Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
What are hifi reviews useful for? (1) Identifying products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we often discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on most products—and are often apprehensive about publishing strong criticism or comparisons between products. Further, they seldom have more than a few products on-hand, often relying on their memories to compare past products. Always listen for yourself.
All
Kassandra
reviews
Video Review
Manufacturer details
Features
Specifications
- IC Chip Array: 16 R2R converters per channel using AD1865N-K
- Output Range: 30Vpp output @ 0db 10Vrms (5Vrms on -6db setting)
- Output Impedance: 50 ohms (balanced and SE output), 12 ohms at -6db setting
- USB input: Data rates up to 24/384KHz
- Dimensions: 540mm W x 520mm D x 165mm H
- Weight: 60kg
Description
We believe the Kassandra DAC is currently one of the best audio sources available today and can only be matched by top analogue sources in timbre and musicality, but keeping well ahead in aspects of dynamic presentation and resolution. While in the process of setting up and building the company, at the earliest stages, the need of a true SOTA source was mandatory. You cannot claim to build speakers that aim to be the absolute best, top amplifier designs and so on, if you do not have a true reference source. So the Kassandra was born…
Release Timeline
Manufacturer Site
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- They employ a "zero feedback power gain stage" in their preamplifiers, utilizing a transformer-coupled super-triode design, which is unusual for tube preamps.
- Aries Cerat's Inverted Triode Technology departs from the design of traditional vacuum tubes by using an electron stream accelerated towards a wire-grid-like anode, offering performance benefits.
- Aries Cerat uses Multi-tap input transformers as the attenuation method for volume control, in addition to Nixie-Tube input and volume indicators behind a thick glass front panel.
- They incorporate user-adjustable bias, allowing listeners to fine-tune the sound to match their system and personal preferences.
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Select product comparisons
Prestige Series
- Positioning: The entry-level lineup offering high-quality audio performance with accessible designs.
- Description: Delivers impressive sound quality through carefully engineered components. While it provides a solid foundation, it lacks the advanced technologies found in the higher-tier Reference and Signature Series, resulting in comparatively less refined audio reproduction.
Reference Series
- Positioning: Mid-tier products that introduce enhanced features and performance over the Prestige Series.
- Description: Incorporates improved circuit designs and higher-grade materials, offering a more detailed and dynamic listening experience. However, it doesn't include the proprietary Inverted Triode technology present in the Signature Series, which limits its ability to deliver the same level of sonic purity and realism.
Signature Series
- Positioning: High-end products featuring Aries Cerat's proprietary technologies for superior audio fidelity.
- Description: Stands out with the implementation of the unique Inverted Triode technology, providing exceptional linearity and low distortion. This results in a more natural and immersive sound compared to the Reference Series.
Limited Edition Series
- Positioning: The flagship lineup representing the highest level of craftsmanship and audio performance.
- Description: Features top-of-the-line components and exclusive designs, such as the dual-chassis configuration for improved isolation and power supply integrity. This meticulous engineering surpasses the capabilities of the Signature Series, delivering extraordinary soundstage and detail retrieval.
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Avg. Product Price
$40,001-$75,000
Used For Sale
4
Available (Scroll Down)
Brand Popularity
315
of 900+
Badges
Top 50 Brand
Top 250 Brand
Products Listed
29
Founding Year
2010
Our take on the brand
Aries Cerat is a hifi brand known for its use of oversized components and TriodeFet technology, which combines tube and solid-state designs to create a distinctive sound signature. Their products, including the Kassandra DAC and Symphonia horn speakers, are built with massive power handling capabilities and carefully selected drivers to deliver a muscular, dynamic sound that rivals top analogue systems.
Look inside the brand
Brand Page
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
From our interview with
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Brand Page
Used
Aries Cerat
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What if you spend more?
MSB
Cascade
95000
95000
/
2
Reviews
MSB Technology builds their own discrete ladder DACs in-house instead of using off-the-shelf chips, with modular designs that let users upgrade input and output modules over time. Their DACs are made with in-house CNC-machined chassis and proprietary Femto clocks, delivering an analog-like sound that's often described as natural and organic.
