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I must say I find this download very impressive. This really sounds as if being there. The label has a very good track record. Their previous releases has all been 96 pcm, and very very good indeed but this DXD takes it all up a notch. If this is exemplary for DXD recordings then that is what I will be searching for. DXD recommendations please! Sound Liaison; Carmen Gomes sings the Blues.

View Classified T+A DAC8 DSD Wonderful sounding DAC. I upgraded the firmware for the DAC and Amanero USB board so it now works flawlessly with Linux-based sources (native DSD512) over USB. https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650023808-ta-dac8-dsd/ Only selling due to upgrade to a Holo May KTE DAC. Seller ericuco Date 09/22/23 Price 2,000.00 USD Category Digital to Analog Converters  

Why are there debates if "bits are bits"? Can you hear a difference in streaming audio software? Bits are Bits! Foobar2000 was lighter on its feet, more accurate tone/timbre, quieter, and had better timing of decays. There are a delicacy and precision about its sound. JRiver had a “fatter” sound with more bleeding edges and smeared textures. It sounded flatter (by a good margin) and more veiled in a thicker, unnatural warmth.

I am presenting the new Tonal app (the old one here), which defines a better way to build and experience your audiophile music collection. To structure Tonal’s specifications and features in a compact yet engaging way, I am listing ten opinionated principles for good (software audiophile) players. I want to keep the post as short as possible. TEN PRINCIPLES FOR GOOD PLAYERS 1. GOOD PLAYERS ARE INNOVATIVE Tonal introduces a new audio file format, a feather-light playback engine, and a groundbreaking music metadata solution. Built on these foundational innovations, Tonal creates its category. 2. GOOD PLAYERS ARE PREDICTABLE Tonal collects music into .tonal audio files — a lightweight audio format containing pure PCM or DSD data of a complete disc in a standardized encoding. The effects of different codecs and/or parameters are completely eliminated before playback. 3. GOOD PLAYERS HAVE CONSTRAINTS Tonal rejects lossy audio and incomplete discs. Red Book discs must be AccurateRip verified. Don’t worry, CUETools is included to fix broken rips automatically. Remember, we’re curating, not just collecting. These constraints make the playback even more confident and predictable. These constraints, in the end, set you free. 4. GOOD PLAYERS ARE ACCURATE Tonal is always bit-perfect. The whole app is engineered bottom-up from an audiophile engine that is canonical and featherweight —— only 4 SLOC in C (the theoretical minimum code footprint). Tonal also offers fine volume control at your DAC’s native resolution, enhancing your Mac’s native experience. 5. GOOD PLAYERS REQUIRE NO CONFIGURATION Tonal has preferences, but no settings, not a single. No need to tweak checkboxes, pickers, or sliders for optimal audiophile performance. Tonal automatically measures and optimizes all parameters on your Mac before the first note is played. Discuss the music and the sound with your friends, not the settings. 6. GOOD PLAYERS MAKE DURABLE COLLECTIONS .tonal audio files contain no music tag, making them absolutely stable once created. Collectors always hold bit-identical .tonal audio files for the same audio disc. Also, there is no duplicate music on your storage. 7. GOOD PLAYERS ARE RESPONSIBLE Indexing your music collection using proprietary metadata sources is irresponsible: they may not last long. Tonal relies on only one metadata source: the Tonal disc catalog. Edit metadata easily in the browser-based Tonal Editor, which syncs your collection in real-time. The catalog is licensed under the (not revocable) CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Your collection and the metadata must outlast Tonal. 8. GOOD PLAYERS EMPOWER COLLABORATIONS Collaboration is the spirit of our community. The Tonal disc catalog is contributed solely by Tonal users —— community collaboration on music metadata is finally real. Improve data quality, or establish a style guide, there are many things you can do! Imagine a published discography of [name your favorite pianist] with your name on it —— only Tonal can make it happen. 