Nice review, Paul. I’m with you on dedicated functions for each box and it’s great to hear of another high quality product from a small specialist manufacturer.
Poseo este DAC/Preamp hace 5 años y alguna vez lo he puesto en venta, pero cuando vuelvo a escucharlo tengo claro que se queda para siempre en mi sistema de auriculares. Maravillosos los productos de Graham Slee.
Well Mr. Rigby, your review of the Majestic pointed me in the realm of getting the best performance possible out of my cd collection. Here in July 2023 I ordered a Majestic Dac and expect it to arrive to Arizona in two weeks. This is my first standalone DAC for me to purchase. Joy! Oh, in addition to my appreciation of being made aware of this DAC, when I ordered it on their website I cited you as a reference for the Majestic. I'll keep watching your posts to learn more about the machines and peripherals that brings out the best in recorded media. Carry on Sir...
even though I know some people really like Graham Slee hifi products, I am glad to see this view to hear your words, when I read magazines they only give so much of an idea what the product is like, so I thank you very much for this review
I've had my Majestic at the heart of my system ever since it was launched. It's performed flawlessly and I've never felt the need to "upgrade" or get anything else. The balanced outputs go straight to Graham's own mono block amps (the Proprius), and the fixed single ended to a headphone amp (one of Graham's naturally). The analogue input is connected to a phono amp (yes, a Graham Slee one, an Accession). One make synergy? Well it all sounds excellent.
We’ve had our Majestic for a few years, originally used with cheap active studio monitors now with a pair of Graham Slee Proprius monoblocks. Sounds fabulous with the very similar looking Lindemann Limetree Bridge (Mk2) being the digital source. Speakers are Spendor A2s. Don’t miss a remote, we use Roon so that does the job. Analogue is equally good, probably going to upgrade to a Graham Slee phono stage from the Pro-Ject one we have now.
Kudos for the multiple SPDIF inputs. If one has an Audiolab CDT transport and a Bluesound Node or similar units with only SPDIF outputs (I dont care for optical) you need more than one SPDIF. input on your DAC. Most DACS come with one RCA and one BNC. I'm sure there are digital sources with BNC out but I've never seen one, yet every DAC manufacturer needs to put a BNC input on their DAC. The Denafrips Ares has two RCA inputs but all their more upscale units do not. In my case they included a second SPDIF in lieu of the BNC for no extra cost, thankfully. This saves the need for combination RCA/BNC Cables. Lastly, this unit reminds me of days gone by in audio when there were lots of small unique manufacturers before the big foot of Chinese manufacturing and large distributing companies changed the audio dynamic.
Heavily agree that Chinese manufacturers have changed the game. This DAC is not competitive in today's market. The lack of Bluetooth because something something pure signal.... Man go stream by Bluetooth using a Gustard DAC and you will be floored by how good Bluetooth can sound. Even the build quality of Chinese dacs are very good. At this point, western manufacturers are better of focusing on Uber high end dacs or dacs that use custom FPGA implementation. Western built DACs that use off the shelf chips, really don't offer anything better than ones coming from China and are not not price competitive.
Great review, what else do we expect from Graham Slee? The man is a genius, not really surprising that the BBC had him working for them, I have Graham Slee phono pre amps and wouldn't swap them for anything else, I had (still have) the Era Gold V I didn't upgrade because of how much I like the sound, it's not perfect, but for the money you pay you get a lot of pleasure from this little box, I did eventually upgrade to the Accession and at first I thought that I had made a mistake, but as the Accession wore in it was clear that there was no mistake made, not only that, but I had been on the phone with Graham and John, I am from very close to where Graham is based near Barnsley, but they are lovely people who will go that extra mile to make things as easy as possible, their professionalism and knowledge is very much like Mark Baker at Origin Live, it's not a British HIFI thing at all, I am happy to pay extra for something if it does what it is supposed to do, the lack of Bluetooth is a bonus to my mind, the switches make sense compared to buttons, you don't have to be from Yorkshire to understand this, I read the comment about the cost of the Majestic, it works and it works well, I have seen some which cost much more, but they have certain bells and whistles which I would never use, I trust Graham Slee to deliver good music and that is what he does in spades.
Hello All, wanted suggestion from you guys...i am missing channel separation in my system..my system is Marantz NA8005 as Network streamer(DA convertor)--->Yamaha AS1000(Integrated)-->Jamo S708....what am i missing here??
I wonder what your view would be on DSD dacs? I’ve noticed that a French firm called Atoll are back in the U.K. and wondered what your thoughts would be on reviewing a dac from them using DSD. They’re not insanely priced either just like Graham Slee. I’ve got a headphone amp from `Graham Slee “Solo” and it’s great!
