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I would like to connect the KGSS (balanced), Woo Audio 5LE (SE), and GS-1 (SE) all to the ECD-1. I was hoping to be able to have more than one amp on at a time (but at least not have to plug and unplug cables). Is it ok to have amps connected (and running) to both the XLR and RCA outputs of the ECD-1 simultaneously and will this degrade sound quality? This was my plan: |----(RCA)----> GS-1 ----(loop out)----> WA5LE ECD-1 | |----(XLR)----> KGSS[/HTML]

I am thinking of getting a Rega Apollo R as a transport for my headphone rig (transport -> PS Audio PWD MKII -> BHSE). I need something that is a half rack size and this seems to be pretty nice. I like that it loads from the top too. Anyone know any reason to not get it? The other option would be a CD player that would be used as a transport and dac (instead of the PWD). This could be full size. It would need to have optical in so that I could play music from my Apple Express.

This was linked from /. http://www.cepro.com/news/editorial/18229.html Kinda obvious, but hey maybe other will begin to take notice?

I need a standalone usb dac. Anything else I should consider in the same price range?? Some people mentioned that 06 Microdac is too warm, output level is way higher than normal and bad usb implementation. Is the the case with 07 model too??

My brother asked me what I thought about using a Mac Mini as a htpc. Since I've never done this, I thought I would ask here. I know some of you use these as music servers. Any tips, recommendations, etc.? Thanks in advance

Although at $5k it's a pricey bugger, it's still not a complete outrage relative to a lot of the top shelf stuff. But what's interesting is the approach. Seems new and completely different to me, but maybe that's just what they want me to think. I'd be interested in knowing what the technically inclined among us (i.e., those who know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to these things) might think... http://www.parasound.com/news.php

No professional reviews of this $2,000 box yet. 2 slavering 5-star fanboy "reviews" on the Sony site. Now in stock at Amazon. Who will be first in line for Sony's other new digital box thingy? http://www.theonion.com/video/sony-releases-new-stupid-piece-of-shit-that-doesnt,14309/ I am enjoying my Azurite Blue PS3, though. It works OK... I guess.

Cambridge Audio 840c Impressions/Comparisons This is going to be a two part review. Up first is part one the Impressions section. Part two will be a comparison of the 840c against the GNSC Opus 21 and APL Philips SACD1000. Equipment Used Pre-amp: Modwright SWL 9.0SE Power amp: D-Sonic Magnum 500M Speakers: Selah Audio 3D Other CDP's: GNSC Resolution Audio Opus 21 and APL Philips SACD1000 Impressions The Cambridge Audio 840c has made a pretty big splash in the audio world. It has received numerous accolades including The Absolute Sound's Robert Harley who proclaimed it the best cd player under $5000. Now typically I?d ignore that kind of praise especially f…

Has anyone heard their CD77 player?

Has anyone heard the Esoteric D70? I'm thinking of buying one used for ~$1500. It seems like a nice deal to me, but I've heard that it is on the cold/analytical side. I'm a little worried that it might sound too cold/analytical/sterile with my Headamp KGSS and SR-007. Also, it seems that Esoteric isn't very well-liked here. What is the reason for this? Any information on this unit would be greatly appreciated.

Despite the low price this looks interesting. Those HF-ers will probably be all over this one given its price. Can anyone provide some insight on the selection of parts? Stereophile: Oh Nose, Not Another One! "The Music Hall dac25.2 ($600) uses an Electro-Harmonix 6922 tube, a Texas Instruments PCM1796 24-bi/192kHz DAC chip, a TI SRC4192 Asynchronous sample-rate converter (with a high-precision active crystal oscillator master clock), and four digital inputs (S/PDIF, TOSLINK, XLR, and USB). It sports re-clocking and user-adjustable upsampling (96kHz or 192kHz). It outputs analog via XLR or RCA."

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!