9. GOOD PLAYERS ARE LOCAL Tonal is local first. You create no account to use Tonal. You can play and explore all your collections without a network connection. You can migrate or rebuild your entire library even without Tonal backend services. Tonal is subscription-free. Buy once and use forever. Apple wants developers to switch to a subscription model, which simply does not align with Tonal’s philosophy. 10. GOOD PLAYERS ARE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE Tonal does not treat the UI like a bazaar, letting recommendations, portraits, biographies, audio metadata, and various controls compete for your attention. Tonal is just 25 MB (universal build runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel-based Macs). Tonal wants to be a tool —— a simple, precise, predictable, and working tool. “Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart -- and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them. Tools are just tools. They either work, or they don’t work.” —— Steve Jobs BUILD YOUR AUDIOPHILE COLLECTION THE HARD WAY A Plex-like app that monitors your folders and grabs music metadata automatically works well until it fails. No commercially available music metadata source meets Tonal’s standard, especially for classical music. You need to do it yourself. You also need to learn a new language (see the complete user guide to learn more). Seriously? Why? As an Asian, organizing (think Marie Kondo here, not MBA courses) is deeply rooted in my mind and body. When practicing organizing, my philosophy pivots around two points: Good methodologies are usually hard to get started, a great one may be even harder (if not the hardest) and demands a lifetime commitment. Measure the entropy (as in information theory, represents uncertainty) and reduce it to the minimum. You need to fight hard for this, at all costs, for all the time. Building a music collection, at the essence, is all about organizing. I don’t want to preach on intangible things. Once you understand how Tonal works, you will never look back. Tonal is neither for everyone nor for every audio file on your disk. Please read the complete user guide, at least twice. I am glad to answer any unanswered questions here. CODA The new Tonal app is available for pre-order today and is expected to be released on June 30. The introductory price is $99.99 (50% off the regular price). You won’t be charged until the day Tonal is released for download. Please read the complete user guide. The website may also help you understand Tonal’s purpose. There will be no free trial during the introductory period (no plan afterward). I prioritize finding people who just know Tonal is their long-awaited missing piece and helping them onboard. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Chris Connaker for offering me a great place to launch Tonal (for the 2nd time). Gratitude to David Bryant (WavPack), Matt Ashland (Monkey’s Audio), and Grigory Chudov (CUETools) for your wonderful work and kind support. Thanks to Mr. Spoon (dBpoweramp) for allowing Tonal to access the AccurateRip database. Thanks to Grigory Chudov, again, for allowing Tonal to access the CUETools database. Thanks to David Chesky for keeping me motivated and confirming “The sound is really nice.. !!!!”. Thanks to Kirk McElhearn for being the first user while he was busy reporting WWDC. This is my 20th year working on the classical music database I dreamed of, my 10th year working on Tonal, and the epoch year of the new Tonal. Thanks to music! Thank you all! PS The initial launch covers Canada, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The reason is simple: users collaborate on one single music metadata database (currently English). Please give me enough time to think about how more languages should be added. The playback quality of the old Tonal was well received, I also found a post on Roon’s forum praising its playback quality. The new Tonal shares the exact same renderer (only 4 SLOC in C). FYI.

