FS: Vimak DS-1800 Mk2 Reference dac

[Guest Bodhisattva]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]20978[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]20975[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]21052[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]20976[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]20974[/ATTACH]

Item: Vimak DS-1800 Mk2 Delta Sigma dac

Location: The item is located in Melbourne, however I can ship the item anywhere in Australia. The total shipping weight is 49.6 lbs and the dimensions of the shipping box are 67cm x 67cm x 34cm. *Edit - I am now including FREE SHIPPING (incl: $1700.00 Insurance) to anywhere in Australia.

Item Condition: This dac is a late manufacture/sale example & was sold in 1998 (I am the second owner). This dac is in exceptional condition & was fully checked by Dallas Clarke (Clarke Audio) in 2006 and found to have no issues.

Reason for selling: I am downsizing my system & am moving more in the direction of tubes. With that said, it took the Ayon CD-5 (a $14k reference player) to make me want to part with the Vimak/JVC combo!

Price: This was a $10,000 dac when it sold in Australia in 1998. I bought the dac less than 18 months ago for $3,000.00. I am asking only $1700.00!! No trades.

Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal or COD accepted.

Extra Info:

I am offering for sale the legendary Vimak DS-1800 Mk2 delta sigma dac in stunning gloss black. The DS-1800Mk2 was sold from 1993, whilst this example was sold new in 1998 (I am the second owner). This dac was purchased from Secher Audio in Camberwell about 18 months ago, and at the time it was the best dac they had in the shop. It is in exceptional condition for it's age with only a couple of noticeable nicks which I could not get to show in a photo, but is otherwise in perfect condition. I rate it 8/10 for age only. This dac was fully checked and serviced by high end audio engineer Dallas Clarke (Clarke Audio) in 2006 and found to have no issues.

The DS-1800 Mk2 is a full on upsampling delta sigma dac implemented in discrete logic and built with 90% "commodity logic", meaning all but a couple of proprietary components (which are unlikely to fail) can be easily sourced in future. The DS-1800 Mk2 features 18 bit/64 times oversampling, a Class A power supply comprising two copper-clad r-core transformers housed in a separate shielded compartment, a multi layer pcb board which can only be described as "massive" & is housed in a huge and HEAVY aluminium and copper chassis weighing in at almost 42 lbs! This was an all-out effort by Vimak Corporation (who invented Delta Sigma theory) to realize the full potential of that design. Current Delta Sigma dacs use a single, or array of miniaturized chips which offer more "bits", but don't have the Vimak's magic. They just lose something in the process. As they say "They don't make them like they used to!"

The DS-1800 Mk2 is the later model which fixed the issue of poor quality caps in the DS-1800. After the DS-1800, Vimak learnt their lesson & brought out the Mk2 which used blackgates & was also slightly refined over the original model. It is also generally accepted the DS-1800 Mk2 was a better sounding dac than the more expensive DS-2000 Mk2 of the same year.

I previously ran my JVC XL-Z1050 cdp as a standalone player (which itself has a good dac) until I bought the Vimak. To say the addition of this dac was a revelation is an understatement! The differences were like night and day. The sound stage opened up with instruments placed more precisely within the sound stage. I was hearing detail i'd never heard before & music emanated from a blacker background and with amazing palpability and realism. Vocals were rendered beautifully and decays were also longer and more lifelike. There is also a touch of analogue-like warmth which I believe comes from its Class A power supply. Also say goodbye to digital fatigue; this dac eliminates digital grunge and makes long listening sessions a joy! Overall, the DS-1800 Mk2 is a highly resolving and extremely accurate dac with just a touch of warmth and sweetness. It is also dead quiet in operation.

The rear panel offers both unbalanced and balanced outputs, the optional digital out, switchable output gain and an array of digital inputs including coaxial, twin optical inputs and aes/ebu.

As an audiophile, I can tell you this dac gives you a tremendous pride of ownership. The DS-1800 Mk2 has jaw dropping performance. Paired with a classic transport like my old JVC XL-Z1050 transport + a good digital cable (eg: Siltech) & you have an Accuphase-killer for under $4k. You can read a review of the DS-1800 by Ken Kessler of Home Theater Review magazine here - www.hometheaterreview.com/vimak-ds-2000-da-converter-reviewed/. In Ken's review, he describes how the DS-1800 "massacred" 6 other D/A converters he had up for review at the time up to $6000.00(USD).

