Excellent DDC! Prior to purchasing, I used the Gustard U18, Singxer SU-6 and M2TECH hiFace Two. Audio-GD's DI-20HE ranks above them all! Take note that you'll need around 200 hours for the device to 'burn in' and fully settle. You will notice qualitative improvements within that period. MagnaHifi's customer service has been courteous and knowledgeable! They install the latest firmware on units prior to shipping and include a USB Blaster dongle for future firmware 'rolling'. Delivery to my doorstep (USA) was within the week of ordering, which is impressive considering the unit shipped from the other side of the planet! Look no further if you seek a top-of-the-line DDC. :)

A substantial improvement was felt after the first 24 hours of continuous operation. The bass area has improved and the detail here is already much bigger and deeper. Now it's probably close to 100 hours of burn-in and I can judge at its true value. The improvement has exceeded my expectations. Not in the "small" area, on the contrary ! It's so big

Best DDC I have ever had! The 10Mhz Master Clock input is a big plus. Lot of other features like spdif input and reclocker onboard. The display could be a bit more modern , I am ok with it.

Woiow, Unbelievable Experience. This AMP lifts my Hifima He-6se v2 and my Arya into new Dimensions. The Sound has Plasticity now and is 3D. My old Topping a90 is a Toy compared to this Sound Monster. Topping is only 2D Sound (: I highly recommend this Amp, for me the best Buy of the past 10 Years ***** Fast Shipping, everything just PERFECT *****

This is a amazing headphone amp. Very high resolution and wide stereo image. Sound is stunning in XLR output to my Focal Clear MG. I am very pleased with this amp. My previous Musician Andromeda headphone amp is ver y good, but this one go"s much farther in all. a very satisfied owner off the Master 19.

My system is improved by adding the Master 19 preamp between the Audio-gd DAC r2r7 and my new poweramp. The poweramp sounded already good directly connected to the DAC but the Master 19 improves the soundstage and bottom end very much. With some recordings I'm hearing things that I never heard before, including very expensive setups at audio shows. At the same time I have aquired one of the best headphone amps in this price range. Thanks Jos and Rob: I'm keeping this one!

It was all that I expected, it goes excellent with Class D IcePower 1200AS2. It warms and gives some weight to music. Music is richer and more pleasant to listen to. Preamp is completely silent, no noise or anything. I am really satisfied.

I can say. Just wow. This sounds sooooo gooood:) Thank you for everthing. Its been a pleasure doing buissnes with you:)

Today I received the device and seriously, my hands are shaking while I am writing this letter to you. I know that you said that the burn-in period is 2-3 weeks but we just couldn't hold trying it with my girlfriend. I played classical music and brass music mostly for 15 years to the point that I can't listen to classical music anymore but today we picked up some old favourites, set up the device and played them while sitting in the sweet spot. We just kept listening to the music without talking and we both felt that we start to cry if we don't hold it back. I read a lot about Audio GD in the last few days and I found those bad reviews and measurements that I am sure you also know. I graduated as an electrical engineer and I can read those measurements and I admit I even thought about canceling the order but so good that I did not! Even if the measurements are not good as other devices on the market, it is beyond dispute that the sound is fantastic! It is already fantastic without burn-in, the sound of the instruments are so real, it is unbelievable! Thanks again for the fantastic device and the discount! You got a fan! If it helps your business, I am more than happy to write a review anywhere and I am going to recommend you to my audio friends!

My R28 arrived back to me this morning, thank you. Straight out of the box my system sounds very much improved, I have the R28 hooked up to a GRAAF GM 50B MK2 Integrated. So many thanks for you help and expertise, I look forward to doing business in the future.

This evening I will listen to the HE1 extensively It certainly sounds a lot better now that I don't have to worry about the remote control anymore. (Psychological effect)😉🙂 First of all, my warmest thanks for the good and quick support for this special problem. Thanks also to Audio GD, who took the problem seriously and responded quickly, without further discussions.

The first sound impression is very positive (of course the device still needs to be used for many hours) The device has a musical soul, I can already hear that clearly.