My good friend and fellow audiophile Gerald k and I have made a compilation of music files which we feel are perfect for testing new equipment. We wanted to use music that we not only enjoy listening to but which also has the abillity to reveal flaws in the signal chain. I listen mostly on Headphones (Sennheiser/ Audeze/ Audio Technica) while Gerald listen only on speakers (Tad, Kharma/Linn/Naim). We have spend many an evening and several bottles of Cotes de Rhone wines arguing and eventually agreeing on this list of audio equipment test music. This is what we came up with, please feel free to comment or post alternatives, if possible with a link as to where to purchase the music that you feel is ideal for this purpose. We also looked for reviews that we felt agreed with what we hear in the recordings. Sound stage and definition 1. Carmen Gomes inc; '' I'm on fire'' from Thousand Shades of Blue Sound Liaison Music Shop Placement is perfect on this young audiophile classic as well as the near perfect natural recording of the voice, but the real test for audio equipment when listening to this recording is it's ability to separate the kickdrum from the upright bass. The two instruments are playing the same pattern. On less than optimum equipment it might be difficult to separate the two, but with good setup you clearly hear the upright at 10.00 and the kick dead center with a nice decay that one generally do not hear on commercial recordings. There are lots of speakers and headphones with ''extended lows'' but low with definition is a whole different ballgame. Hifi; 2 Alban berg Quartet; Bartok String Quartet no.1 in a minor 1th movement. (LP,EMI) in the beginning of this movement the 4 instruments all play mainly in the same middle and upper register. Despite all that mid and high information the music should not sound harsh. This recording has the same perfect sound stage as the Carmen Gomes recording. We believe that this kind of sound stage with such a sense of depth and realistic placement is only attainable when you are recording the musicians in one room at the same time. Amazone Intelligible representation 3. Frank Sinatra; ''What's New'' from Only the Lonely. Frank is maybe a bit too prominent represented but one should still be able to notice all the different lines played by the various instruments in this incredible Nelson Riddle arrangement. 4. Me'Shell Ndegéocello; ''Levictus:Faggot'' from Peace beyond Passion. Here we have the opposite, the voice is a bit too soft in this optimum funk piece yet you should still be able to hear every word. easily optainable http://www.amazon.com Depth and Space When talking about depth and space we had to include a couple of Reference Recordings tracks. This label has allways done justice to it's name and consistently produced recordings of very high quality. 5. The Concord Chamber Music Society;''Danza del Soul'' from Brubeck and Gandolfi works. 6. Doug Macleod '' the Night of the Devils Road'' from There's a Time here you have two completely different pieces of music, one by The Concord Chamber Music Society and one by blues legend Doug Macleod accompanied only by guitar and kick drum. But the depth and the space of these two recordings is simply outstanding. Enjoy the music.com; Audiophilia; Reference Recordings Complete Audiophile Classical Music Orchestra and Jazz HDCD Catalog 7. Andre Heuvelman; ''Oblivion'' from After Silence 8. Joni Mitchell; ''Comes Love'' from Both Sides Now Andre Heuvelman's rendition of Astor Piazzolla's master piece have a great sense of depth. Every instrument sounds rich and full with a gorgeus natural decay. On lesser equipment the sound of each instrument can become a bit of a blur while on good equipment the sound of each instrument should be clearly defined with a clear sense of the room this recording have been recorded in. Same goes for Joni's wonderfull standards collection, it is a big hall you are listening to. Sound Stage on the Sound Liaison recordings; Sound Liaison Music Shop Both Sides Now won a Separation 9. Miles Davis; ''Stella by Starlight'' from the Complete 1964 Concert 10. John Scofield; ''Just Don't Wan't to be Lonely'' from Uberjam Deux we use these recordings to check for spill between left and right channel. The Miles recording was done on a 3 track tape machine and therefore there is this very wide sound stage and separation between the instruments; piano complete left, horns and bass dead center, drums completely right. drummer Tony Williams sometimes does not play at all and on those moments all one should hear on the right channel of the piano is a faint echo. All Music; John Scofiel's cover of the old Main Ingredient hit has a complete left right separation. The organ is audible on the left channel only and the rhythm guitar is on the right. The separation is so extreme that if you were to disconnect the right channel you would not hear any rhythm guitar at all, just like on the early Beatles stereo LP's. Jazztimes; Imaging 11. Trevor Pinnock; Mahler symphony no. 4 this delicate chamber orchestra arrangement of the great Mahler Symphony is a real beauty. the all music review said; Linn Records - Mahler: Symphonie No. 4 12. Iona Brown and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra;''the Spring'' from Grieg two Elegiac Melodies. the Grammaphone review puts it well; http://http://www.naimlabel.com/recording-grieg--tippett--beethoven.aspx Batik; '' The Bird'' from the Old Man and the Sea just about perfect imaging, left to right evenly laid out for your eyes and ears to see, piano, bass, drums, guitar and again a one room recording. Unbelieveable why sofew companies do this when it can yield so very satisfactory results. http://http://www.soundliaison.com/ Audio Stream; John Scofield;'' Never Turn Back'' from Piety Street the drum intro has a small imperfection, there is a soft ringing sound on the left channel probably coused by a sympathic resonance in the drum set or in the room. The moment the organ enters it kind of cover up the problem, although if you really listen for it you can hear it through out the track. Wonderful old fashioned sound stage. All Music;

