Azazel

Yes I do I got my hands on the "DEMO ONLY NOT FOR SALE" unit the Distributor had for a recent Show here in Madrid. I got my hands on it and for some reason it went into my backpack and home... two weeks testing before the inevitable call arrived asking WOH was the Mini... Short version: very nice unit, I want at least one to replace one of my Touch'es, maybe more. Long version, I have to say good things and some not so good (but nothing wrong), let's see in reverse order those: -you NEED an iThing to activate/setup it (reset=hotspot connection to its WiFi ONLY with iPhone/iPad and Auralic own App) -no remote, no display, just some buttons to reset it, so the above comment is significant (!!). Once setup, you can use an Android to play (even any DLNA controller) but you will not have access to setup nor some streaming possibilities (Tidal, Spotify, AirPlay to name some). -the Auralic App (and some iOs hardware) lets you navigate your networked or attached (Mini has an internal bay and external USB) hard disks, but only streaming service available (to me) was Tidal (working great btw). If you want to use Spotify, you need to first activate Airplay (Auralic App) then go to your Spotify App (on iOs) and stream to 'other unit' (Auralic Mini). Works fine, but every time I wanted to go back from Airplay to Tidal or my files, the Mini crashed :( -it can stream DSD files but they play only to the digital output (if previously configured that way). Strange, and I assume this (and above crashes) will change in next Firmware versions. +streaming is solid even over WiFi (up to 352kHz/32 bit with no drops). +SQ is excellent: from digital output I would say betters the Sqzbx Touch in image stability (deeper, wider, better focused stage) (speaker setup). +SQ is excellent too (to my surprise?) from the analog outputs (only RCA available). I opened to see what was going on inside: after the external SPS (15V DC) there is some good filtering and regulation inside, a nice-modern board, and Sabre ESS9018K2M DAC with couple of LME49740 (quad) opamps for analog out duties. I liked it so much I was not able to decide in Mini/vs/Touch+Buffalo head to head (yep!). +Using the Auralic App and iOs, the user/listening experience was very good using my own libraries or Tidal. I miss it and would recommend it to those looking for an easy way to stream (specially those who already use iPad/iPhones, I am an Androidman and had to battle with the wife to have access to its iPad... easier said than done). Long ago since my last post around here, happy to be helpful... Regards!

Mmm... what do you have and what do you miss? HDTracks, Linn Records, Deutsche Grammophon... there are options. Try here too: High Resolution Music DOWNLOAD services Cheers Josep

Must say anyway I was not dumb all this time liking my G08, and 588 is not far neither

It is a nice piece of gear, and it even sounds good. The box is very very very big, and there is a lot of air inside: this air and the damn 'apodising' thing is probably what makes it sound so sweet I decided on it also to use as DAC and preamp (yes it is '3 in 1' but not exactly at Best Buy price... yups), had almost no time yet to enjoy but so far I almost forgot the hole in my pocket...

Ok, new in this thread, but with a somewhat big thing: Meridian 808.2i arrived here (and, hey, it IS BIG!!).

AFAIK no 'interesting' new products from Sony, not in EU at least. They upgraded the 5400 receiver to 5500: it just ads DLNA capacity, new HD-DCS sound modes (not as useful as ther classic ones btw) and everything else is exactly the same as per 5400. I liked how the SACD and receiver sounded together (5400 units) with HDMI-HATS activated, but this looks very much like another good technology 'show' that no one else will care about. Pioneer and Denon have their own 'ways' to make HDMI connections sound better with music too, off course all different and incompatible... The SACD 5400 by itself is a good but not great player IMO (and the balanced outs a bit of a 'fake' as I said already in this thread IIRC).

I do have a Prodigy Cube working fine since many months ago... bad luck Curra??

Advice: if you are happy with this Marantz and most likely it will be 'your last optical player' (because your next player will be hard disk/server/flash memory) then buy TWO of the mentioned spare parts and keep the second one on a safe place.

Congrats Padam! To make sure you do not do something wrong, just check input resistance with a simple polimeter before and after the V change: must be 4x afterwards on every transformer (same primaries wired parallel for 110V, are wired now series for 220V).

+1, must add sometimes they publish great pics with more detail than elsewere... helpful when you want to know if the gear is easy to switch to another mains voltage operation Otherways, lots of letters and no useful info. As said, like a long presentation...

I heard of many people having this same problems on this same Marantz, sorry. You better call Marantz with an angry voice: sometimes some companies do have good customer service even if waranty is over... Josep PD. If all above does not work, well, you know what to do: throw it !

Yups, remember the Parasound does not go higher than 48kHz: you can use a simpler adapter with it (even put inside the case to avoid one more connection), there are many around based on the 270X chips for around $30. The beauty of this "Taralab" (sic) is going up to 96kHz with no drivers. The beauty of the HiFace looks to lie on its layout and clocks.

