DAC suggestions for upgrading from Antelope Zodiac + (with Teddy Pardo linear psu)

[KDinsmore]

Briscati or MSB Analog

[KDinsmore]

FWIW a buddy of mine has a DCS system and had something go wrong w/laser from his I believe five-year-old model and they left him hanging!?!? Part not available. MSB or Briscati baby and they are in country.

[RubenV]

Thx for the comments RubenV. A couple questions.

 

I'm following your suggestion to convert the USB signal of my Mac Mini to improve the sound quality. What if I also purchased a DCS Paganini Upsampler in addition to a Paganini DAC? Would I still need the Paul Pang DDC or does the DSC Paganini Upsampler replace the need for the Paul Pang DDC?

 

Do you know if the DCS Paganini clock is as good as the Antelope Audio Rubidium Atomic clock?

 

Thx,

Brian ...

 

 

I you can afford it, I would go with the dCS Paganini Upsampler. The upsampler will act as the DDC, so you do not need another DDC. The Upsampler has a USB input (among all the other digital inputs). This input accepts 24 bit, up to 96kS/s. If you want to play DSD up to 192kS/s, you need to use AES or SPDIF inputs.

 

Since I do not use the Upsampler and the Paganini DAC can only play 24bit above 96kS/s with dual input over firewire or AES, I am (while using the PPA DDC with only one single AES output) restricted to 24 bit 96kS/s. So 24bit 192kS/s I can not play with this DAC, I would need the upsampler or another DDC. But for the best synergy I would recommend the Paganini Upsampler.

 

The Paganini DAC can also be used as a preamp, with a seperate remote control. So this option could save you some cash if you can sell your current preamp. Honestly I have to admit that I found the combination of the Audio Research Ref5SE with the Paganini DAC better then the Paganini DAC alone using it also as a preamp. But this could vary between different systems/room accoustics ofcourse.

 

Your last question I can not answer since I have never compared the Atomic Rubidium against the dCS Paganini clock directly. There was once a user in this forum that mentioned a different clock unit to me, which he said to be as good as or even better then the Antelope Audio clock. I mentioned this in my previous post and finally got track of it again. The model is the SRS (Stanford Research Systems) PERF10. Some comments about it and the company:

 

Just to put things in perspective here, Stanford Research Systems is not an audio company, but a 31-year-old test equipment company. Audio equipment designers (including the people who design audio clocks) depend on test equipment, such as SRS, being so accurate that it can tell them what the specs and flaws are in their audio gear. What can we deduce from this? Well, a) that SRS knows more about testing and specifications than its end users (the audio designers), and b) that SRS has long been designing accurate clocks, such as the ones used in its array of test gear – the type of gear used to design audio clocks.

 

Naturally, being measurement people SRS decide to publish in-depth specs for their audio clock. These numbers may seem shocking, but only in contrast to the habitually vague and incomplete specs we're used to seeing from contemporary audio equipment manufacturers. In other words, the performance of every piece of equipment is going to drift after 10 years; the other manufacturers simply aren't mentioning this fact.

 

Moreover, one can imagine that the relatively barebones pricing and cosmetics of this PERF-10 might again be the result of SRS's test equipment lineage. Presumably, most of their R&D for a box like this was previously completed and amortized with all of the other clocks they make, and since test equipment doesn't have to be pretty, they probably didn't worry or spend as much making it look flashy the way certain audio equipment manufacturers like to do.

 

However, I could also imagine that if money is less important you want the same looks for the clock unit as your DAC and Upsampler.

 

If you have any other questions feel free to ask And ofcourse let us know what you finally bought!

[keeper]

Hi Ruben

 

Did the Teddy Pardo linear PSU provide a good improvement over the standard PSU?

Would you still go this route rather than the Voltikus?

 

Many thanks Phil

[RubenV]

Hi Ruben

 

Did the Teddy Pardo linear PSU provide a good improvement over the standard PSU?

Would you still go this route rather than the Voltikus?

 

Many thanks Phil

 

Hi Phil,

 

The Teddy Pardo psu is for sure a nice improvement over the standard PSU. In retrospect I would now choose a linear psu from Custom HiFi Cables Ltd., like the DC2. Sean is based in the UK and can also tailer these psu's to your needs like he did for me when I asked for a custom one to power the filters of active speakers. I believe he offers the best price/performance ratio. I also use a DC2 psu to power the PPA DDC. Best part, if you live in the EU you don't pay customs.

 

Edit: I see you live in the UK so that would make it a no brainer for me.

[keeper]

Hi Ruben

 

I took my demo unit back today, however my dealer had a Gold and Voltikus for a very good price second hand.

I'm collecting it tomorrow. I was very happy with the basic Zodiac so it should be interesting to see how

it sounds.

 

Cheers Phil

[RubenV]

Hi Ruben

 

I took my demo unit back today, however my dealer had a Gold and Voltikus for a very good price second hand.

I'm collecting it tomorrow. I was very happy with the basic Zodiac so it should be interesting to see how

it sounds.

 

Cheers Phil

 

Awesome Phil! You can not go wrong with the original, especially when you can get it for a nice price. Have fun with the new Gold!

[Starre]

A used Meitner ma-1 can be worth checking, or even a new one if you are willing to pay for it. I got a used one and yes it is good, but a little pain to get to sing 100% (computer must be optimized for music or it will not sound that good) so maybe you prefer something easier to set up.

[Cycles2]

Ruben,

 

Thanks for finding the info on SRS (Stanford Research Systems). I spoke to a sales engineer at SRS and he commented that the SRS rubidium clocks are used in Esoteric's G-01 clock that sells for $16,000. He also mentioned that their clock are better than the clocks used in the Antelope Rubidium Master clock. The SRS rep mentioned that to save money, he recommends their FS725 clock that sells for $2,695 and includes two 10MHz outputs and one 5 MHz output. Most audiophiles won't need the eight 10MHz outputs that their $3,495 PERF10 model has.

 

I recently auditioned the Paganini stack (DAC, Upsampler and Clock) vs. my Zodiac Platinum. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the dCS master clock to function with the Zodiac DAC so the comparison was a bit unfair as we were just using the internal clock of the Zodiac Platinum for most of the audition. You were correct, the Paganini stack is at a different level as it's more musical & coherent, especially when you listen to tracks that need a bit of sonic help. Well recorded tracks were closer, but the Paganini stack was still a bit more musical.

 

We did listen to a couple tracks with just the Paganini DAC (no Paganini Upsampler & no Paganini Clock) vs. the Zodiac Platinum DAC and it was closer but still the Paganini DAC was a bit more musical. However, anyone looking for a world-class digital setup for about $8k could consider the Zodiac Platinum ($5,500) plus the SRS FS275 rubidium atomic clock ($2,695).