I just received this new unit, ordered via Amazon.com yesterday. So far, I have been listening to DSD64 files (DSF's) purchased online - plus those ripped via PS3 from my SACD collection. Headphone listening only thusfar - with my Schiit Valhalla/Senn 650 combo and my Grado RS-1/Grado RA-1 amp. Very good sound; better than my Schiit Loki, for sure. I haven't placed it in my big system as yet since my wired network is in a different spot, and still have a lot of files to move over. Speaking of which - the Sony "HAP Music Transfer" application leaves a lot to be desired, in my opinion. You can only sync a folder - rather than select subfolders (i.e.: albums) to transfer. And since there is a 100 subfolder limit on each sync - and I have over 300 albums each in it's own folder, it has turned into as bit of a pain. Any other HAP-Z1ES owners out there with suggestions, tweaks or other relevant comments? Would love to compare notes. Thanks. Merko

I have just read a positive review in July number of Italian magazine AudioReview about this new little DAC from Project http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=preboxs2digital&cat=s2-line&lang=en A very reasonable entry level price for experimenting with MQA, but apparently not at all entry level performance. Main specs from Pro-Ject infosheet: • Dual mono construction • High end ESS Sabre ESS9038 dual DAC • Proprietary clock circuity design • Organic polymer capacitors and thin film miniMELF resistors • MQA hardware decoding • DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 & DSD512 (DSD over PCM) • Up to 24bit/192kHz for optical & coax inputs • 7 selectable digital filter characteristics • 1 proprietary optimum transient digital filter • Headphone output on the front (6.3mm) • Synchronization of all internal oscillators • Jitter as low as 100 Femtoseconds! • Gold plated four layer PCB • Full alu/metal sandwich casing in silver or black SRP: € 349,00

I'm currently on the look out for a new DAC with DSD 512, Streaming etc. I had never heard of this DAC before but there's a very impressive review here: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/06/14/cocktail-audio-x45-pro-music-player-dac-review/ I had my eyes set on the latest Denafrips Terminator DSD 1024 but the reviewer thinks Coctail is better! And the price is the same as Terminator with loads of extras like CD Play/Ripping and phono stage too (not that I need it). This looks like another great DAC alternative. Anyone with any thoughts/experiences with Coctail DACs especially with the latest 45Pro? Thanks.

You're being stupid here. There is no direct comparison in this fashion between 1-bit DSD and 24-bit PCM. Too entirely different encoding methods but you know that. By the way, Bishop is also a big fan of DSD.

8 more DSD Multichannel releases are available this week from Native DSD Music. They include 5 new DSD albums from Challenge Records International Classics, Channel Classics Records, Eudora Records, London Symphony Orchestra Live, and TRPTK plus 3 more from the 2L catalog. Two of the releases are early releases - coming 3 weeks ahead of the official release date. Two also are DSD Exclusive, Not Available on SACD titles. https://www.facebook.com/NativeDsdMusic/photos/a.765895486802195/2153539384704458/?type=3

I just received this from my friend Alex from the Netherlands and I can confirm that the code works. https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/536-sound-liaison-dxd-music-sampler

A number of DAC manufacturer's are limitng the output for DSD with -6dB, compared to output for PCM. I have personal experience with Holo Audio Spring DAC and iFi micto DAC's. Other models from these manufacturers do the same, as specified in their manuals. I understand that theoretically DSD can go up to 0dB, and even uo to +3dB for short peaks. But in practice, this turns out to be counterproductive, at least when upsampling both PCM and DSD (DSF) to DSD256/DSD512. From the same SACD album, upsampling the SACD layer (DSF file) to DSD256 results in (+/-) 6dB lower output level, compared with the redbook layer (AIFF file) . This means I have to crank up the volume by 6dB (on my preamp) to keep same sound level. Using a DAC from one of the forementioned brands, the output level is pushed down another 6dB, as the DAC receives DSD data. As a result, I am receiving a -12dB level with DSD, compared with PCM. So, why are these (and probably other) DAC manufacturer's do this? I find this rather annoying to say the least (one of the reasons why I have sold my Holo Audio Spring dac) Dirk

The preamp Rotel RC-1590 has a built-in DAC based on chip AKM 4495. I am not sure at 100% about the model. Anybody knows how could native DSD be played from a USB attached Linux box (native Linux, DietPi, RoPieee, etc).? I am not sure about this, but this AKM chip can be the same that use the Teac UD-503 unit.s

Ever since abandoning the Apple iTunes/iPod world for a FiiO X5 and Roon life has been a heckuva lot better. I use a MacMini as a media server with Plex and Roon. The only hole is this nirvana is managing the files that I'd like to copy to my FiiO when I travel. In short... is there a Mac OS app that will catalog my music directories or (even better) read my Roon database and allow me to do iTunes-ish things when copying music to my FiiO? How do I come close to the iPod/iTunes experience with Roon (or a directory of FLAC, WAV, DSF files) and my FiiO? Thanks, Adam

I recently purchased a Topping NX4 DSD DAC that was DOA. I exchanged it for a new one and now the replacement seems to be misbehaving, as well. That said, do Topping have a QA problem? The NX4 DSD appears to be unable to switch modes from DSD to PCM and will erroneously decimate DSD to PCM. The rear light is constantly blue, never red which will indicate DSD processing. Is this normal? So it now appears time to make a decision. Do I try for yet another NX4 or look higher up the food chain at the DX3 Pro or the DX7S? Will these be better behaved?