Taking into account it also works as a preamp, this DAC offers very good value. Just combine it with a Volumio Rivo streamer and a NAD M23 amplifier and you have a high end digital system at a reasonable price. Excellent review!
First off I'm new to the hi-fi stuff what would explain my question I want to ask: what exactly is DAC and where it goes in hi-fi system chain (is it between amplifier and speakers from some of context from video)? Is DAC somekind sound enhancing system? 🤔 Only year ago with purchasing my turntable I started to want get better music systems after growing up on regular radio-cassette/CD duos and cd portable players (and never needing of these kinda "fancy" boxes).
Ooo, this one is ideal for me, as I’m a bit of a purist myself. I have two products with Wolfson chips, both of which I like a lot. Saber DACS are unbearably bright to my ears. Give Missy a scratch behind the ears for me 🤗
Ah I just went to the website and since Cirrus Logic is no longer making the Wolfson DAC this unit is on it's last leg. There are only a hundred of these units left to purchase, while he keeps a few for service units. If you want it go get it while it lasts.
Why is there an analog input on a DAC? That makes no sense. I very much like the multiple Coax and optical inputs, that is one thing I don't like about my DAC (Holoaudio May DAC L2). Would have loved to hear your opinion on chip vs R2R DACs and how the Wolfson chip stacks up to R2R.
This from the company, “The problem is that if your interface needs drivers, you have to support them for the life of the product. The Majestic will last at least 10 years working almost daily and mostly switched on all the time (like mine has been). So the customer would expect that back-up for at least 10 years. If we were only ever going to sell £50K's worth a year, then it's an awfully great demand to ensure all that backup. So I decided to go driverless and use a chip made by the (now) largest "western" chip manufacturer on the planet (Texas), and I've never seen them do a USB CODEC greater than 48k (makes you wonder why?) Perhaps they know something the rest of us don't? To play 96kHz from a Windows machine all you need is "Monkeys" from Foobar2000, and to use Foobar2000 (which costs nothing).”
We don't know the circumstances by which that stencilling has been removed. It may be a development sample which has had rough daily handling, for example. I'd advise talking to the company to clarify.
@@TheAudiophileMan Fair enough, just thought it may give people a negative first impression (and you only get one chance at that. I have a 1979 Rotel tuner with all the print in tact
Indeed, I agree. That's why I took the trouble of highlighting that very issue during the early part of the Closer Look section in this video. That the company is relatively small, demo samples are restricted, etc.
There *are* DACs that are brilliant at a quarter of the price. They are brilliant *for* £400. But not *for* £1,600. There's HiFi products out there for sale at all price points, no matter if you're discussing DACs, turntables, speakers or whatever takes your fancy. And they all vary in terms of build quality, parts quality, etc. Thing is, though, the Majestic sounds better than many DACs at those price points (at least the DACs I've heard). As many turntables at £1,600 sound better than many £400 turntables, as many...well, you get my drift.
I think this "simplicity" thing is more a lack of ability to produce a product to compete strongly in the DAC area. More like, hey guys, it is time for us to produce another product, how about this DAC idea, lets throw one out there and see who bites. Oh, and we can in future talk about how "golden" this thing sounds with chips that are less advanced and we are the only ones with them. No, ain't gonna buy it Audiophile Man. Not this time. :)
Nice review, Paul. I’m with you on dedicated functions for each box and it’s great to hear of another high quality product from a small specialist manufacturer.
Poseo este DAC/Preamp hace 5 años y alguna vez lo he puesto en venta, pero cuando vuelvo a escucharlo tengo claro que se queda para siempre en mi sistema de auriculares. Maravillosos los productos de Graham Slee.
Well Mr. Rigby, your review of the Majestic pointed me in the realm of getting the best performance possible out of my cd collection.
Here in July 2023 I ordered a Majestic Dac and expect it to arrive to Arizona in two weeks. This is my first standalone DAC for me to purchase.
Joy!
Oh, in addition to my appreciation of being made aware of this DAC, when I ordered it on their website I cited you as a reference for the Majestic.
I'll keep watching your posts to learn more about the machines and peripherals that brings out the best in recorded media.
Carry on Sir...
even though I know some people really like Graham Slee hifi products, I am glad to see this view to hear your words, when I read magazines they only give so much of an idea what the product is like, so I thank you very much for this review
I’m with you Paul, love a purist audio product like this! 👍
I've had my Majestic at the heart of my system ever since it was launched. It's performed flawlessly and I've never felt the need to "upgrade" or get anything else. The balanced outputs go straight to Graham's own mono block amps (the Proprius), and the fixed single ended to a headphone amp (one of Graham's naturally). The analogue input is connected to a phono amp (yes, a Graham Slee one, an Accession). One make synergy? Well it all sounds excellent.
