Home Source Components

I swear to God I won't buy anything else if I can afford this http://www.bladelius.com/products/bladelius/media-players/embla.html Never heard of this brand. Anyone has?

Well, I'm looking for a CD transport that has AES digital out, because the coaxial input on my Lavry is already taken up by my computer. My budget is around $500.

Got one of these USB->SPDIF converters in this past week. In short, quite a big improvement over my old Trends UD10.1; everything sounds like a layer of fuzz was removed from the signal, resulting in a more relaxed and focused sound. $150 for an asynch USB converter that does 192KHz? I'm sold. Good job Italians. I was actually considering the Wavelink, but not anymore. Also, any lust for the QB-9 has faded dramatically I recommend this highly to anyone who has a PC as their primary source.

Is it worth getting a cheap Sony CE595 for just multi-channel SACDs? I'm really happy with redbook as it is (and my DA10), since most of the music I listen to is released on this format. But there are a few mutli-channel SACDs that I'd love to hear on my K1000. Do you guys think it's worth it? And will I be able to send the analog cables straight to my Pass Labs amp or is something fancy required?

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've been trying to think of a nice digital home transport that would be able to feed the digital part of my rig. My iRiver has served me well, but its optical out is probably less than ideal. It's also running out of space... I used to have most of my music LAME-APS encoded, but I've recently moved to wavpack (a lossless format similar to FLAC, both of which is supported natively on the rockbox'ed iRiver). Also, I don't want to be forced to have a computer running nearby in order to enjoy my music. Solution? Squeezebox. It can stream the music from my linux server in the closet (where I can't hear it) to my home rig. There are also various ways to remote control it (u…

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…

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…

I haven't seen this DAC being talked about here so I will just leave this here. Designs-wise, the DAC interesting because apparently it uses 4 "industrial-grade" non-oversampling DACs (2 per channel) whatever they are and it doesn't have a digital filter. Price-wise, it seems reasonable enough. The most expensive model with black anodized case and external PSU will set you back €710 or a little less under $1000. Shame it's still single-ended and has no built-in USB. Here is the home-site and a white paper posted there detailing this NOS digital filter-less concept. I wonder what do our resident DAC experts like Filburt and Colin have to say about this as the con…

Well hell has frozen over, the cubs have won the world series, George Bush has said something clever, I will be buying an iMac. All patently unlikely a few short months ago but I will most likely be buying an iMac to do multipurpose duty in our kitchen dining area. One of its duties will be to act as the server for squeezcenter. I am currently running squeezcenter 7.0 on my laptop but it will need to be out and about most of the summer so I need a more permanent solution. Is anyone running squeezcenter on a MAC? Any glitches or problems? Thanks.

I hadn't come across this until today and, albeit well above my price point, it looks pretty close to the single-box, hi-resolution solution of my computer audio dreams. 32-bit DACs; USB, optical and coax digital ins; native DSD, DSD-to-PCM, PCM-to-DSD; 32-bit digital volume control. Here's the marketing fluff. Let's hope this starts a trend!

I've been looking through 10 pages of google results and nothing. If there is a webpage somewhere that lists sources and their respective DAC chips I'd love ot have a look. Or if someone here owns a Marantz vc5200 and knows the answer that'd be great. I got this 5disc player back in 2001, loved it, and was never curious about what's inside. But recently I crawled out of the rock I was living under and bought an entry set: hd650, gilmore lite, pico dac. So while I'm biting nails through this 3-4 week wait time until shipment I research what I have, feed my curiosity, and try not to bother justin everyday ..wasn't sure if I should have put this post in the "Genera…

New DAC from Rega: http://www.rega.co.uk/html/DAC.htm Wolfson chipses. I like Wolfson chipses. Discuss.

Anyone have any impressions of the Silverstone EB01 USB DAC? I've already looked over at Head-Fi, but I'd rather hear a synopsis of all y'alls' opinions.

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.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Finally got my Mini-DAC, which directly replaces my old Lavry DA10. The change was based mostly on a single recommendation by grawk. He didn't adorn his recommendation with audiophile jargon or any other verbal acrobatics for that matter. It was quite blunt, along the lines of "the Lavry sounds like shit, the Mini-DAC sounds good". Somehow that convinced me. And now that I'm here listening to my new setup: Beck - Sea Change to Mini-DAC to SRM-T1S to LNS... I'm really happy that I took grawk's word. The Mini-DAC sounds like the notes have been covered with alternating layers of candy coating and heroin. The soundstage is tighter, more realistic, more intimate. The b…

I can't find it on the HR page, and Google searches aren't turning up much that is useful. It's still pictured in a few of the HR-BUD photos and a PDF of the manual is still online, but that's about it. I did some preliminary searches on head-fi, but I can barely navigate that site these days. If it's in fact gone, it seems like an odd move to me. The "build your own Max" option of buying a HR-BUD, HR-UDAC and DPS is no longer possible. Not to mention the lack of a top of the line source for the HR power amps + Harbeths. Where's Tyll when you need him?* *Yes, I realize he's no longer directly affiliated with the company.

Phasure NOS1 DAC... I'm just trying to find more info on this...possibly from someone who has the means to own a 2900 euro DAC:)... seems to be a little more info elsewhere in the XXHighEnd forums...

I posted about this over in the TTVJ forum, but I'd like to snag the HC opinion as well: http://www.ttvj.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=1110 This phono looks very versatile. I like the idea of a tube MM stage, while throwing in the SS to beef up the output for MC. And Todd says it should be available in 2-3 weeks.

The Denon DA-500 I started a thread back when I bought my first Denon DA-500. Since then, Deepak has picked one up, and I've picked up a second one, and others have been looking for one. So it's generating a little more interest. Now talk has turned towards possible improvements. The basics: PCM-1702 based buffered op-amp output stage? 3 optical inputs 2 coaxial inputs 1 optical output 1 coaxial output 1 analong output This isn't meant to be strictly a modding thread. But I thought it would be good to grab the posts regarding the DA-500 from some other threads and get them all together. From my previous threads: A good modding threa…

I recently had to open my Plinius CD-101 (a physical issue with the transport developed) and thought I'd take additional pics of the internals. First though some specs: - DACs: TI PCM1704 (2) (not the 4 required for true-balanced dual-differential output) - Op-amps: unknown, but ECE EDR201A1200 in analog output stage - Unknown: National LM317T (2) and LM337 (2) - Transport: Asus CD-S520B2 Previous set of internal pics posted on Head-Fi here: Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - The Plinius CD-101 has landed - and is staying

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…

So I have weed to enhance my listening experience, Grado RS-2s, and a Millet Minimax I'm almost done making. I just need a dac with optical input for my only listening source - a laptop with optical output. What would you recommend to a lazy stoner with $400 who wants to buy something through a link?

Looking to add in the Ack Dack 1.2e using my EMU0404 as transport..with my n_maher M^3 w/steps amplifying my W5000's or K340's. Any idea how it will do in my system? I haven't heard one, but I've read good things. Any opinions are appreciated.