Hey, guys! Just sold my NAD M51 and looking for a new amazingly sounding DAC with maybe a streaming option. Would be nice also if that was capable of DSD 512 and maybe PCM 768kHz, just in case Must have XLR balanced outputs and Toslink input. The budget is around $6000 US. Can go higher if needed. My other components are: Foobar2000/HQplayer MacBook Pro (late 2017), USB digital interface: "Gustard U16", Integrated amplifier: Musical Fidelity - "Nu-Vista 600", loudspeakers: "ProAc D48R". Would be super grateful for all suggestions! Thanks!

Meitner Audio Updates their MA-1 D/A Converter ($7,000) With the introduction of Meitner Audio's very first product—the Meitner MA-1 Stereo D/A Converter—cost-no-object performance has suddenly become a whole lot less costly. How did we do it? By utilizing the award-winning technologies Ed Meitner developed for our EMM Labs line of products. The result is a converter that turns the 'you-have-to-spend-a-lot-to-get-a-lot' paradigm on its proverbial ear? It also happens to turn your computer or media server into a high-end, high-resolution music-making machine. Re-introducing the MA-1 – built with the award winning reference technology in the DA1. The DAC2X features the latest generation MDAT2™ up-converting DSP, MFAST™ jitter removal system, MCLK™ master clock and Ed Meitner’s hand built 22.5792 MHz proprietary discrete dual differential D-to-A converters. Using technology developed in their flagship DA2, EMM Labs and Meitner Audio has once again updated both their multi-award winning DACs the Meitner Audio MA-1 DAC and EMM Labs DAC2X. In addition to being the perfect companion of their TSDX CD/SACD Transport, the updates provide a huge improvement in transparency, accuracy and overall sound quality. The new V2 unit updates consist of: MDAC™ in both platforms are now fully discrete DSD512/8xDSD D/A converters completely built in-house at EMM Labs' manufacturing facility in Canada Their multi-award winning MDAT2™ DSP has also been refined and updated to synergistically work with the new 8xDSD MDAC™. The new MDAT2™ DSP does real-time transient detection, processing and up-conversion of all incoming audio, PCM and DSD, before sending it to the new MDAC™ The DSD audio signal path has been re-designed allowing for further enhancements in transparency during the DSD to Analog conversion process Proprietary hardware galvanic isolation for the USB Audio interface Supports sampling rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192kHz at word lengths up to 24 bits through all 6 digital inputs, Support for DSD128/2xDSD and DXD streaming via USB Audio Support for DSD (DoP) streaming via TOSLINK, SPDIF and AES No configuration necessary, just plug and play. Every other digital system from its proprietary jitter removal MFAST™ to its super accurate clock, MCLK™ has also been carefully revised as well for better sound. MFAST™ asynchronous technology Feed the MA-1 through any of its six inputs and the revised Meitner Frequency Acquisition System (MFAST™) instantly acquires the signal, buffers it, then strips jitter out completely. A high-speed asynchronous system, it decouples input from output. MFAST™ ensures that you'll enjoy pristine sonic clarity whether the incoming data stream is pure oranything but. MDAT2™: 8x DSD (DSD512) upsampling From there, the signal goes straight into a new Meitner Digital Audio Translator (MDAT2™) which upsamples digital audio to DSD512, 8x the SACD standard sampling rate. The world's best dac/clock combination The MA-1 features an improved, standard-setting MDAC™ dual differential discrete D-to-A and MCLK™ high-purity master clock modules. Together, they're music to our ears and we bet they will be to yours too. Note - Please note the V2 units performance are immediately noticeable and not subtle. So it’s quite a big jump in performance from the standard MA-1to the V2 version. Most units purchased in 2016 would already have newer hardware and you can just update the unit with the finalized firmware to make it V2. We are also offering an upgrade package for customers with older MA-1s and DAC2Xs to upgrade their units to V2 (upgrade MSRP is: $1,750) If you aren't sure if your DAC already has the newer hardware, please contact us with the serial number to check. High End Audio Store NYC - Experience Ciamara1.844-CIAMARA (1.844.242.6272)

