Ralf11 Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 1. So you will not want to go beyond Redbook for several years(?) 2. And are looking for something in the $300 range? 3. What interface will you use? (USB?) Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted January 4, 2019 Share Posted January 4, 2019 upsampling allows the use of filters with very gentle slopes Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 So, how do you know you are relying on your ears alone, and not on some form of mental bias? Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 22 hours ago, mrmb said: I l understand conformation bias Et al. You have put your thumb on the problem, that's for sure Ralf11 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 One of my DACs is a DacMagic. It still sounds good in comparison to other low cost DACs. I am not going to claim that it is the best sounding DAC under $xx however, so I'd suggest some comparison listening to candidates, blind if at all possible. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 this needs to be updated: is $400 in your range? Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I've heard the big Rogue amp and it is very "liquid" in a good way. I changed my amp recently - a NuPrime but not the Class D one - $400 and it is very nice; you can find a thread on here which I started - it was active last week if not more recently It is true that different technologies result in some different sound qualities in a DAC; IIRC the DacMagic is an R2R type. Also, by AKM he means Asahi Kasei Microdevices, a leading manf. of mixed signal devices, not the assault rifle... left channel 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 3 hours ago, left channel said: @Ralf11 do you mean this thread? That is a good one, but I meant this one: wanna date that pic I posted? She's Only B&W tho... Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Do you have a selection of music for use in testing? If not, there is an entire thread somewhere on here related to that. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 best advice is to just avoid MQA if at all possible as to possibly missing better SQ, you could try another DAC that has a return privilege I am having good results with getting better versions of masterings/recordings on music I like... - and also found an amplifier that sounded better to me Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 see near the end of p. 4 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 analog output stages affect SQ in amps, pre-amps, so.... why not the DAC that is also something that a digital circuit engineer may be inclined to ignore, just like they ignore their engineering heat exchange class... I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on the S2 - esp. if you compare it to an RME... Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I thought the Holo Spring 2 was $1,700?? and that the RME could be had for $1,000 but I take your point & await your listening tests or impressions Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 7 minutes ago, jabbr said: Well folks, I've tracked this down. Turns out that when I bus powered the S2D directly from the Espressobin, I got the same static (like an LP record with crackling) on the S2D as on the DX7s (the DX7s has an AC connection) but when I bus power the S2 using an Uptone ISO Regen, itself supplied by an LPS1.2, the S2 sounds great! This is the biggest improvement I've heard with an ISO Regen ... ever ... hands down bar none. Its weird that they both have the same issue, perhaps the ESS chips are very power supply sensitive (the iDSD Micro doesn't have this same sensitivity for me). The S2D is sounding pretty great through the Regen/LPS. I'm not clear on what configurations you have compared... S2 w/Regen vs. S2 w/o ?? S2 (how?) vs. the BL version ?? (which is a battery operated DAC, right?) Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 Thx - seems the S2D is very susceptible to noise... but that the more expensive Blk Label is not... Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I call for a DAC-off vs. the RME and Yggy Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Assuming that the analog output stage of a DAC is as important to SQ as other analog circuits, the above is an important question. IIRC, @jabbr has one o the Pro Ject DACs, or is about to get one, so maybe he will chip in some listening tests or impressions. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 jabbr, have you compared an expensive DAC with the Pro-Ject S2D? Say thru a Nelson Paas chain... to speakers? Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 i think Miska should do exactly that, tomorrow Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 update firmware when unaware of the contents of the update (as an April Fool's Day joke) jabbr 1 Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted April 6, 2019 Share Posted April 6, 2019 I think we out ot break up this thread into various categories: $100 - $200 - $400 - Pro ject?? $700 - same with quality power supply $1,000 - that Octagon thing Kal posted on recently... etc. we could also use a 1, 2, 5 sieving of categories like on Tek scopes... Link to comment
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