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Considering how awesome the 2 channel EHHA amp is and how cheap the kits are I have been considering going balanced (if balanced actually sounds better, seems to be differing opines on this) what is a decent balanced USB (pc only) DAC that is cheap as dog poo? The Gamma 2 with mods will do it but we still don't have a price or date on that yet and the Buffalo is over what I can afford. Would a balanced opus with a USB receiver do well enough? I've never heard a balanced rig so I don't know if they're worth the extra or not.

Ok, so we all know that I'm DACrazy. I recently purchased a Dodson DA-217 MK II D, which is a vintage '90s DAC. I have yet to see a bad review of the unit, but there also is not a tremendous amount written about it. Also, the designer is dead. Regardless, after 1 hour, I can say that this DAC sounds pretty damn good. As many of you know, I have been very much in love with my ECD-1. Well, the Dodson may be better. I have a lot more listening to do, and I will post some internals here. But I think this is a pretty promising find. Oh, and I'm fully willing to admit this could be placebo...

I was told that the Bel Canto USB Link 24/96 was made to allow 24/96 type files to be put out via the computers USB and received via the coax of their USB 24/96 DAC so that people could overcome the limitations of their (and most DACs USBs) to receive anything over 16/44.1 , I was impressed that someone could spend so much money on their DAC and still not have a simple solution for this issue without blowing an extra $500.Before looking into this I just thought that if a USB DAC said 24/96 then that's what you would be getting via the USB.If I'm not mistaken Wavelength DACs deal with this issue without the use of a USB to coax converter just over the USB,does anyone here …

I'm considering a Transporter as a source upgrade in the not so near future and I was just wondering if anyone here has heard the Modwright modded Transporter? Dan Wright sent one to CanJam but I didn't get a chance to really listen to it. I did play around with Grahame's stock Transporter and liked it but wasn't sure if it was playing by itself or if it was hooked up to Al's Amarra. Any opinion or impressions would be greatly appreciated!

I'm thinking about getting a used OMZ DAC v4 Where does it rank in the DAC world? I'm not familiar with this hobby and just getting started.

Introduction When I put my money down for a Berkeley Alpha DAC, I learned about a piece of software called Amarra that allegedly improved the performance of computer audio playback. I believe this was at CanJam along with the Berkeley Alpha but at the time, I dismissed it as a custom skin for iTunes since I didn't know what it was then. Naturally, I was skeptical since everything I've read online indicates that bit perfect audio is easily possible with freeware on both Mac and PC platforms. I didn't see why or how you could squeeze more performance past this or why it has to be Mac OS X exclusive; a quick survey of the internet reveals that many share similar misgiv…

I've owned this piece now for a few weeks and have been pretty tight lipped on the sonics publicly. After a few weeks of use in my system damn if this isn't the best dac I've owned. Higher resolution than any of the dacs I've had in the house, greater frequency extension, no top end glare, great tone and just reports the new and does not seem to editorialize. In the house now are 4 dacs and the Sonic Studio 302 takes top honors. I've got an esoteric here on loan, my modded TranDac and the Apogee Duet. I was first turned on to the Metric Halo unit by Ironbut right around the time of the VSAC event. I researched the living crap out of pro audio dacs for a while and it k…

Just posting an observation I've made with digital transports. I'm sure jitter plays some part in why some sound different from others. But something else I've noticed lately is that the output signal level from a digital transport also seems to make a difference with regards to sound quality. I noticed this recently since I have a few DACs right now in the house, all with varying analog output levels. Ranging from 2- 3.5 vrms through the RCA (single ended) output. Sometimes the output on the high output DACs is just a bit too much with my amps (lacking headroom on the headphone amp's volume pot is annoying), which is what started me to mess around with the volume level o…

Hey guys, The rig has landed. Now, I am completely overwhelmed by this thing. I've put up the basic pieces, and the motor is spinning the platter fine. Now comes the arm. The cartridge is pre-mounted on the arm. The issue is that the arm seems to be tilted inwards a bit. I'm trying to read the manual, but I'm just not going to get anywhere by myself. I'm extremely wanting to learn this stuff, but I need some sort of guide / teacher. Is there anyone in the Southern California region who would like to help me at my place? Dinner's on me! Great Indian food or maybe something else. Basically I want to make sure all the settings are correct before the firs…

I am very happy with my PS Audio DLIII, but I was thinking about someday doing the stage 3 or 4 Cullen mods to my PS Audio DLIII - PS Audio DAC, GCHA, GCPH modifications - Cullen Circuits It wont void the warranty and reviews have been very positive. But someone else recommended another company that did his PSA DLIII mods: Reference Audio Mods, cd player mods,audio mods, audio modifications Do any of you guys have any experience with either company and have any opinions you could share? I'm posting here because at the other forum I expect to get too many conflicting thoughts and opinions from people who have never even heard the mods. Like I said, I am very hap…

Yesterday, while I was browsing el Craigslist and a****gon I stumbled upon an EAD DSP-7000 mk.II DAC and was intrigued. So, I deciding to go doping panda, PI. From what little information I could gather, EAD had three lines of DACs: the DSP-1000, the DSP-7000, and the DSP-9000. The DSP-7000 was the original product while the DSP-1000 was an economy version of the 7k and the DSP-9000 seemed to be a more different than the other two. Each line has had several revisions with the DSP-1000 and the DSP-7000 both having three revisions while 9000 has an unknown number of revisions(to me at least). The first series had a CS8412-CP EP, 2x AD1862N-J, NPC SM5813APT, and some propri…

