Home Source Components

Techmoan buys 3 video disc players to see how well they function as CD players, and creates a spreadsheet to evaluate them.

OK to have one for non-specific vinyl discussions? Vinyl relevant links on Head-Case http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/4450-hagerman-bugle-dl-103-revisited.html http://www.head-case.org/forums/do-yourself/3931-pass-pearl-pcbs-related-parts.html http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/6471-linear-tracking-tone-arms-experience.html http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/3070-zyx-bloom-best-bargain-mc-under-5-000-a.html http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/5684-mc-phono-stage-review-rogue-stealth-vs-benz-lukaschek-pp-1-t8.html http://www.head-case.org/forums/audio-accessories/5193-what-do-i-need-t…

Having been out of the game for a while, the rapid development of DAC tech (or at least the verbiage dedicated to same) appears to have accelerated even more. I'd appreciate it if you fine folks could catch me up as to where we stand. What is the latest and greatest tech? What are some of the basic must-haves in a DAC today? Which chipses tend to sound best? And, most importantly, which ones have the prettiest lights?

I have a DAC1 USB to a Luxman P1u to a pair of HD820. Should I do better than the DAC1? I have limited space. Probably pointless to upgrade. Wish I had a DAC still that would not fit there:

Indie bands have been releasing cassettes for a few years, but now a new cassette player has been released. I was cleaning my place and stumbled on some old cassettes... taking some time to listen through all of them (especially since many of them are unlabeled/mislabeled) on my ancient Walkman. Unfortunately, this new player doesn't measure or perform very well, but perhaps it will stir the big players into producing something better. https://www.wearerewind.com

Edit:

Bit of a link bait title, but I'm glad we're well clear of the lossy compression era in hi-fi CD players - I always turned skip protection off. The test album was Goldfrapp's Head First - pure synthwave ear candy. Head First is an almost entirely electronic album, with heavily-processed real sound from Alison Goldfrapp, a guitar, bass, and drums on selected tracks. I read that Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp were somewhat unsatisfied with the results of a rushed production process, but to me, it's a perfect gem. The anthemic, insanely upbeat pop tracks are well balanced against the more relaxed ambient instrumentals. To me, it's a touchstone, both a microcosm and a…

So I have been running Roon as my go to audio software for listening to my digital library and integrating it with Tidal and Qobuz. The software works very well and they have kept upgrades. I have been using a 2018 Mac mini to run my Roon server and it has worked very well though not without a few hiccups in keeping it running on a continuous basis. A picture of that setup is below. It consisted of the mac mini and a 10 TB USB disk to hold my library and Roon backups, a 27” monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. The previous generation of Roon nucleus appliances were quite pricey compared to the Mac mini so I never really considered buying one. However when they…

It was posted on the other forum here: DA11, Lavry new DA - headphone feature - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio It was mentioned that the USB is up to 24 bits and 96KHz. I copied and pasted the info below: Introducing the LavryBlack DA11- Lavry Engineering takes stereo DA conversion to a new level! Features like a USB input, programmable settings, infrared remote capability, and the proprietary >PiC< Playback Image Control

I thought this great little device deserves a thread, the pre-order with an intro price is now on: HeadAmp Pico Upsampling USB DAC - Pre-Order Now at intro price - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Okay, I'm behind the times, but needs are simple. My analog and limited physical media needs are met and otherwise only stream Tidal/Qobuz. No need for everyones favorite Roon at this point or support for media stored on a HD. Used an Airport Express to get a digital signal to a DAC until Apple retired and it eventually became a little flaky, then Chromecast Audio until Google retired and it eventually became a little flaky. Just looking for a simple way to stream audio over wifi (ideally with Airplay2 support) to a digital out. Know Audioengine has a similar device, though next to no specs. I'm sure there are Raspberry Pi options as when are there not? Anyone have a reco…

I have a friend overseas whose previous old Aune DAC (limited to handle 24/48 PCM) stopped working. Due to lack of most other products availability in his country, he has purchased the Ifi Zen DAC V2. First impressions were not good, but with some tweaking on Windows configuration and playback software he got it working kind of OK. He has found out that Foobar and AIMP (which for some reason he loves) can't deliver to the DAC the files at the same sampling/bit depth that they originally have. They go up or downsampled according to the settings he chooses in the player software, but he can't get the system to send the audio stream thru USB at its original bitrates automati…

