John Kenny Ciunas DAC with Rega Brio-R question

[Mordecai]

This is my first post here. I'm very interested in the John Kenny Ciunas DAC. I currently have the Rega DAC paired with a Rega Brio-R connected via glass toslink out of my Mac Mini. All of my music is on an external harddrive connected via firewire and I use the Audirvana Plus music player. I can't easily demo the Ciunas since I live in the states. I'm wondering if anyone has compared the Rega DAC with the Ciunas and/or has anyone listened to the either of these DACs paired with the Brio-R? I'm not really sure this is an upgrade so I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. It seems the reviews I've read comparing the Ciunas and the Rega has not provided enough for me to see one as better than the other. Maybe the sound is different but not better. I would appreciate any thoughts from people who have compared both DACs.

[Tim]

Maybe the sound is different but not better. I would appreciate any thoughts from people who have compared both DACs.

I think there are some here who have compared the two, but I suspect you may have hit the nail on the head with the first part of the above. It might be an idea to ask the same question here;

http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/

Good luck and I would be interested in the responses here, as I am a very happy Rega DAC/Brio-R owner and have often wondered about trying the Ciúnas DAC myself.

[John]

A friend had the rega dac then moved to the JK32 then the Cunas both have been a big step up in terms of SQ

[Mordecai]

I think there are some here who have compared the two, but I suspect you may have hit the nail on the head with the first part of the above. It might be an idea to ask the same question here;

http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/

Good luck and I would be interested in the responses here, as I am a very happy Rega DAC/Brio-R owner and have often wondered about trying the Ciúnas DAC myself.

Thanks Tim. I'm not familiar with that site but I might place the post there also.

[tonerei]

I have the JKCiúnas. IMHO it is a really good dac for the money.It will win nothing in the looks stakes but working off battery and using an optimized PC it is bested by a Meitner dac and an expensive Wadia player. But not by a large margin. The rega I haven't heard so can't comment. My gut feeling based on John's view above which seems to concur with mine with regard to other hifi items is it would be well ahead of the rega. Now of course all this could just be wishful thinking on my part but if you do some looking online about John Kenny's products they get really strong reviews across the board. Johnnie Darko's site is well worth checking out but I think he just reviewed the earlier model JKDAC32.

Because of the local connection a number of us have the Ciúnas dac so you will get plenty of info on tirnahifi. There is a thread on the dac with plenty of info.

In brief the Ciúnas has really clear detail, delightful soundstage and nice rich tone but I would not regard it as warm and wooly in any respect. It has only been bested in my view when comparing it to a dac like the Meitner which costs circa £7k I believe. But I am biased so do a bit of digging to get some broader viewpoints

[John]

Just to echo Tony view the Cunas has a lot of detail and bass its neither warm or bright (very well Balanced) Using MQn the sound is very similar to a good high end TT You have to spend a lot of money to beat it. Clive did a review which I was part off with the JK32 and the Rega was not the equal but this was in USB mode not coaxial. The Cunas is a step up from the JK32

[Ali Tait]

Have heard both JK dacs and the Rega in the same system, not mine though. More a difference than improvement to my ears. That's using coax though.

[John]

Yes perhaps the Rega not so good via USB
What did you hear the JK32 or Cunas as to my ears the Cunas is another step up
How did you get around transport issues if using Rega via coaxial and JK32 via USB

[Ali Tait]

Used a V Link John. Can't remember the names of the JK dacs, one used the Sabre chip, the other something else, can't remember what. The Sabre was nice if a bit too hi fi to our ears if memory serves, the other we found more musical, and was preferred by all ISTR.

[John]

The Sabre okay good in the bass but not as Balanced as the other JK DACs
No idea why we got such different results as we used JK version on the Rega that pushed things further but with the system we were using the JK32 was still better
I guess different systems bring different results