"I gotta see a man about what he said." Despite a warm Warmer cooked by non-stop play then served up in the explicit-most way through this 40wpc/32Ω FangSound Dionysus into Susvara Unveiled with Lavri Cables's best pure-silver leash; despite working on my working man's attitude down from snobbish high-end altitude… I still had a John Darko moment. Was this the DAC's fault or personal failure to lower standards? The thinking reader recognizes an open-ended question. If we stand in our own way, we'll be last to know. In any event, I didn't really get on with Warmer's degree of opacity which, minor blanket like, damped vitality, energy transmission and excited engagement. Whilst the virtual accelerator action of my unreasonable chain minimized the clogging effect, nobody would duplicate such playmates. Once back in its own 'hood of Audalytic HP70 and Topping monos, energetic reluctance and general obscuration reasserted themselves. In slang, "thicc is for attractively full-figured or thickset and compliments curvy women or brawny men." That wasn't really it. I've seen a firm but fat man dance with more exuberance and physical expressiveness than anyone else on the floor. My hang-up was not connecting with my own 'warmer' expectations of more intense colour saturation. Instead I remained stuck on emotive staidness and what I perceived as relative closure of the musical fabric to be entered by my attention.

Unlike my instant love affair with FiiO's FT7 planarmagnetic headphone; unlike my retail-paid thrilled ownership of two FiiO R7—I didn't really get Warmer's memo. Was FiiO's first-ever valve project too worried about good specs to not lean deep enough into recognizable tube character to then become the counter polarity and attractive alternative to standard transistor sound? Also, as someone not belonging to the busy tribe of VU meter love, those dancing needles against orange back glow were unwelcome distractions so anti feature. Perhaps something is wrong with my retro gene? It kicks into high gear though just eyeing Dunu's Concept R player where 'R' stands for retro, R2R, reference and renaissance.

Conscious of the countless man hours in R&D behind today's complicated project which packs four small-signal twin triodes into a lowrider half-width chassis, I naturally want to conclude on an upbeat note. That must cover what for the ask really is enviable build and finish quality; perfectly noise-free performance; and kindergarten ease of use to remove the barrier of entry that could prevent valve newbs from considering a SET with exposed hot-running glass, bias meters and hum pots. Relative to John Darko's earlier review, I thus find myself in perfect conformity. "Like he said." Which was? "This tubed-up R2R DAC won't be everyone's flavour but will be someone's flavour. Think of it as a lens for your mirrorless camera with a permanently affixed diffusion filter. The filter softens the clinical edges and adds a touch of warmth to the image." In the end and given my older eyes, it's perhaps no surprise that I'd prefer extra clarity, focus and intelligibility over the opposite of a permanently affixed diffusion filter. Here's what else John said: "For listeners frustrated by the ectomorphic sound of their current streaming setup, €379 buys a meaningful tonal correction and some genuinely lovely meters." Having no ectomorphic system to fix, I'll happily sign on that dotted line. It's likely the perfect conclusion. I have zero issue with John getting there first. Sometimes that's how the cookie crumbles…