We talked a lot about R2R dacs on Stax thread because of some bullshit design choices, And given the attention of the R2R, especially discrete dacs, I wanted to post all the findings in this thread. Discrete modules I found to play with: Transient Modules (the dac modules of 2nd and 3rd gen Metrum dacs) and Diy parts based on it (most of the parts they are selling as oem but diy parts are also avaliable): http://www.transient-audio.nl/ all parts can be found under this website http://www.transient-audio.nl/Ordering.html this is how to order guide Soekris Modules (there are two modules avaliable on each segment [oem and diy line], t…

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, as it's not a source component... but then again it doesn't really fit anywhere else. I'm sure you know Jan Meier and his work. He just released an interesting new product, which - if anything - is certainly innovative. An external DSP box for headphones and speakers, with digital ins and outs, and an analog section with headphone and line outputs. All controls happen with physical buttons but on the digital realm, with an EQ, crossfeed (as expected), and then a number of more unique features I haven't come across before. More details here. I've been following the development of it via his newsletter, it's …

A friend of mine has an ackDac whose battery just died, and he's wondering if it's worth it to replace the $75 battery (if he even can?) or if there's a good current DAC for around $200 that he should just upgrade to. I'm long since out of the market for DACs in that price range -- anyone know? Doesn't even need USB, just RCA.

It seems like I've been trying to do this for years and WFH may finally force the issue enough into the forefront that I do something. So, what I'm basically looking for is a stand-alone music server, with onboard storage capacity, decent library management tools, and a reliably updated GUI. I'm not against the obvious Mac Mini choice as I have external DAC options that make that doable, but would be interested in hearing folks other thoughts on this. Budget is not unlimited and the Brooklyn solutions of the world need not apply. I've looked and can't really find anything that gets me very excited.

Emotiva Audio XDA-1 Digital-to-Analog Converter I saw a thread about Emotiva's $299 DAC on Audiocircle. I will get a chance to check it out at RMAF this weekend.

I was talking to my dad this weekend and he wanted me to investigate a DAC/front end for his stereo system. His current source is a Technics 5-disc CD changer from the 90s, amplification is a Technics surround sound receiver of the same vintage (early-mid 90s), and no-name cables. I was thinking a Schiit Modi 3 might be a good start, but the system would need more smarts, so maybe something with streaming/network capability and DAC would be better. He does have music files stored on a bunch of hard drives, so maybe one large 6-8TB hard drive to consolidate them along with a wifi + interface head? He has an Android tablet, so maybe he could use that to control the ste…

Ok so I spoiled the entire review/impressions thing with the title but I am just that enthusiastic about this new piece of gear from apogee http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/duet.php The unit itself is designed for the recording musician on the go. The unit is powered by the firewire port and that port also serves as the digital in as well. There are NO other digital inputs on this unit and it is designed for Mac users only. The analog ins and outs are acessed by a breakout cable. The analog outs are 1/4 mono females and are meant to be hooked up to powered monitors for audio playback of tracks you have recorded or to monitor recordings as they happen. There is also…

I've had the Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC for a while and I've been going back and forth between using LM4562 Opamps and the OPA627 Opamps that came pre-upgraded with this unit (each two single OPA627 OpAmps on an adapter board to create a dual opamp). Each had it's pros and cons but neither really seemed to be giving me everything I wanted. The OPA627 seemed more smooth, but almost too smooth, to the point of lacking texture in some cases. The LM4562 had more of the texture that I preferred, but can also be just a bit harsh, especially for long listening sessions. The tube output, using a Sylvania 5670W tube, did help, but only so much. http://gotnorice.com/B…

Interesting that PS Audio is still putting money into SACD at this point. I wonder if they are planning to release a new DAC as well:

I learned a few things... I assume SACDs are similar to regular DVDs.

Anyone listened to one of these? It ticks a few boxes for me and would be curious to find one on the used market to play with - let me know if you happen to run across a listing.

https://www.mhsecure.com/mhdirect/product.php?productid=49&cat=0&page=1 Wow UNL-8 without mic pre amps for $4K great price and now for those that wanted a stripped down version here it is. I love my Sonic 305 (ULN- but this is $2 less and the dac section is absolutely world class.

My son is getting into vinyl and I'm not much into it myself so I don't know what a good entry turntable is. Any good suggestions?