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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.

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!

Northstar M192 DAC (thanks Reks) Neat optical illusion. the faceplate is not wavy aluminum like it looks from the front. Back: Certainly a dynamite looking product. just some chicken scratch (upsampling turned on at all times, will mess around with it later), all testing was done switching back and forth. Started off with some John Zorn's Electric Masada and then some early King Crimson and Tool. I think the Lavry is still a very dynamic DAC, but the Northstar takes it to a whole different level. Loud sounds are huge, dynamic shifts (both macro and micro) sound incredibly lifelike. Dire Strait's Brothers In Arms/Communique (both WG Target discs) …

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

Came across this DAC, it was mentioned and is for sale on audiogon. Looks mighty interesting.... http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1156112132 His modded denon players are really good. I wonder how this dac would sound.

For sale on Head-foo. Probably a very decent source. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3213733&postcount=1

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…

I bought it last year May 27 from Sweetwater. Obviously it's well over a year old now so that means its past manufacterer's warranty. It's the model that has neither USB nor firewire on it but the slot is there for a person to add the USB slot if they want it. The unit has always been perfect for me. I would call it mint condition outright were it not for slightly crude looking little hole in the back with the tape over it where the USB should go. Another quibble of mine: The optical audio input is very loose and finicky. You have to fiddle with the optical cable to get it to situate just right. The cable will properly secure but you need to be a little extra min…

Crap. Can the powers in control of this not sit down for the good of the consumer? Such potential but greed will keep us from really enjoying it for years to come is seems. Sorry if already posted but what a damn way to start the day. http://www.avrev.com/news/0107/04.total_hd_disc.shtml

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 …

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.'

I could probably find this by searching the site, but I'm lazy and stupid when it comes to using a PC as a source. I ordered the Ayre QB 9 last week, and intend on trying to use my computer as a source in an attempt to downsize my CD collection on the boat. I want to use lossless format and get the best sound I can. I have just a regular Toshiba laptop and a generic terabyte drive. Can anyone advise me as to whether I should get a better computer (such as Mac laptop dedicated for music only), any specific hard drive, which program to use, and if there are any high end USB cables for sale? I have some pretty good source equipment, and I am very picky about the playback qua…

http://www.needledoctor.com/Furutech-GT-40-Headphone-Amp-DAC Good review of this unit in the new issue of Tone Audio. This thing is a serious swiss army knife: -24/96 DAC over USB -Headphone amp -MM/MC Phono Stage! nice. -ADC! handles needledrops up to 24/96. All for $480. This is cool because I was just thinking it would be cool if more of these "all in one" type audio devices (benchmark, peachtree, etc) started incorporating phono stages. I could see this unit sitting on a desktop next to a Rega RP-1 or some other budget deck making a really awesome rig. The review in Tone Audio is worth a read, but in a nutshell they say any of the individual features (D…

Turns out some of you are pretty obsessive about DACs. Fortunately, there's a lot of knowledge here about these silly machines, so I figured a thread dedicated to general DAC technology and questions could be useful. I envision questions/discussions about various chipses that our preciousss DACses use, ciruit design, implementation, etc. Here are some that I have to get started: 1) What is meant by a "true" or "fully" balanced DAC, and what would be some of the sonic advantages? 2) What are some of the iconic (canonical?) DAC chipses? And what are their characteristics? 3) What is your favored topology and why? 4) What's with this whole I/V thing…

I've made an audio friend down here who imports the dCS range and has a slightly-used Debussy he's looking to unload at an advantageous (though still eye watering) price. Does the HC brain trust have an opinion on the dCS house sound in general or their Ring DAC topology in particular? I will have a chance to live with it in my system for a while before making any decisions. Another option is to wait for the first shipment of the new DAC from Aesthetix, who he also carries. The Pandora uses (as I understand it) roughly the same digital board as my current Ayre QB9, but with a beefed-up power supply and analog section (and toobs, obviously). Charles Hansen has been repping…

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

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

hi, any good recommendations for a good amp or tube amp with sub outs and hopefully a good headphone output as well? good synergy with vinyl? thanks

What are some of the contenders in the under $1k range new? Just stick with Sony?

I have managed to score a Rega Planar 3 for about $US70 which I think ? is a good deal. It doesn't have a tonearm, but is otherwise is in good working condition. This was somewhat of an impulse buy, as bloody usual. And I am just about to prove my ignorance of all things vinyl. This will be hooked to a WOO 2. So I am going to need a tonearm, cartridge and a Phono stage of some sort. I am willing to spend a few hundred on each. So a few questions:- Is the Rega RB300 a good tonearm for the money?? I have seen different opinions here and on the other site. I could be very easily persuaded to look at other options. What is a suitable cartridge to go with the RB300 …

Just saw this on ebay and wondered if anyone here has heard one? 1 Grado Lab Series Wood Tonearm Transcription Turntable - eBay (item 200282360211 end time Feb-28-09 08:49:43 PST) I've not come across this setup before but looks interesting -- great pics, anyway. Pretty solid-looking deck. k

5.1 Headphone experience *Foobar configuration for all stereo music files* - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio Sorry if the H-Scroll is a little off here. I hope this isn't bad form for me to post in regards to a thread at Head Fi like this and someone else's work but I certainly give Graphicism at Head-Fi full credit for this and if he posts here under a different screen name than kudos. I wanted to post this here just to match notes with the regulars around here and see if anyone else has tried this and what they think of it up or down. I went into it skeptical just because I tend to be pretty leery about post processing an…

Hagerman Bugle + DL-103 Associated Equipment: Technics SL1200MK2 Sumiko Headshell Cambridge Audio 840A Quad 22L Introduction I remember when I first got into vinyl blah blah roy gandy is a swell guy. The Story While the DL-103 > Cinemag SUT > Bottlehead Seduction sounds great with rock recordings, I've been experiencing some brightness when listening to certain jazz records which I know aren't mastered bright (Hoffman 45s). After trying to do everything I could with my speakers (move to and fro front and side walls, toe-in), and confident that my cartridge is setup perfectly, I remembered something I read about cartridge brightness usually ha…

Interesting. Halide Design Bridge Review | Computer Audiophile Thoughts?

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