Right from the start it showed amazing transparency, resolution and energy!After two days the sound smoothed out and became fuller but what I`ve found fascinating about the Audio-GD – HE1 MK3 preamp is the incredible ease with which it handles instruments and voices and how its micro and macro dynamic responsiveness. The holographic presentation of sound sources, depth layering and soundstage height were also enchanting. All in all - a fantastic preamp and it`s not even fully burned-in

The HE1 mk3 is preamp is one impressive, heavy beast! Even at lower volumes, the sound is lively. At higher volumes it remains solid as a rock. It's a beast with a sweet side. The extra gain options make this preamp even more versatile. Only the size (especially the depth) is not for everyone, you need 50-55cm depth.

HE1 arrived on Tuesday. After listening music for a few hours, I have to say it's amazing. With Master 3. More details, more energy, more bass, richer in everything. Spatial and accurate all the sounds and micro details are magical. I can't imagine how much better the sound could be with a top Audio-GD Dac and a top loudspeaker :-)

After initially being very happy with the sound straight out of the box, I found that it held back the macro dynamics a bit, and I lacked deep bass with body and sharpness. The resolution wasn't quite top notch either. But this turned out to change, quite drastically in fact, in the first month that the preamp was left up and running. Nowadays, I can't find anything to complain about (well yes, one little thing; se below): this is without a doubt the best preamp I've ever owned or even tried at home, and then I still had a preamp at home for test that cost about 15,000 euros when new! This says a lot about the sensational sound quality vs the price ratio you get with the HE1 -MK2 preamp. One result of this is, for example, that the preamp responds extremely clearly to cable changes - you immediately and very revealingly hear which cable has a higher or lower quality. Five stars all the way!! However, I have a small remark, which I include in the following: The front step's left button, on the right side of the display, has three functions: 1. Press it once, and a blue dot will appear, which determines whether you want the automatic shutdown of the display, or whether you want it to be always on. (One nitpick: it would have been nice to have two modes of brightness of the display, to switch between.) 2. Press it quickly twice, and you will get to the pre-volume function, which is intended to adapt signal sources with different output levels to achieve the same degree of volume. LEAVE THIS FEATURE, if you don't feel you have to use it, and deteriorate the sound! I feel that the sound is affected noticeably with this function - it gives a filter effect which is obvious, if you compare it with mode 9 (no pre-volume). Even when you compensate the db. However, feel free to try it and form your own opinion. 3. Press the button quickly three times, and you will enter the preamp's two gain modes: either 6 db or 16 db gain. This feature is very useful! I use the pre-stage with the 6 db mode and find no penalty between the two settings, either than obviously different gain. All in all: a wonderful preamp that is more than worth its asking price. And, you can buy with confidence: Jos and Magna Hifi gave me great service and a quick response to all my (many) questions.

Audio-GD HE1 is a truly high-end audio preamplifier! I can't find enough terms of praise! I owned many preamplifiers that were even more expensive. At HE1 I like the neutrality the most (in the good sense), that is the realism of the natural, unchanged, uncolored sound. It is not about that sterile neutrality, it is simply about realism, about the sound that is very similar to the natural one, real. I like how fast it is without exaggerating, meaning the speed is exactly in the middle, neither below nor above, just like the real sound! It is dynamic and very transparent but not thin. It's just right! And above all it produces a 3D effect, the sound seems holographic, not artificially, on the contrary, natural, realistic. Probably the two channels are executed to the highest perfection, otherwise I can't explain why in terms of soundstage it humiliates the other preamplifiers ?! I compared it directly with other preamplifiers and they were the shortest comparisons. I had nothing to compare, HE1 is far superior from the first minute! (cold! .... I don't say what he does after he warms up!) Sounds good right after unpacking and zero burn-in! But after a run-in of a few hundred hours, I would really say that I am amazed at how it sounds! And the copy received, which is a new model 2020/2021, does not heat up as I read on the internet. On the contrary, just a little warm no matter how much it worked, even a few days continuously. As far as I understand, they fixed the problem of excessive heat in the old models (which they also wrote on the site) I do not find any negative points, nothing to criticize. Maybe the size ?! Is very large! When I received it I was amazed at how big it is! But the quality comes with a price! 5 stars are not enough for me! I would like to give it 10 stars! I highly recommend!