I must admit I debated whether to part with this dac, but I am downsizing my system and am moving more in the direction of tubes. DS-1800Mk2's rarely come up for sale, and are even rarer in this condition. The reason is that this is one of the best sounding dacs ever made..

I am a new member here, but you can read my 100% positive feedback on Ebay (my member name is the same). I take fanatical care of my components and in the care I take to ship a component. As I do not have the original box or shipping materials, I have had a custom, double layer box made by a professional company together with custom high density foam inserts of at least 100mm width cut to precise measurements to ensure the dac has excellent protection for it's journey. I have also carefully wrapped the component in pure silk material to ensure the component arrives in perfect condition. The shipping materials alone cost me $200.00! The dac is fully boxed and ready to ship. I am very happy to answer any questions you have and will work with the buyer to ensure a smooth transaction. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Edited August 8, 2010 by Bodhisattva
lowered price

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Bump ye olde thread

[dirty]

Sounds like a bargain, now can we have a picture of the picture??

Dirty

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Hi Dirty, I have posted a picture at the top of the thread, and 4 more photos as attachments at the bottom. I will ask Keith why they (apparently) aren't visible to others..

[nofixedaddress]

I think Dirty was talking about the B&W photo on the wall which is reflected in one of the shots of the DAC. All the photos work fine in the post from this end.

Must be a difficult sale for you. By all acounts a very special sounding DAC.

Best wishes for the sale.

NFA

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Ah lol, that one flew right past me! I'll have to get some prints made up Still it serves as a metaphor for the sex appeal of that dac!

On a serious note, thanks fixed. Yes, the audiophile part of me thinks i'm crazy parting with the Vimak...in particular this Vimak, but space requirements have forced me to part with it.

In every respect, the DS-1800 Mk2 is nothing short of outstanding. From it's extreme build quaity and tight tolerances to it's astoundingly complex Delta Sigma architecture. The genius of the DS-1800 Mk2 is its supreme ability to organize the digital to analogue signal with an incredible level of accuracy and in a way which sounds so sonically superior to any other dac I have ever heard before. Ken Kessler wasn't exaggerating when he described how the Vimak didn't just beat every other dac he had up for review at that time, but massacred them. No one will build a dac with the complexity and level of engineering of the Vimak ever again. This one is special.

Melbguy

Edited July 19, 2010 by Bodhisattva
readability

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Bumping thread

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Bumping thread

[gz76]

Call me crazy, but I would've found a buyer before committing $200 to shipping materials — what if the buyer ends up being local!

[dirty]

Good work nofixedaddress, I was hoping someone else would see it. :popcorn

Sounds like an amazing DAC, but to expensive for me to consider, I hope another Melb SNA'er snaps it up and has a GTG to celebrate his find and we can all have a listen.

Dirty.

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Hi GZ, as the dac did not have it's original shipping materials, I had no hesitation in investing in new custom-shipping materials which will be able to be stored in a garage or cupboard by the new owner. The buyer is still likely to be interstate, so I still feel that is a good investment. Yes I hope it finds a good home & transport to match up to

[Audionutz]

Having owned one of these, with the matching transport - I can confirm the quality of sound they produce. Very non-fatiguing, accurate and musicial. Build quality is excellent too ! IIRC the Retail of the transport/dac combo was somewhere north of USD$20 K ? Even if I'm worng, this unit represents excellent value IMHO.

Cheers

'Nutz

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Bumping thread

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Reduced price to $2395.00 (less than 1/4 of it's original list price).

Edited July 26, 2010 by Bodhisattva
per price drop

[braddo]

If I had not recently bought a Mark Levinson DAC, I would have jumped on this STRAIGHT away no question.

Good luck with the sale. A lot of DAC for a very reasonble price.

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Only really serious audiophiles know about this dac, so it wont move quickly.. but you're right; it is one helluva dac!

Edited July 24, 2010 by Bodhisattva

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Have taken a further $50.00 off. That's as low as i'm prepared to go on a $10k dac, otherwise i'll be tempted to keep it.

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Bumping thread..:popcorn

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Dropped price further..

[Guest Bodhisattva]

No interest? Dropped the price a further $50.00 to what must surely now be a tempting price...

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Dropped price a further $100.00, now asking virtually 1/5th of the original list pricefor this reference dac...

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Took further $50.00 off. This is now a ridiculous bargain for someone...

[Guest Bodhisattva]

bump thread

[Guest Bodhisattva]

bump number 7

Edited July 30, 2010 by Bodhisattva

[Guest Bodhisattva]

Le bumpe number 8