regal

My theory about computer audio is avoid the skips. Especially with XP we've all heard them, but what about the ones you don't consciously hear cause they are so small in duration, how would a string of micro-skips affect SQ ? So if you have a P4 with WinXP SP1 you may get a real improvement with an SSD, less micro-skipping maybe? IME at least a Win7x64 8GB rig is needed to truly avoid skips under a M$ environment. Some may get lucky with Win XP but when it was designed audio was pretty much overlooked. I am sure with Linux or OSX the memory requirements would be much much less.

Being an engineer I never went down the transport rabbit hole, but recently have experienced significant SQ differences with different USB transports, especially when I modded my Hiface to batteries. Got me thinking the EE's may be missing something. Tried to measure the differences with FFT software but nada so it could be placebo but sure doesn't sound like it comparing the modded Hiface with a TerraX. Then there is Jocko's USB transport that he posted a 3ps measurement of for only $500 which I haven't tried. Still I have been eyeing $3-$5k transports. Are you saying this is big waste of money? What about Steve N's products ?

I was an engineer at GM many moons ago albeit not an audio one. I wouldn't let a GM audio Engineer anywhere near my audio equipment. General Motors Audio engineer, just cracks me up. My 16 year old neighbor can put together a better car audio system than this guy for 1/3 the price. Why did we bail out this drain on the economy mass corrupted company? Ever notice how the progoganda against Toyota started the minute that the socialists took control of GM? And now we are supposed to take advice from their "Audio Engineer", give me a break.

I got the last 3SE with the PMD100, I also have the PMD100 DAC19Mk3 its good but lacking in bass and stereo separation (porobably due to the smaller PS), the 3SE is a tank. I can't say I would recommend any of the new AudioGD DAC's as I haven't heard the DSP1 (never cared for DSP filters) and I don't like the DF1704. That chocolate comment sounded like it came from someone who at some bad acid yesterday.

Colin, I've played with slaved PCI soundcards. First they require a wordclock, so there is a quality loss in that conversion from your DAC master clock, then inside the PCI card a PLL synthesizer converts the clock to a freq compatible with the card (more degredation.) In the end the quality was not worth it to my ears. The Asynch USB transports are the way to go, hopefully someone will offer the Ayre implementation standalone so DIY DAC builders/modders can eliminate the SPDIF and have galvanic isolation.

Can I ask if anyone has compared the PMD100 vs PMD200, my understanding was Assemblage offered an upgrade board that made this comparison possible. I have read the one comparison on the web but I'm still not convinced that a first gen DSP sounds better than the SIC PMD100? I've seen PMD200's go for $500 so the OP got one heck of a deal.

Sonif Frontiers I find overated. Assemblage are fantastic but unobtainable. Sold a Pass D1 after hearing an AudioGD, not saying I wouldn't trade it for an assemblage but the AudioGD's are better than the S-D opamp clones out there. If you want to talk Shill, the whole OriTech Zahlou was the most over shilled over priced DAC in history. You can literally build the same thing with a $75 ebay board and a $25 PCB from Ray's audio shop.

These work awesome DealExtreme: $28.50 Rechargeable Cree P4-WC 3-Mode 100-Lumen LED Headlamp with Battery and AC Charger Kit (1*18650)

Are the ZDT and BA using single ended OPT's or capacitor coupled P-P OPT's ?

I want to upgrade the +-18V powersupply for the analog section. What do you guys recommend: the Tangent Jung regulated supply, the Twisted Pair Shunt Reg, or AMB's series reg supply? Or is there something better?

I got a deal on a pair of MS-Pros that I couldn't pass up and I think I like them better than the HF2, probably because they do well with flats and the HF2s don't.

I hope so, it competes with ZD and the like, Alex deserves a commercial product after all he has given us.

I've finally got this working with the E12 thanks to Alex's new PS design. No DC offset problems at all and no E12 dropouts. Absolutely black background with Grados. Best amp I've ever heard.

Recieved the HF-2's and you were right, perfect for guitar rock. Anyone else preferring these to the RS series?

Unless you have some $5k OTL amp sell it and get an amp suitable for grados (hybrid or OPT), I recommend the SOHAII. With the money saved get a good DAC. NOS DAC's have a nagging problem in that any frequencies over 15k stay there, in otherwords a 17khz tone is transformed into a 15khz tone due to aliasing with the lack of a filter. Some like this others don't only your ears will know.

Thankyou.

I have a pair of wooden MS1's which I find incredible for listening to electric guitar rock. I tried a pair of RS2is but they didn't accurately portray the tone of the guitar (IMO.) So what would be next to try as an upgrade: HF2's, RS1's, or MS-pros ?

I apologize about that but it wasn't meant to be harsh. Heck if I didn't have to work on cars I wouldn't. I'm not talking about Haynes or Chilton manuals, all auto makers allow you to buy the same Factory Service Manuals their techs use. Most all audio/visual manufacturers do to. With this thread I was just trying to present an alternative veiwpoint to the typical low jitter sigma delta high feedback DAC. Basically most all thats been offered the past decade. To me it is refreshing to find a product with a different approach. Didn't mean to come across as an A-hole, but I'm an engineer and most all of us do come across as "insensitive" ( at least thats what my wife says.) I'm a Chemical Engineer by the way and by no means have the DIY audio electronics savy as others here like Colin for example.

I'll take that but he threw the first punch saying I was nuts about cars not releasing circuit diagrams since the 70's. That was ludicrous as I am sure anyone else knows but I do apologize if my tone was off.

It just amazes me that another DAC mentioned here can have an analog stage that switches from a god awful 12au7 cathode follower to an opamp and no negatives mentioned but when a good design is presented it is slammed as having magically counterfeited chips. And I don't think its the I hate the Chinese syndrome, its more lets make a newbie look bad because he doesn't think the Sabre is the second coming. Alternative veiwpoints are a good thing, keep that in mind. I would love to see the business plan to build hard wired silicone counterfeit PMD100 chips that trigger an HDCD on circuit when an HDCD is played. I wouldn't invest in that upstart, but the paranoia from some of us is just amazing. My God have you never bought a factory service manual? I guess your rich father pays for your car to be worked on, some of us work on our own equipment.

The tube is a SE 12AU7, so it has to be a cathode follower. So you have a choice of cathode follower or opamp. I built a DAC for about this price but the switch changes from a SE tube grounded cathode to a Pass D1 discrete stage.

I guess thats better than some manufactures tell you! It is beyond believe that people could be so uneducated about economics and manufacturing to think a PMD100 or PCM1704 could be cloned & tooled up with there being any money in it. How many $500 Chinese DAC's do you think sell in a year? I'll wager less than a thousand with the PMD100 and less than 2000 with the PCM1704. There are very few higher end DAC buyers. Kids want USB 2707+1798 with a cmoy output for $45. Thats what sells folks, not quality stuff. Now sure they can be stamping a K on a U chip but so what, no one could hear the difference anyhow.

Has anyone heard more about the new PS & buffers, the proto website I understand was compromised so I've been out of the loop. I finished my SOHA II and actually prefer it to my maxed out Bijou in many ways so I am really chomping at the bit to get this Stacker II to work.

The first time you take a HV reading with a cheap multimeter set on ohms and blow up 3 days worth of work and components you will buy a Fluke, any serious builder should own one.

Does anyone know a supplier that sells the square wood tube amp cases with the metal top for mounting the tube & transformers?