW  

 

[powerav]

Look so simple but has every single feature that you could want in a pre amp.....why can't the big manufactures do this. Now just need to find a Chinese manufacturer to keep price down.

[krebetman]

Great look, nice & clean.  Will there be a silver finish available in addition to the black?

[Atjan]

That is a beautiful piece of kit! I'm sure it will sound fantastic as well.
I was a bit confused about the DAC when there was no digital inputs listed.
The pics rectified that for me.
Pricewise, I think it is not unreasonable considering that you have both a DAC and pre in one package.


On manufacturing cost - there is so much that can be done to contain cost on local production. It pains me that people seem to want to jump to off-shoring work immediately rather than keeping work here. If you do that, you loose a lot more than just local jobs. There's also control and IP implications.

There is a pharmasuticals company in Melbourne that has streamlined their processes to the extent that they are bringing production in from India and China because it is cheaper for them to do it here. There is no reason why other manufacturers can't do the same.

[bhobba]

I have seen it in real life.

 

As I have posted elsewhere the quality of construction is beyond exceptional - its actually a thing of beauty and I am a fussy guy who has never said that about a product before.

 

On aesthetics alone it deserves to be a raging success - but I am sure it will be VERY competitive with other DAC's in its price range sound wise.

 

Thanks

Bill

Edited February 19, 2017 by bhobba

[blybo]

I'd have to say, this looks far better than expected and I'm sure it will sound excellent as well. Great job.

However, there is an elephant in the room, it is now totally out of my price range. Were we not originally expecting a $1500-ish product?

[Suopermanni]

WOW, that looks aces Clayton! 

[qwerter]

Does it play DSD512?

[Gieseler Audio]

Yes it should play DSD512

I will try & find a test track & give it a whirl as I soon get it back - currently on loan to a local audio buff for evaluation.

blybo - Yes my original conception was for a cost arround 2K but the final product evolved a lot in terms parts cost & functionality.

 

[Mat-with-one-t]

Triumphant mate!  And, if I may say so, great to see a toggle hanging in there (even if relegated to the back!).

Any chance of xlr in's (for CD players with balanced out, for example)?  Looking at the innards, would it be safe to assume that the dac part will be upgradable, or would this mess with the overall programming too much?  

Well done! Mat

[Gieseler Audio]

Krebetman - yes when I get time I will look into a silver front panel version.

Mat - sorry no balanced analogue in at this stage. DAC board upgrade, yes that may certainly be on the cards.

At the moment all the boards are being revised slightly just to tidy up the wiring & layout so production models will look a little neater inside. Digikey finally have the AK4497EQ chips back in stock now so I will be keeping reasonable stocks to ensure no production delays. Lead time on orders will be arround three weeks. There are a few units that have been pre ordered so hopefully some online feedback soon.

[Mat-with-one-t]

Thanks Clay!