We’ve had our Majestic for a few years, originally used with cheap active studio monitors now with a pair of Graham Slee Proprius monoblocks. Sounds fabulous with the very similar looking Lindemann Limetree Bridge (Mk2) being the digital source. Speakers are Spendor A2s.
Don’t miss a remote, we use Roon so that does the job.
Analogue is equally good, probably going to upgrade to a Graham Slee phono stage from the Pro-Ject one we have now.
Kudos for the multiple SPDIF inputs. If one has an Audiolab CDT transport and a Bluesound Node or similar units with only SPDIF outputs (I dont care for optical) you need more than one SPDIF. input on your DAC. Most DACS come with one RCA and one BNC. I'm sure there are digital sources with BNC out but I've never seen one, yet every DAC manufacturer needs to put a BNC input on their DAC. The Denafrips Ares has two RCA inputs but all their more upscale units do not. In my case they included a second SPDIF in lieu of the BNC for no extra cost, thankfully. This saves the need for combination RCA/BNC Cables. Lastly, this unit reminds me of days gone by in audio when there were lots of small unique manufacturers before the big foot of Chinese manufacturing and large distributing companies changed the audio dynamic.
Heavily agree that Chinese manufacturers have changed the game. This DAC is not competitive in today's market. The lack of Bluetooth because something something pure signal.... Man go stream by Bluetooth using a Gustard DAC and you will be floored by how good Bluetooth can sound. Even the build quality of Chinese dacs are very good. At this point, western manufacturers are better of focusing on Uber high end dacs or dacs that use custom FPGA implementation. Western built DACs that use off the shelf chips, really don't offer anything better than ones coming from China and are not not price competitive.
Enjoyed your review, thanks.
Great to see the mighty Golden Girls - Kinetic on display. Killer tune.
Great review, what else do we expect from Graham Slee? The man is a genius, not really surprising that the BBC had him working for them, I have Graham Slee phono pre amps and wouldn't swap them for anything else, I had (still have) the Era Gold V I didn't upgrade because of how much I like the sound, it's not perfect, but for the money you pay you get a lot of pleasure from this little box, I did eventually upgrade to the Accession and at first I thought that I had made a mistake, but as the Accession wore in it was clear that there was no mistake made, not only that, but I had been on the phone with Graham and John, I am from very close to where Graham is based near Barnsley, but they are lovely people who will go that extra mile to make things as easy as possible, their professionalism and knowledge is very much like Mark Baker at Origin Live, it's not a British HIFI thing at all, I am happy to pay extra for something if it does what it is supposed to do, the lack of Bluetooth is a bonus to my mind, the switches make sense compared to buttons, you don't have to be from Yorkshire to understand this, I read the comment about the cost of the Majestic, it works and it works well, I have seen some which cost much more, but they have certain bells and whistles which I would never use, I trust Graham Slee to deliver good music and that is what he does in spades.
If you like this minimalistic take on digital, you should check out The BorderPatrol DAC. Super minimalistic design and sound phenomenal!
Reminds me of the Rega DAC that also have double Wolfson chips.
Hello All, wanted suggestion from you guys...i am missing channel separation in my system..my system is Marantz NA8005 as Network streamer(DA convertor)--->Yamaha AS1000(Integrated)-->Jamo S708....what am i missing here??
Nice but id have liked an eas/ebu Input.
Also, why 2 zeros on the volume knobs?
I wonder what your view would be on DSD dacs? I’ve noticed that a French firm called Atoll are back in the U.K. and wondered what your thoughts would be on reviewing a dac from them using DSD. They’re not insanely priced either just like Graham Slee. I’ve got a headphone amp from `Graham Slee “Solo” and it’s great!
The only thing missing for me is a remote control for the inputs and gain control.
Man, I could really do with some of those quick and dirty profits right now, Paul ;)
Taking into account it also works as a preamp, this DAC offers very good value. Just combine it with a Volumio Rivo streamer and a NAD M23 amplifier and you have a high end digital system at a reasonable price. Excellent review!
XLR Outs rather than TRS would be mandatory for me at this price. But this DAC is still intriguing.
First off I'm new to the hi-fi stuff what would explain my question I want to ask: what exactly is DAC and where it goes in hi-fi system chain (is it between amplifier and speakers from some of context from video)? Is DAC somekind sound enhancing system? 🤔 Only year ago with purchasing my turntable I started to want get better music systems after growing up on regular radio-cassette/CD duos and cd portable players (and never needing of these kinda "fancy" boxes).