Ok folks, I've been lurking for the past 2 weeks trying to find presumably better DAC for my current setup which is : Notebook --> Pico DAC-->WA6 or Gilmore Lite -->MS1/HF2/701/ESW9. I have been looking hard at the following: 1. Benchmark Dac1 2. Buffalo - used 3. Grace M902 - out of budget but I try to find used 4. Gamma 2 - used 5. Lavry DA11 My road map in the distant future is to upgrade to balanced so I thought I would like to start with DAC first. I understand when I'm ready to upgrade to balance I would have to get rid/recable of almost all my current headphone/amp. On the other hand, I'm also looking hard at ATH W5000. So should I use the cash…

... I kind of lost the will to live when faced with 'ripping' (i.e. Dig out to Puter) them in real time. Is there seriously not a method or a company who will rip DSD's and I dunno, maybe put them in 24/96 or something. Failing that a regular 16/44.1.

story In a word, DRM (well, acronym).

Hi folks, some of my local head caser point me to this site [url=http://cplay.sourceforge.net/pmwiki.php]cMP

I find myself in a pickle today. I turned on my old, Win XP audio PC/music server and found it broke. Specifically, 2 separate components were malfunctioning. One was the Rocketfish eSATA hard drive enclosure, which housed my 3.5" drive with Win XP OS AND music (I do have data backup), which developed some kind of error, leading to my PC not even booting up, at times citing "disc read error" or "I/O error," depending on which time I rebooted. I temporarily solved the issue by simply moving my hard drive inside my PC in SATA bay. This is not optimal because I had previously found my system to sound cleaner and purer with the hard drive outside the computer via eS…

Hi all, there's someone selling one locally for $300 CDN, do you guys think it's a fair price? The seller said the unit is clean and I'll be going to his place tomorrow to see the unit for myself, but since I haven't bought used gears at this age(10 years for this DAC?), what should I look for particularly? Thx **Pending sale to Alec** Parasound DAC 1100 HDCD - Canuck Audio Mart

So I just bought a used G4 Mac Mini for $89.00. Thought I'd try it out, now that I have a USB DAC. I guess at this point my plan is just Mini to Zdac via USB, and iTunes as player. Not sure what operating system is on the Mini (should arrive before the first of Dec.) I've browsed for small LED monitors, but with no luck. Is there an iPad sized monitor out there? Curious about how everyone else is running their Mini based setups, all advice welcomed.

I'm currently using an Accuphase DP-500 and Chord DAC64 MkII. I've had the Accuphase for four months and the Chord for more than a year. Both are Red Book-only. Most of the time I listen through iTunes or foobar, using the digital outputs of an RME HDSP 9632 sound card. Playing a CD on the DP-500 sounds better than its digital input fed by the RME sound card. However, I think the RME -> Chord is roughly equivalent to CD on the DP-500, with each doing some things better and some things worse. It is very close. This was disappointing to me, because I expected CD on the Accuphase to sound better. I really like the convenience of PC-as-source and currently have over …

Anyone tried this transformer coupled DAC?? Audiomagus - high end not high priced audio products Should I get it and add an amp like CKKIII or SOHA II over Pico?

One of the sources I've been considering upgrading to for CD playback. I'm trying to find out if there is any sort of digital input, which would eliminate the need for the Bel Canto, and free that up for another rig. I haven't seen anything about inputs, only outputs. If anyone knows if this has any sort of digital input, I'd appreciate you mentioning it. Thanks.

Hello, need some suggestions for a DAC to use with PC. I realize there are a wide plethora of options listed in the forum, but would like some help narrowing the list down to budget. Currently using the Pico DAC/amp for everything, but was wondering if there is a better option, specifically for desktop use with USB. I've been contemplating upgrading to powered speakers, and STAX, so it's probably time for a source upgrade as well. What options do I got?

I`d appreciate some help I am looking for a usb powered 'dac/amp' to feed a pair of srh1540 headphones, low volume listening, no background hiss and sounds good with linux (youtube, podcasts, radio, cd`s ripped to flac/wav). I currently use the motherboards onboard audio which is a 'TI ne5532' amp chip. This does well with very low background noise but audio could be bettered. have just been using a soekris dac1101 but find it to have audible background hiss when outputing audio (this cuts off shortly after no audio is being pushed). budget of $800 or less top of my list to try currently is an 'IFI Micro iDSD Black Label', thoughts on th…

Smoking deal http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homevdeo&1192926190