EMM Labs Updates their Award-Winning DAC2X D/A Converter($15,500) You know how it is. Digital audio data isn't the sole domain of digital transports any longer. Today, digital audio streams from sources as diverse as your PC, music server, satellite receiver, mixing board and portable player. Which is why EMM Labs has created one very simple, very convenient way to get state-of-the-art sound from all of them. Re-introducing the DAC2X – built with the award winning reference technology in the XDS1. The DAC2X features the latest generation MDAT2™ up-converting DSP, MFAST™ jitter removal system, MCLK™ master clock and Ed Meitner’s hand built 22.5792 MHz proprietary discrete dual differential D-to-A converters. Using technology developed in their flagship DA2, EMM Labs and Meitner Audio has once again updated both their multi-award winning DACs the Meitner Audio MA-1 DAC and EMM Labs DAC2X. In addition to being the perfect companion of their TSDX CD/SACD Transport, the updates provide a huge improvement in transparency, accuracy and overall sound quality. The new V2 unit updates consist of: MDAC™ in both platforms are now fully discrete DSD512/8xDSD D/A converters completely built in-house at EMM Labs' manufacturing facility in Canada Their multi-award winning MDAT2™ DSP has also been refined and updated to synergistically work with the new 8xDSD MDAC™. The new MDAT2™ DSP does real-time transient detection, processing and up-conversion of all incoming audio, PCM and DSD, before sending it to the new MDAC™ The DSD audio signal path has been re-designed allowing for furtherenhancements in transparency during the DSD to Analog conversion process Proprietary hardware galvanic isolation for the USB Audio interface Supports sampling rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192kHz at word lengths up to 24 bits through all 6 digital inputs, Support for DSD128/2xDSD and DXD streaming via USB Audio Support for DSD (DoP) streaming via TOSLINK, SPDIF and AES No configuration necessary, just plug and play. Every other digital system from its proprietary jitter removal MFAST™ to its super accurate clock, MCLK™ has also been carefully revised as well for better sound. MFAST™ asynchronous technology Feed the DAC2X through any of its six inputs and the revised Meitner Frequency Acquisition System (MFAST™) instantly acquires the signal, buffers it, then strips jitter out completely. A high-speed asynchronous system, it decouples input from output. MFAST™ ensures that you'll enjoy pristine sonic clarity whether the incoming data stream is pure or anything but. MDAT2™: 8x DSD (DSD512) upsampling From there, the signal goes straight into a new Meitner Digital Audio Translator (MDAT2™) which upsamples digital audio to DSD512, 8x the SACD standard sampling rate. The world's best dac/clock combination The DAC2X features an improved, standard-setting MDAC™ dual differential discrete D-to-A and MCLK™ high-purity master clock modules. Together, they're music to our ears. Yours too, as an audition will quickly prove. MFAST™ vs. conventional PLLs Most converters utilize PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuits. MFAST™ has two distinct advantages. It's a high-speed asynchronous system that locks almost instantaneously to any data stream. Moreover, unlike PLLs which merely attenuate jitter, MFAST™ strips jitter out of the audio stream completely. Enabling you to enjoy pristine sonic clarity whether the incoming data stream is pure or anything but. Proprietary discrete dual differential D-to-A conversion circuit EMM Labs remains unwilling to accept the inherent non-linearities of every mass-market chip created to date and they believe you neither should you. Note - Please note the V2 units performance are immediately noticeable and not subtle. So it’s quite a big jump in performance from the standard DAC2X to the V2 version. Most units purchased in 2016 would already have newer hardware and you can just update the unit with the finalized firmware to make it V2. We are also offering an upgrade package for customers with older MA-1s and DAC2Xs to upgrade their units to V2 (upgrade MSRP is: $1,750) If you aren't sure if your DAC already has the newer hardware, please contact us with the serial number to check. High End Audio Store NYC - Experience Ciamara1.844-CIAMARA (1.844.242.6272)