HE1 sounds since Friday and it’s such a pleasure ! The sound of my installation is now much beautiful as I have ever hoped… Thanks again for your advices and disponibility…

The HE-1 sound was not good: Too much bass and not muddy dark sound. After two days leaving it turned on I did not understand what happened. The sound completely transformed in open transparent sound and tight bass. Really fantastic! Warm up time is now about 20 Minutes and then it sounds great! Very open and detailed with exzellent room and not harsh! Best preamp ever!

Bij Magna HiFi de Audio-GD Master 3 en HE-1 gekocht en ik ben zeer tevreden met deze producten. Na sluitingstijd bij Jos thuis op kunnen halen wat op zich al een prima service is natuurlijk. Beide apparaten zijn super degelijk gebouwd en na het uitpakken en plaatsen kun je gerust even gaan zitten om je rug rust te gunnen :-) Wat een gewicht en wat een bouwkwaliteit. De degelijkheid spat er aan alle kanten vanaf. Ben je op zoek naar een high-end combinatie is dit denk ik de voordeligste keus. Verwacht geen overbodige knopjes of fancy displays want daar zijn ze niet van bij Audio-GD. Nee, muziek! Dat is waar het om draait en het lijkt nu al dat al mijn muziek een compleet andere en betere soundstage heeft. En dan moeten ze nog ingespeeld worden! De Master 3 heeft voldoende reserve om de meest kritische luidsprekers aan te sluiten. Al met al een zeer tevreden klant, deze set gaat niet meer weg.

I am very satisfied with my new set! The HE1 is a significant improvement compared to. my other preamplifier that was a lot more expensive! Unprecedented sound quality.

This is so wholesome and fantastic. using the hifiman Ananda Nano balanced, just wow!

For a long time I have read that Audio-gd R2R DACs are transparent, organic. I bought an R2R-11 direct from Audio-gd and I was surprised how great it sounds and with the build quality. Recently I bought an R8 MKII and some other Audio-gd gear from from Jos and Rob. I was impressed with the build and sound but I wanted to live with the DAC for some months before making a declaration. At this point, I can say I finally get it when people say these DACs are organic. I have several other midrange DACs (Oppo 205, Brooklyn DAC+, RME) to compare this one to. The R8 MKII is the only one which disappears all the time. It's transparent, I feel the music for the first time as natural without hearing the gear at all. The RME has come close at times, but only on certain recordings. The R8 MKII just disappears and it's the closest thing to a live performance I have heard out of my system. For the price, I am extremely satisfied with this DAC. I had a strange problem with noise over AES, coax, and optical which did not occur via I2S nor USB. I was unable to explain it sufficiently to Kingwa at Audio-gd so I reached out to Magna Hifi and Rob quickly recreated the issue. He contacted Kingwa on my behalf and I think only a week went by before I got new firmware which resolved the issue. I cannot imagine getting this level of service from another shop or DAC manufacturer. I have 4 Audio-gd components and I can recommend Audio-gd and Magna to any lover of music. Audio-gd gear is quirky but to me that is part of the charm. The build is industrial, reminiscent of 60s and 70s garage-fi but on a very high level of sound quality. I noticed that the LED displays of the R8 MKII, the DI-20, and Master 19 amp are all slightly different colors! This is annoying in a darkened room but in normal daylight it was not noticeable. Other than that, the dimensions of the gear and the brushed finished on the panels match well. Clearly, the R&D and manufacturing money has been focused on sound. Tank-like builds, heavy gear, you feel the quality as well as hear it. Jos and Rob are easy to work with, they're friendly and responsible and run a good business.

Very pleased with the SU6! It has a silky and refined heights, great details and controlled bass with the right amount of tightness. Midrange is rich and very nice textured.

I already had good experiences with this brand, especially with R2R DAC's, but I did not expect this upgrade. Really great sound through my headphones. I also use the preamp output. This works best with XLR, with RCA I suffered from slight hum. I am very pleased with my musical friend!