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Just thinking of grasping this but there're little reviews out there. I wonder how does it stand against other commercial DACs like the DAC1,DA10 and DA220MKII? And, most importantly, can it be configured to have USB input?

Hi, I hope this isn't a stupid question, but anyway: How is a $2000 CD transport better than a $200 one? As far as transports go the output is entirely digital, there are no analog stages that can be affected by inteference/component quality/etc. So what's the difference? Digging through doesn't seem to yield any definitive answer. I wish I could A/B them, but unfortunately its hard to come by in my area. Thanks!

I currently have a X-Fi Elite pro containing the CS4398 DAC which it seems to share in common with headroom's ultra micro DAC. Is this an adequate DAC? Should I look to upgrade? I have a incoming beta22 and a friend mentioned that the sound card dosen't have a proper "line out" to run to the b22. Thoughts?

I sold a Valab NOS DAC I had in preparation for the $320 Chameleon NOS DAC group buy. I loved the Valab, and it delivered on what I wanted it to (musicality and vocals), and I assumed the Chameleon would only better that. However, I read through the NOS DAC bashing thread with Dan Lavry, and now I'm wondering if my love for the Valab is only because I haven't heard any other half decent DACs. What's yall's opinions on NOS DACs as a whole? Would you advise getting the Chameleon, ever? The only other DAC I've read of that has the traits I desire (warmth, musicality, etc; basically analog sound) is the DAC19MKIII, which is unavailable until later this month and costs…

Has anyone heard it? Looks pretty good on paper, but so far, no real word-of-mouth impressions I can find around the net.

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."

So the next step for me after I run the Bugle for a while will be to try a SUT with an MM tube phono stage. Of course I'm already looking for an appropriate SUT, and it appears that the Cinemag transformers are within my price range, and supposedly they have a synergy with the DL-103 line of carts. There are two builders I've come across. anumber1 on agon and capnbob on eBay. I have read that anumber1 is a popular guy on aa, but I've never spoken with him. Capnbob responded to a question I had quickly last night, and he regularly sells Altec and Cinemag SUTs which always go quickly. However, capnbob's price is $85 more then anumber1's. Also, anumber1's layout of ins on…

A new music player: AyreWave from sbooth.org Mentioned here: Stereophile: Wavelength Leads the Way Initial impressions this morning is that it puts out better music than Amarra Mini (2.0.1). More texture to instruments (low-level detail) with my LCD-2 or borrowed O2 rigs. If I don't pay attention, but just listen to a good acoustic track in a relaxed manner in both, then I get the feeling that Amarra is a little bit more hard-edged digital in presentation and with AyreWave the music sounds a bit more "real". The simple UI is good: Select a bunch of tracks in iTunes or the Finder and click on the relevant button in AyreWave to add them to the persistent playli…

Hey all, I'm always a little nervous about posting here because...well we all know why. It's part of the reason I love this forum so much but mainly lurk and learn. Anyhow, my primary DAC has for many years been the good old' E-mu 0404 USB, and sadly it's had its last day. Now I need a new DAC to connect to my Asus G73 gaming laptop (no S/PDIF sadly so USB is a requirement) and the rest of my rig is my prototype (though awesome) CTH I acquired from a very nice chap on that other site and my beloved Wenge-cup Thunderpants TP1s. Which, by the way, I was delighted to see such positive praise for here when I showed them off after I got them back from Smeggy. Just …

From: Electrocompaniet Introduces the ECR 1?A High-Performance, Do-All Tuner | AVguide "The Norwegian high-end audio firm Electrocompaniet has just announced its stunningly versatile ECR 1 tuner, which

I found one of these locally for about $1k, and I'm tempted to pick it up. The problem is I can't audition them (not that I would have a decent reference to begin with), so does anyone here besides Nanoha (he had a unit, but hasn't logged in since August last year) have any experience with this converter? or have any info that might be useful in helping me decide? Thanks

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a Lavry DA10 but from the pictures I see, it only has XLR outputs. Can I connect it to my single-ended amp using XLR to RCA cables? Will there be any problems in doing so? Also, I don't need the headphone out on the DAC. Is there any DAC with equivalent quality but doesn't have a headphone out (and cheaper)? Thanks!

