audiobomber

I trust no single source. I research what I'm interested in from as many sources as possible, both objective and subjective. My opinion, after decades as an audiophile, is that building a system through specs and measurements alone is a surefire path to mediocrity. A long-term audition in my own system is the best way to evaluate gear. You'll have to pry my Cardas Neutral Reference cables from my cold dead hands.

I' m picturing this...

It was fun to listen to each track after it was dissected in the article. I have owned a red vinyl version of Aja since it was a hot new release. Despite my concern that coloured vinyl may turn out to be inferior, it's still in great shape after more than a thousand plays. It is now ripped at 24/88. I rarely make a change in my system without playing Crime of the Century, followed by Aja. I'm surprised there was no mention about sexual references in Dan lyrics. Maybe the band's name takes my mind there, but some lines seem pretty blatantly sexy. I Got The News and Josie are prime examples.

I have used my sms-200 since 4.14. I've noticed that firmware updates after a lull period are always followed by another update or two to fix issues in the previous version. Version 4.5 has to be the worst yet for bugs. I am using 4.51 successfully now, but I had to replace my older Audiolab 24/96 DAC. It was stopping every time resolution changed (i.e. going from 16/44 to 24/88, music would stop, sometimes would not restart).

Here's what you want, surround for stereo without phony matrix effects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafler_circuit I tried multi-channel for a couple of years but gave up on it. I had no real interest in building a collection of m/c music due to limited choice, higher cost and sometimes poor recording technique. A mastering engineer who puts the horn section behind me does not understand what I value. Multi-channel did not consistently enhance movie viewing either. Foley effects were more obviously phoney, because they drew too much attention. Someone knocking on a door behind me just pulls me out of the story. Hafler was the only way that I consistently enjoyed m/c, both for music and movies. Immersion and impact are beyond what stereo can deliver,. With proper setup, it never sounds or phasey or phoney. The rear channels don't suddenly go silent or make sounds out of nowhere. You can add the required front/rear delay by the "speaker to listener" distance or electronically. I never used a front center speaker because I didn't have one that matched, not sure whether adding one would have been an improvement. Unfortunately the layout of my current listening room is not conducive to a Hafler setup, or I would definitely do it again. It sounds to me like it would match what you are looking for.

He doesn't want any advice, regardless of whether he asks or not.

PM me if you want to sell it.

Your comment on EQ is off the mark. The Da2 is identical to the SMSL Idea. You can see the smile-free FR response here and comparison with a Dragonfly Black here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/measurements-and-review-of-smsl-idea-and-audioquest-dragonfly-black-dacs.2397/ I read your post and compared the DAC's I had available (Sabaj Da2 and Korg DS-DAC010R), so I could give an informed reply. I used DT 1990 Pro headphones which are 250 ohms but very efficient. The difference between my newish i7 Windows 10 laptop's headphone out and the little Sabaj was shocking, larger and more important than the difference between the Sabaj and the several times more expensive Korg. The Korg is easily better than the Sabaj in several ways, but as I mentioned, the difference between inboard and external was pass vs. fail. It seems to me you did not want a response to your question after all, or maybe you were just trolling?.

The difference between the inboard DAC and headphone out on my Dell Inspiron laptop vs. a $79 Sabaj Da2 USB DAC is night and day. Sound from the laptop alone is thin and sibilant. Playing through the little USB DAC adds warmth, detail and smoothness. It is literally pass vs. fail, 4/10 vs. 7/10. Try one of these, you will not regret it: https://www.amazon.com/Korg-DSDAC100M-Digital-Analog-Converter/dp/B00GTIUX0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547576094&sr=8-1&keywords=korg+ds-ds-100m

I use DLNA with both CCA and PRI. IME, casting music is not as reliable as DLNA.

Not that it matters really, but 24/192 files are downconverted to 24/96 in CCA. DSD and 2X DSD will also play, downconverted to 24/48. I experienced a popping noise, dropouts and signal loss, on three external DAC's. Hi-rez files work fine with the internal DAC. This is the usual result for most people in the CCA threads I've read. I replaced CCA in that system with a slightly modified Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and USB. Playback is now rock solid, sound quality is more robust and everything plays in native resolution. I still use CCA with its internal DAC in two locations for background music, because it allows me to play synchronized music on upper and lower levels of my house. I bought three more during the recent sale to gift to my grown children. CCA is great if you don't mind the compromised SQ. I wonder whether there will be a replacement? The price is untouchable.

Just for the evaluation, I would try the new preamp with the expensive cable, extended with an RCA to RCA female coupler and another cable. That will provide some of the flavour of your preferred cable. I'm not sure what the reasoning is for getting a new preamp but if your new preamp with moderately priced interconnect sounds worse than your old preamp with expensive interconnect, then IMO this is not a worthwhile upgrade.

SOtM sMs-200 Neo, $450: https://sotm-usa.com/collections/sotm-ultra/products/sms-200-neo-network-player Better sound than a microrendu from anything I've read, at a lower price and includes a power supply that you could upgrade down the road.

External has more functions. I would expect better sound quality from a stand-alone box due to improved power supply and more room for layout, but I don't know of a comparison anywhere. Of course there's cost to consider. Check out Vinyl Studio. I used it for my vinyl rips and found it had everything I needed; intuitive controls, easy labelling and track naming, sophisticated click filter, record directly to FLAC, low cost and more: RIAA eq, filters, etc. https://www.alpinesoft.co.uk/

Great, I look forward to your impressions.