Native DSD Music and NAVIS Classics are offering a Free Stereo DSD Download of a track from the highly anticipated album DSD release Chopin Recital by pianist Naum Grubert. The album is a DSD Exclusive, Not Available on SACD release due out on Tuesday, May 31, 2017. Free DSD Track (DFF File) https://www.dropbox.com/s/g3w03je7fdmpsk3/09 NC17005 DSD64 ST.dff?dl=0 Free Album Booklet (PDF File) https://www.dropbox.com/s/3mo9sg485mox0s0/GrubertChopin.pdf?dl=0

I just got the hyped T+A DAC8 DSD (second hand). My first impressions are not as good as I expected.So far I used it for a few hours with PCM only (redbook & hires). It is connected to source using USB and I use the BEZ2 + Wide settings.The sound seems to be very forward, with mids being too dominant, bass being too heavy and tweeters sound without sparkle. It is as though the sound comes from behind a screen. It sounds dull/muffled and not exciting and even causing some listening fatigue.It does seem to have a big soundstage and dynamics but it does not have the finesse and sparkle I expected from hi-end DAC. This DAC is compared to very well known and respectable DACs in the market so I was expecting a much more refined result.As comparsion, my old cheap DAC, EE Minimax plus (with dexa), sounds much more refined and definely not as dull.I wonder if anyone else has the same impressions and if this is related to burn-in time or anything else I should be aware of.

San Francisco's KQED public broadcasting station has produced an excellent 25-minute video "The Making of Gabrieli" which is now available for your viewing enjoyment on YouTube. The video tells the story of how the nation's best brass players were assembled as the National Brass Ensemble to re-create and perform a historic 1968 recording of sacred music by the great Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli — and also lay down a new work specially written for them by American film composer John Williams. It includes scenes from the session rehearsals at Sonoma State University and the recording session at Skywalker Sound with Five/Four Productions recording engineer Michael Bishop. The album is available as a Surround Sound SACD from Amazon and other sellers and as a Stereo and Surround Sound DSD Download from NativeDSD Music. https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2017/06/22/exclusive-watch-brass-music-all-stars-shred-at-skywalker-sound/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHs4W3bdReI https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014E1TMHC/ https://oberlinmusic.nativedsd.com/albums/1122

Sound Liaison has released a handy sampler to test your DAC's preference. http://www.soundliaison.com/all-categories/6-compare-formats Test your DAC! Format Comparison sampler Which format is best for your DAC? Every DAC has it's own character, some sounds better using PCM files and some sounds better using DSD files...... Some people find the convenience of FLAC files more important. Here on this page is a list containing 2 minutes of a song in 11 different formats. The song is called 'A Fool For You' and is performed by Carmen Gomes Inc. It’s taken from the album 'Carmen Sings The Blues'. http://www.soundliaison.com/studio-showcase-series/276-carmen-gomes-sings-the-blues All the different formats have the same source file, DXD 352kHz (Studio Master). We used the AUL ConverteR 48x44 for the conversion to DSD and Wavelab for the conversion to the other PCM formats and FLAC. When you compare different sample rates always start with the lowest resolution. During listening don't focus too much, hearing is as individual as taste but hearing is also something which can be acquired, like the taste of good wine. You can choose from the following formats: 1. DXD 352kHz 2. PCM 192kHz 3. PCM 176kHz 4. PCM 96kHz 5. PCM 44kHz 6. DSD 256 7. DSD 128 8. DSD 64 9 . FLAC 352kHz 10. FLAC 192kHz 11. FLAC 96kHz

Hi everybodyI discovered that a DSD DAC for raspberry does exist: http://www.terratechnos.com/products/te ... index.htmlIt's not cheap, in fact 25000 yen + 3000 yen shipping from Japan, makes a total of about 220$ https://terra-online.stores.jp/ However, it seems an interesting object, with separate power for raspberry and dac Automatic upsample Works with Rune, Volumio, PiCore Player, Moode.. Instead, I'm not sure how to interpret this spec re master clock:Built-in small crystal oscillator excellent in phase noise characteristics as master clock (45.1584 MHz for 44.1 KHz, 49.152 MHz for 48 KHz) Automatic switching of master clock

I am using DAC8 dsd connected to pre-amp using RCA cables. Both my pre-amp and amp only have RCA. I undertstand that the XLR output is considered better sonically. Does anyone have experience using XLR to RCA adapters? Can it really make a differnence or it's just not worth the effort of even testing it?