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Article: APL Hi-Fi DSD-MR DAC and DNP-SR Streamer Full Review


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On 3/28/2019 at 9:16 PM, mevdinc said:

Chris,
Thanks for such a great review, I really enjoyed reading it. Well done.
I wish you'd stated the price at the beginning though, so the shock would have been less perhaps. :)

It maybe well be worth the asking price but one thing I find unacceptable is the lack of a volume control. I personally refuse to buy a DAC without a volume control and at this price level I would certainly expect one.

Most of your description of the APL DAC sounds very similar to my Lindemann Musicbook DSD 20, which is also claimed to sound very analog like. It also upsamples everything to DSD 128 or DSD 256 with a preamp and a builtin streamer. Apparently there's an upgrade coming soon too in the form of both hardware and software.
I was wondering you had heard the Lindemann DAC and or might be interested in checking out the upcoming version as a comparison.

Again thanks for the great write up.
Best.
Mev

 

The Lindemann Music Book series are wonderful but not comparable to the APL DSD-MR in terms of ultimate sound quality.

 

/ Marcus, www.perfect-sense.se

 

PERFECT SENSE

www.perfect-sense.se

 

Showroom in Stockholm, Sweden | [email protected] | 08 518 368 00 | Follow us on Facebook

 

 

 

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On 3/29/2019 at 5:42 AM, ThenewGearPPK said:

 

There are already DACs that can do DSD512 & DSD1024 & much much cheaper.

 

Seems having DSD256 max is incredibly outdated for a 2019 $50,000 DAC

 

Extreme sampling rates might be considered a nice bonus, where sound quality will be the result of many other and more important factors.

 

/ Marcus, www.perfect-sense.se

 

PERFECT SENSE

www.perfect-sense.se

 

Showroom in Stockholm, Sweden | [email protected] | 08 518 368 00 | Follow us on Facebook

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, Abtr said:

 

Such as the DSD-MR DAC's Class A tube output stage (without volume control)? o.O

 

There are design considerations involved here to obtain maximum sound quality basically.

 

The technical explanation in short:

 

The DSD-MR processes DSD in its native domain by using a balanced FIR filter, followed by analog filtering stage and balanced tube output stage. Since Lundahl transformers with OFC windings are used for the post-FIR filter analog filtration and I/V conversion, those audio transformers effectively ground the grids of the vacuum tubes in the output stage. This said, introducing a volume control will only deteriorate the audio quality of the DSD-MR. 

 

You could debate if driving a power amp directly is superior to having a dedicate preamp in your system. Based on experience (my own and others), a well built pre amp on a similar level will most often be beneficial adding to the overall performance of the system. A higher end integrated will of course be an option as well, where there are more options available than ever.

 

/ Marcus, www.perfect-sense.se

 

 

PERFECT SENSE

www.perfect-sense.se

 

Showroom in Stockholm, Sweden | [email protected] | 08 518 368 00 | Follow us on Facebook

 

 

 

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17 hours ago, mevdinc said:

Thanks for that.

I was more referring to the similarity in the digital is the new analog claim rather than comparing the two, the APL is 10 times more expensive for that reason alone it should sound so much better.
I'm looking forward to hearing the upcoming Lindemann update before I start considering a new DAC.

 

Could you please explain what you mean by "digital is the new analog"? 

 

/ Marcus, www.perfect-sense.se

 

PERFECT SENSE

www.perfect-sense.se

 

Showroom in Stockholm, Sweden | [email protected] | 08 518 368 00 | Follow us on Facebook

 

 

 

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