This one, "Taralabs"... Native 24bit 96k USB to Spdif I2S Converter for DAC - eBay (item 270517709517 end time Feb-17-10 17:30:38 PST) ... but I read "Teralabs". Whatever, it does use the Tenor chip, like the Prodigy Cube I am using now, but it is a simpler desing (no DAC inside so no line outs and no headphone out) with the option of off-board power supply. I am happy with my unit (does native 24/96 and changes the sampling frequency on the fly with foobar) save for a problem with some 24/88'2 files (does not recognise the 88'2 fq). But "no drivers" makes me happy... Anyone to test it? Padam were you not looking for something like that?

I have a Buffalo (not 32, ESS9008 chip on mine) and IMHO you can raise the bar to double that (if not more). I like it way more than my Benchmark DAC1 Pre (Pre version and pre-moddded), I like it more than my now modded Benchy, I like it more than any sub$500 DAC I had (many chinese things both original and modded, and the MF V-DAC and the CA Dacmagic) and, yes, I liked it more than my beloved piece of Pass Art (aka D1 original with pcm63s). Just to name a few The onyl 'special' thing on my Buffalo (besides careful assembly and cabling blablah) is I used a spare Sigma22 I had around for the IVY board (a bit overkill). When testing it this setup was better than a passive I/V (lundahl trafos) or the direct out of the chip (you do not need an IVY as the ESS9008 can ouput voltage directly but measures, and to my ears sounds, better in current mode). I use it in direct SPDIF mode too (no receiver + I2S etc) and it is a bit 'picky' with cables and transports but YMMV. I had a complete Buffalo32 kit for some months at home and finally gave to someone else: no time for assembly, but honestly I am quite satisfied with my unit...

No idea about the UA thing, but I had an Adcom GCD700 (multi-disc player using Denon mechanics, BB filter and 1702 DACs) and was pretty decent. No exotic caps in sight (I changed them all) but the original opamps were a custom version of OPA77s, not bad.

I will choose Para 1000 + USB adapter (even one of the sub$30 chinese thingies) over USB on DacMagic any day. The CA is a decent DAC but its USB input is another (uglier) story.

Quod Erat Demostrandum

Ah, good bussiness thinking...

Padam, There are quite often Parasound 1100 or even better 1600 on sale in Germany: if looking for something 'vintage' (and under euro 500 aprox) this is where I will be searching

Mmm... I am not so sure I2S is the 'holy grial' so many pretend. It does have its own problems and, anyway, remember it was designed as a inter-chip (no inter-boxes) bus. There are so many really nice sounding DACs out there working with just SPDIF...

Padam, Actually the most promising interface is the Hiface from Italy. http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/7701-m2tech-hiface.html Couple of friends here are testing it and results are very good...

+1 I hate amplifiers with too much gain: they create noise and they do not allow you to use the best part of the pot (many times I found myself with volume levels under '9 oclock', the worse part of a potentiometer). I am used to passives for speakers btw, so I know about total gain etc. Many people think if an amp needs its volume raised to around '12' this is a sign of 'weak amp' or 'not enough power'. Bullshit. You may even consider the x11 optional, and make 2-3 standart. Congrats for this amp gem btw, I have directed people to it.

:D:D:D Thanks Antonio! I suspected something like that, and your message pushed me to 'play' with a steel wire on my HF2 cables. Mine are not glued btw, they have just a blob of glue to avoid the cable to be pulled out, but you can feed it inside if so inclined. I will email Todd suggesting this solution if any other customer has this problem... much easy/quick/cheap than sending them to Grado NY Regards from a, now, 100% satisfied HF2 owner

if someone finds an AVR600 for 2k$ I want two!! This beast is by FAR the best integrated AV I ever had at home. And I had quite a few A stereo setup plus subwoofer is a good route to happiness. I recently helped a friend to setup such a system and one wonders a bit why the hassle of everything else... at least if the stereo was good to start with. Look for an used Onkyo 905 and you will be very happy with it (beware of your back when carrying it however). Excellent multichannel but very good stereo too, multiple inputs and HDMI switching, 'net' capacity. Regards Josep

Well, I for one DO have a problem with my HF2s. Since 'day one', the right driver sounded... er... not right to me. Ok, it sounded right, but in certain moments (bass content) with certain volume level (high) there was one 'clicking' noise, to me this sounds like the driver vibrating and touching onto something. After many (many) burn-in hours, this is still here. And no matter the amp (M3, Beta22, hp out of player, etc) but, as stated, only in some passages with hard bass notes. In normal use (my listening level is quite low, I want to keep my hearing) this is not a problem and I am quite happy with them (believe it or not, my first Grado's!). I compared mine with a friend's HF2 (fresher but burn-in too) and clearly I have a problem (no noise on theirs). Todd suggest shipping them back to Grado as they are under warranty (obvious) but the cost of shipping both ways (plus eventual customs) does not exactly atract me. I looked inside the grilles and saw, on the right side, the cable entering and touching the driver: I have still to try to bend the cable far from the driver with some wire (no disassembly), but when we looked at my friend's HF2 by the grilles the cables looked much worser bent/glued (!)... I recall having read on some forum about this same problem (clicking noise with bass on Grado's) on the past, but am unable to find any info. Any advice? Thanks! Josep