To Jeff Fritz,
Greetings from the Lone Star State, Jeff. I'm in the market for a high-end USB DAC and analog preamp. I was wondering if you're planning on reviewing the Calyx Femto DAC. I'm particularly curious to see if it meets your standards to make it to your TWBAS list.
I know you're a big fan of the Ayre KX-R preamplifier and it's part of your reference rig. I'm curious if there's any synergy between these two pieces, or if they'd suffer from too much transparency, per se, where they would sound too analytical.
Thanks and warm regards,
Oscar E. Bermudez
I'm not planning to review the Calyx Femto, as Doug Schneider wrote a comprehensive review on SoundStage! Hi-Fi last year. My findings echo his. I can tell you that I have had a Femto in my system for over a month and do have it paired with the Ayre KX-R preamp you mentioned. In short, I think the two make a fine sonic match. Both are clean and transparent, as you predict, but the combination is far from analytical or strident. On the contrary, I find the two very easy to listen to for long periods, as they are extremely natural sounding with an uncanny smoothness to the sound. Honestly, I can’t imagine much better sound than what I am hearing from the combo in my system. So, yes, the Calyx is the current DAC of choice for TWBAS. Hear one if you can. . . . Jeff Fritz