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Product Strengths
- Smooth, natural sound signature with impressive depth in the 3D soundstage.
- Allows music reproduction closest to a private performance in the listening room.
- Delivers a natural, smooth, and organic sound, reproducing every detail with maximum resolution.
- Exceptional clarity and black background of the sound.
- Performs excellently even with lower-quality content because of its smooth, clean playback and three-dimensional soundstage.
Product Considerations
- The price is far beyond the reach of most audiophiles.
- Comes with only one digital module as standard.
- For optimal performance, it's recommended to place the units on separate shelves.
- The reviewer only tested it as a DAC and did not evaluate its functionality as a preamplifier or streamer.
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs MSB Reference DAC—the Cascade represents a significant upgrade.
Takeaway: The MSB Cascade DAC sets new standards for sound quality and is a digital marvel, providing a unique and powerful listening experience. It offers incredibly smooth and natural sound, creating a live music sensation.
Video review
Our take on the brand
MSB Technology builds their own discrete ladder DACs in-house instead of using off-the-shelf chips, with modular designs that let users upgrade input and output modules over time. Their DACs are made with in-house CNC-machined chassis and proprietary Femto clocks, delivering an analog-like sound that's often described as natural and organic.
Product Page
Product Page
What competes at this price?
CH Precision
C1.2 Mono
71813
/
Released
2022
Digital signals carry stereo information in a single data stream. That means that we cannot follow our normal approach to scalable system architecture, using independent C1.2 DAC Controllers for left and right channels, as we have to have a single input connection. Instead, to deliver improved performance we retain the C1.2 input architecture but then split the digital information into left and right channels for routing to dedicated external DACs, with a single chassis for each channel. This allows us to retain the exceptional functional flexibility of the C1.2 and the scalability of the system, while delivering a genuinely significant upgrade in performance.
CH Precision is known for its modular design philosophy that lets customers tailor and upgrade their units over time without replacing the entire component, with sophisticated controls accessible via tablet from the listening position. Their amplifiers offer five different operating modes (stereo, bridge, passive and active bi-amplification, and monaural) and allow users to adjust specific audio parameters like global feedback ratio and input gain settings for optimal speaker matching.
Expand Details
Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Retains all the music's delicacy, refinement, and fluidity, being revealing without becoming clinical
- Offers a wide and deep soundstage, is timbrally spot-on and very natural, well-focused, richly textured, and well-endowed in terms of transient attack and dynamic impact
- Is significantly more revealing, without introducing any negative by-products, and is still the superbly musical and emotionally involving DAC that the C1 was, only better
- Capable of being more discerning of differences in sources and source material
Product Considerations
- Precise calibration is of paramount importance for any multi-bit DAC chip
- Files played directly from the Swiss device have a slightly contoured character
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The C1.2 is even more neutral and even more revealing than the C1, without sacrificing even the slightest hint of refinement, delicacy, fluidity, decay, or flow
- The original C1 DAC has always sounded fuller and more sonorous than other CH Precision products, for instance, the L1 preamp, with the C1.2 upgrade, the DAC has become more neutral and now sounds more in line with the L1
- The CH Precision device combines the opening of the sound with the lack of brightness better than the Ayon player
- The CH Precision delivers recordings in an uncommonly precise manner than the Weiss DA502 D/A converter
Takeaway: The C1.2 is a DAC that retains all of its virtues while becoming more neutral and revealing, and it is still superbly musical and emotionally involving. It is worth buying because of the overall enhancement in audio quality.
Video review
Our take on the brand
CH Precision is known for its modular design philosophy that lets customers tailor and upgrade their units over time without replacing the entire component, with sophisticated controls accessible via tablet from the listening position. Their amplifiers offer five different operating modes (stereo, bridge, passive and active bi-amplification, and monaural) and allow users to adjust specific audio parameters like global feedback ratio and input gain settings for optimal speaker matching.
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