Pardon the mess; I'm moving next week so I don't have a nice table to put everything on. I knew I had to buy it as soon as I heard Voltron's set up at CanJam. I got it about three hours ago and it's terrific like I remembered it. So far, I'm using the AES input on my Primare DVD30 to compare the DACs between the two devices. It's my very first piece of individual equipment that costs this much so I'm experiencing a whole new level of sound. For example, I always discounted one recording as flawed because of strange background noises but the higher resolution of this DAC makes it very clear that it's just sound from the audience. Apparently, I'll get even more mileag…

Available at late June, ~ 6500 Euro There will be a new turntable at above the level of P9 from the brochure: Matched laser Archiving During manufacture we will match 3 identical laser units. One will be fitted in the player the other two will have the product serial number marked on them and will be archived here at the Rega factory offering guaranteed product longevity and peace of mind for every customer. http://www.my-hiend.com/leoyeh/2009c/ISISinfoflyer.pdf

Me again... So, I'm now looking for a decent phono stage. I've decided that I am going to place my turntable at the back of my room (17ft from front to back). Basically, I want to keep the analog rig far away from the subs etc. at the front of the room. The cartridge is a Clearaudio Accurate and here are the specs on that:

Well, I finally got my last piece of gear yesterday: the Phonomena II. I had it sent to my parents' house since I'm hardly ever home to receive stuff. I will pick it up today (ordered it along with new inner sleeves for LP's - no point washing if I put them back in the old ones). I will also compare it with the highly-regarded as bang-for-buck CA 640P (which I got a good deal on in Audiogon). The 640P wasn't a planned purchase, but I read it is a good piece of gear. We'll see how the Phonomena II (at $600 new) does against it. Not to mention there are two cartridges in the house now (used MC cartridge ZYX Bloom and new MM cartridge AT150mlx). I won't begin any test…

Hey Guys, Anyone have any thoughts to share on Linear Tracking tone arms such as this Clearaudio Master TQ-I: I'm thinking of going in for a vinyl setup and one of those setups would have this tone arm. From an engineering stand point, it seems to me that a cartridge would find it easier to track in a linear tone arm as opposed to "traveling" with the grooves in a pivotal tone arm. Thats just my initial thought, but I would love to hear some opinions before I make any plunge Thanks!

Just got this in yesterday and cold right out of the box, put a big smile on my face. This thing has gobs of PRAT and I now have BASS like I never had before. BIG SOUND out of this black box. Hate to use this cliche but I am hearing things (minute details) that I never heard before. Could be a keeper.

I know I talked to someone about these guys at CanJam and said I'd post a link. Think it was Jim, but after a couple of over-refreshed memory slips already I ain't going out on a limb. They're flogging a (very expensive) modular DAC/SACD player with full digital inputs and claiming total jitter immunity. Easily dismissed as the usual hi-fi hyperbole except that the tech guy behind it is Andreas Koch, who I believe has long been one of the heaviest hitters in the SACD/DSD world. Anyway, here it is Jim (or whoever). Playback Designs

Now I'm down to the following two choices for a DAC - both are around the same price. 1. Little Dot DAC 1 - brand new USB DAC just released this month from Little Dot' - around $300 OR 2. Parasound DAC-1000 - 15 years old used/good condition - original cost $775...used around $300 I am a novice and this will be my first DAC to be used in conjunction with my computer as source (ASUS P5Q-EM Motherboard). Any help and advice would be appreciated. Thanx

Anyone ever heard of it? 1990/91, build quality seems insane. There is a local hifi that had it used for sale but it quickly went. Sony CDP-X777ES on TVK, detailed inside views AudiogoN ForSale: Sony CDP-X777es

What's interesting about this one is that it does HDMI -- I wonder how far off we are from one that can be set to record?

I have this in my system now for about two days. Inside pictures later when I can figure out how to open it up and get my camera back. It is stock, not modded by John Wright. I've been comparing it with my also Parasound DAC1100 (using Squeezebox 3 as digital transport). The Bitstream is definitely on the same level as the 1100. The Bitstream has more presence in the upper mids which opens up the Omega 2 a bit. The high freq extension is also exceptional on the Bitstream. I will run some test tones later, but right now nothing is missing from the highs. Bass might also have a bit more oomph, but this is too close to tell at this point. Both the Parasound and Museate…

The two sources are: An Oppo DV-980H and a PS3. The PS3 has no analog outputs as I'm sure everyone knows. I need a headphone amp or some kind of hybrid setup that can handle both of those sources at the same time. Ideally, the Oppo should be connected via left and right analogs for SACD and DVD-A playback and the PS3 would have to be connected via optical output. This is for my sister who's ready to start getting more serious about headphones now that she is using my AKG 701s while I've moved to the Sennheiser 800s. Ideally, she doesn't want to spend more than about $500 if it can be helped. Ideally, I would steer her towards something like the Gilmore Lite…

I have a handful of redbook CD digital transports. For the purpose of this post, I'm going to concentrate on three: the Sonic Frontiers SFT-1, Micromega Drive 3, and Parasound C/BD-2000. It's interesting to note that both the SFT-1 and Drive 3 use the same Philips CDM 12.4 drive mechanism, while the Parasound of course is a belt-driven CEC jobbie. I have always felt they all had their own sound, however I was extremely happy with the Micromega Drive 3. Either way, I bought a Genesis Digital Lens for yuks to see if it would make them all sound the same, because I really like using the Parasound thanks to its unique user experience of sliding open the door and pla…

Hi, I am considering abandoning my computer as main transport, and would like to find a hd based one. I saw a few for sale around here, but I am wondering which of those would do bitperfect digital out, as well as have decent jitter rejection performances. My source is a non-upsampling Melior Bitstream, and I would use coaxial wire. Thanks for any inputs you can provide.