Thank you, Paul. Very tempting. How come that some parts of the lettering on the front and back of the unit are strangely missing ?
I talked about this in the early part of the Closer Look section.
Ooo, this one is ideal for me, as I’m a bit of a purist myself. I have two products with Wolfson chips, both of which I like a lot. Saber DACS are unbearably bright to my ears. Give Missy a scratch behind the ears for me 🤗
Hehe. Will do ;)
Wolfson products used to be designed not far from where I'm typing this, here in Edinburgh. No longer, sadly.
Hi Paul,when would you be reviewing the Audiolab CDT9000 transport?
Next week.
Phwoar! Those are some nice looking Knobs!
I can see, from your monicker, that you have a particular interest.
Ah I just went to the website and since Cirrus Logic is no longer making the Wolfson DAC this unit is on it's last leg. There are only a hundred of these units left to purchase, while he keeps a few for service units. If you want it go get it while it lasts.
Talked to the company about this and apparently they now have supplies that should keep them going for the next 10 years. Phew!
Please give a DAC that is reasonable priced to add to a Bluesound Node. Thank you in advance,
Take a look at the DACs from iFi and Schiit. They offer good value for money alongside great sound.
I kind of thought more expensive DACs tended to be discreet R2R ladder DACs...
Also, for that price, I would expect nicer feet
Still using musical fidelity x dac.
Why is there an analog input on a DAC? That makes no sense. I very much like the multiple Coax and optical inputs, that is one thing I don't like about my DAC (Holoaudio May DAC L2). Would have loved to hear your opinion on chip vs R2R DACs and how the Wolfson chip stacks up to R2R.
Because it’s a preamp, not just a DAC. It makes complete sense if you have a turntable and phonostage.
When will you review the cat?
Hehe
you now have 500 likes.
Why limit usb input to "up to 48kHz 24 bit"? A bit dissapointing here.
This from the company, “The problem is that if your interface needs drivers, you have to support them for the life of the product. The Majestic will last at least 10 years working almost daily and mostly switched on all the time (like mine has been). So the customer would expect that back-up for at least 10 years. If we were only ever going to sell £50K's worth a year, then it's an awfully great demand to ensure all that backup.
So I decided to go driverless and use a chip made by the (now) largest "western" chip manufacturer on the planet (Texas), and I've never seen them do a USB CODEC greater than 48k (makes you wonder why?) Perhaps they know something the rest of us don't?
To play 96kHz from a Windows machine all you need is "Monkeys" from Foobar2000, and to use Foobar2000 (which costs nothing).”
I'm surprised that your personnel DAC is a Benchmark , aren't they ESS chip dacs?
It’s a reference, not a personal preference.
All those connections and not one is I2S.
Why would you put three coaxial and three optical?...total overkill
I'm sure the sound is great, however the fact that the stenciling on a product of this price would come off so quickly is a concern.
We don't know the circumstances by which that stencilling has been removed. It may be a development sample which has had rough daily handling, for example. I'd advise talking to the company to clarify.
@@TheAudiophileMan Fair enough, just thought it may give people a negative first impression (and you only get one chance at that. I have a 1979 Rotel tuner with all the print in tact
Indeed, I agree. That's why I took the trouble of highlighting that very issue during the early part of the Closer Look section in this video. That the company is relatively small, demo samples are restricted, etc.
@@TheAudiophileMan True, Good job on the review
No mention of DSD or MQA?
That’s correct.
That’s correct ?
Where is bnc for 75ohm ? Rca really?
Oh no, not another one. 😵💫
It had better be brilliant at that price.
There *are* DACs that are brilliant at a quarter of the price. They are brilliant *for* £400. But not *for* £1,600. There's HiFi products out there for sale at all price points, no matter if you're discussing DACs, turntables, speakers or whatever takes your fancy. And they all vary in terms of build quality, parts quality, etc.
Thing is, though, the Majestic sounds better than many DACs at those price points (at least the DACs I've heard). As many turntables at £1,600 sound better than many £400 turntables, as many...well, you get my drift.
Unbelievable there are no I2S or AES/EBU connectors on a unit this expensive using TRS balanced out.
Warning! Joining the GSAPOC makes you illegible!
I think this "simplicity" thing is more a lack of ability to produce a product to compete strongly in the DAC area. More like, hey guys, it is time for us to produce another product, how about this DAC idea, lets throw one out there and see who bites. Oh, and we can in future talk about how "golden" this thing sounds with chips that are less advanced and we are the only ones with them. No, ain't gonna buy it Audiophile Man. Not this time. :)
How did we ever get by before multi thousand dollar DACs? We were all listening to horrible audio before, EH?
sick of reading about dacs