Contemplating a source specifically for a SRM-007/Lambda Pro/Sig setup. Looking at the normal suspects - DAC1, DA100 Sig and DA10, which I had previously. Would be used with a computer (with USB & optical) or through a Squeezebox. Haven't used a dedicated CDP for years. Does anyone have suggestions otherwise or comments on that trilogy of choices? Find the Stello interesting, but reports of a darker signature may not make create the best synergy. Anyway appreciative for your advice. May get a chance to try, but looking for longer term impressions, especially with electrostatics. Figure budget $800-1,000. And no that doesn't extend to 'twice that.'

Just noticed that Electrocompaniet has a new DAC, the ECD-2. This interests me - I <3 the ECD-1. http://www.electrocompaniet.no/news/item_0033.html (Looks kinda ugly though.)

So I'm finally getting off my lazy ass to seriously start planning for my wireless music setup. My question is, disregarding SQ difference since this will be used only for casual listening via speakers, what does Squeezebox have over Airport Express? I will be using it to feed a DAC via one of my Macs, most likely my iBook, and just about all of my music files are in ALAC or AIFF. Squeezebox sure do look pretty, especially in all black, but is it worth 3x that of Airport Express for my application?

Needing something small-ish that had some sort of digital output. USB is fine. I'd like to send the output to a DAC as well as have some kind of internet connectivity. For starters, I'm not a big apple fan, but am willing to give it a try if it's far away the best source. I'd probably bring it to work and rock out there, then bring it home for moving tunes on to it if need be. 3G not necessary, wifi would be fine. I'd be keen onand Android tablets, but Google continues to skip implementing USB host mode. That is, USB host mode without some damn cable hack. Comments? Suggestions? OK. Thanks! Brian

Does anyone here have the USB Off Ramp Turbo 2? I know of only one person on Headfi that has one and he said it was an improvement over an Audiophile USB as transport to his DA10. I'm a bit skeptical and Empirical Audio makes no mention of a money back guarantee. Their engineer posts a lot on Headfi and AudioAsylum. Website: http://www.empiricalaudio.com/

It arrived yesterday, didn't get around to taking any pics till tonight though. here's some internal shots of the external tube rectified ps: and a few shots of the 9100es internal and external: Initial impressions are positive so far, it has absolutely killer bass and I'm pleasantly surprised by it's ability retain a coherent stage regardless of the complexity of the music.

Hi all, Looking at getting something like the Trends UD-10. Basically just want a quick and dirty USB-Toslink convertor. Looked at the Hagerman units and they only have coax or AES/EBU. Any suggestions would be welcome. If you know of a place to get the Trends cheap, that would be great as well. Thanks, Jay

Hi Folks, This is my virgin post here at Headcase I just sold my Zapfiltered E5, and now am eyeing a mod for my 3910. Alex at APL suggested one of his mods: General PSU mods Add new transformer and linear PSU w/reg. for the digital section Custom clock to replace all 6 clocks on the 3910 Bypass DSPs for best digital to the DAC (loose source direct i.e. SACD>172khz PCM, no: bass management, time alignment, level controls on FL,FR) Double DACs (one 1796 per channel) (loose MIX L R outputs) Analog stage mods with SE mosfet buffer output stage. He says this will kill very respectable $10k vinyl rigs... All for $1xxx Anybody have experience wit…

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…

I'm wondering if anyone has heard a Exemplar 3910? I know some of you have the 2900 Exemplar and feel it is a great redbook player. Here is the link of the sale I am looking at: AudiogoN ForSale: Exemplar Denon DVD-3910 Thanks for your help and input

heard the AMR CD-77 this morning. a/b'd it with the reimyo -- brief impressions to follow...

So has anyone heard this goddamn thing yet? Doesn't seem to be much out there about it except the usual oohs and aahs.

Im considering one of these for a portable rig any suggestions? Im obviously looking for a very high quality portable device. Astell&Kern looks awesome but $2500 is steap....The Geek Wave looks like it might trump the AK240 in SQ based on the specs and the designer plus its a fraction of the cost. Thanks in Advance