HiWire

Looks good - I'm looking forward to some objective reviews.

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (20th Anniversary Edition) [ATTACH=CONFIG]3974[/ATTACH]

I have the original CD and I didn't think it was dying for a remaster... if Trent wants to muck about, that's fine, but it was what it was. A bit crude and repetitive, but still fresh and brilliant for all that.

Great review. I only listened to the PS1000 briefly at a meet, but it does sound much different than the RS1, HP2, and PS1. The pair I auditioned was fairly new and coming out of an Esoteric SACD player - I'm not sure if they change much over time.

The Sony SCD-X501 might do the trick. It's on sale at Audio Cubes II.

Shpongle - Tales of the Inexpressible [ATTACH=CONFIG]3657[/ATTACH]

Arcam has a good history with dCS (specifically, I'm thinking of their last collaboration on the Arcam FMJ CD33's Ring DAC)... speaking of dCS, I just noticed the new Debussy DAC on their website. It's a couple of levels up from the rDAC and the digital volume control is interesting.

Yes, I think they must have done some math and figured out that the size of the market for high-end DACs is too small - that's why it's in the Solo range and not the FMJ. Still, it might sound better than some of its competitors in the price range and therefore justify its existence. The wireless function doesn't hurt either. I can't buy one of these - it would mean buying another headphone amp, which I can't afford at the moment. The headphone out of my MacBook to Alessandro MS-1 is good enough for now - the files are lossy 320 kbit/s VBR AAC. I finally got a chance to listen to Shpongle's "Are You Shpongled" album on my home rig - I was missing EVERYTHING by listening to it on my iPod Shuffle (stock earbuds) on the go. The rDac is also in a funny market - it has a "low-end" price but it has to have noticeably better output than whatever you're feeding it to justify its purchase. If you have an audiophile computer source (e.g. Squeezebox, Apogee Duet, Peachtree), they might be at the same level of quality. Perhaps I haven't researched enough in computer audio - most of my serious listening is done with CD and SACD discs.

Thanks. I've never used a USB DAC, and I'm not sure it how works on something like a MacBook, for example. From what I've read, most high-res disc players won't output DSD digitally anyway (the home theatre market is an exception). In other news, I was looking at the new Marantz disc players (e.g. the upcoming SA8004) and I'm glad they're still making "affordable" SACD, after major players like Sony have all but abandoned the format.

It seems like something they should have figured out by now... the first USB 3.0 motherboards were announced this January. Also, the Wolfson site says the WM8741 can take 192kHz and DSD, so it would have made sense to include an HDMI input for high-res sources.

Is it just me, or is this bad timing now that USB 3.0 is finally on the horizon (and years after the Cambridge Audio DacMagic's launch)? I'm not sure what the list price is going to be yet.

Awesome. I love the vintage aesthetics. Enjoy!

I still want an MS-Pro, just because. I listened to Looser101's pair and they were pretty good, even if they sound kind of like RS-1's.

Yes, it was interesting. I'll have to read that article again.

This is slightly off-topic, but has Sennheiser "fixed" the treble in the current HD 600 drivers? That seems to be a common criticism with them - I've seen take-apart pictures of both the HD 650 and the HD 600 that show production variances in the last few years.

I wonder how the Alessandro MS-Pro would compare in their lineup. I'm thinking of getting one as an alternate/backup to the HP-2, since it is far lighter.

I've listened to the following albums since I plugged into the Duet: Pixies - Bossanova Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend Vladimir Ashkenazy - Moments Musicaux - Rachmaninov Darren Hayes - This Delicate Thing We've Made LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem Roy Orbison - All-Time Greatest Hits (MFSL) Since I don't listen to more than about 2-3 hours at a time, it takes a long time for me to break in new equipment. I don't like leaving stuff playing while I'm gone, and I enjoy the break-in process anyway. I've plugged each component into a separate "Zone" on the Duet - the CD player goes into one zone, and the headphone amp into the other. So far, it's tricky to separate the effects of a passive power conditioner to just listening to a warmed-up (I generally consider about 30 minutes to 1 hour warmed up: equipment and listener) system. From what I can tell, I'm inclined to turn the volume up more often because of a definite smoothness to the sound. Also, I've been sitting longer than usual to enjoy the music - earlier, I was itching to get up and about after about an hour. Although these aren't particularly audiophilic descriptions, they do indicate that I'm enjoying the music more, probably beyond the curiosity of trying a new toy. Harshness has been reduced, in my opinion. I think the weakness of my headphone amplifier was its simplicity - as far as I can recall, Norm (the designer) eschewed filters for a more lively, direct sound in the Headsave Classic and his other designs. The active ground channel in the v3 series of Classics apparently helped to lower the noise floor. The power conditioner may protect the Elpac power supply from problems in my condo apartment's power. There haven't been major differences in bass or treble performance that I can tell. The sound may be slightly more dynamic and imaging more cohesive, but I am listening more carefully now than before I got the Duet. One thing that I have noticed - I thought there was something indefinable missing from my system and I was considering switching interconnects, but I don't have an urge to do that now. I think the Duet might be one of the best bargains going in audiophilia - I paid a little over $200 CDN for mine. I'll continue to update this thread as I listen to more music. I'm definitely enjoying the journey and looking forward to listening to all of my music on my "improved" system - there aren't enough hours in the day.

I just bought a Duet this weekend. The salesman (Lorne at Executive Stereo in Toronto) says it will take a while to break in, so I'll try to record my impressions along the way.

I mentioned the GS-1 because I'm not particularly interested in a balanced output (my source is single-ended), but I'd definitely look at the GS-X seriously if I had more money. I'm avoiding op-amp designs just because I'm fine with my own op-amp based amplifier... however, I'll take a look at the Phonitor for curiosity's sake. Thanks for the tip!

I'd just like to say that I'm following this thread with interest and I appreciate the detailed, ongoing write-ups. This is much more interesting to me than the Head-Fi fanboy coverage of the Woo Audio, etc. valve-based products in the same price range, not that there's anything wrong with them. I'm also looking at the Headamp GS-1 and the Channel Islands VHP-2 (for their discrete outputs) but there doesn't seem to be that much competition at this level. I guess the Eddie Current Solid State might be in the same category, but I haven't read much about it yet.

That's an excellent article. I particularly appreciate all the useful resources the writer included.

I'm reading Richard Morgan's Black Man (titled Thirteen in the US). It's a bit derivative of Blade Runner, William Gibson, and Bruce Sterling, but still entertaining. I agree with the above and add the following: Chung Kuo by David Wingrove (avoid the last book) The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson Kiln People by David Brin Foundation by Isaac Asimov ...

There is an excellent feature on headphones for use as studio monitors in this month's issue of Sound On Sound. Check it out if you can - it is interesting to hear about the opinions of various engineers using the same headphones that we purchase for the pleasure of listening.

I like the center channel for dialog, but I dislike subwoofers. Full range speakers all around would bankrupt most people, though...