So I guess I'm going to buy a 16ft USB Cable.

I had a similar situation some time ago in that I wanted to run my laptop with a DAC but the distance was an issue so I ran a 15' USB to the Stello and it worked rather well.

Blue Jeans also ships extremely fast, which is a plus when I need new ICs quick.

Damn!

A couple of poor pictures. I'll take some better ones this weekend when I have a good long morning of sunshine to open the blinds and snap photos:

You can see the 999es, scoffing that it was moved a shelf down to make room for this new slim competitor.

Right now I'm listening to FSL Rubber Soul -> foobar asio4all -> usb -> aqvox -> dynahi -> hp-2 and it sounds wonderful. I haven't done any A/Bing with the Modwright because I just feel like listening to music right now.

I just realized that, for the first time since January, I'm listening to music on my rig without a single tube anywhere in the signal path.

Looks great, enjoy. FWIW it's an even better deal than I initially thought, since they charge extra for the black w/silver knobs version (for some odd reason).

Looks great, enjoy. FWIW it's an even better deal than I initially thought, since they charge extra for the black w/silver knobs version (for some odd reason).

Funny you say that, because the amp also came with a pair of black knobs and a black power button, wrapped up separately in the corner of the box. Also included for reasons unknown were not one but two 1/8in to 1/4in headphone connectors.

heresy! you should have at least 5. or, if you're philodox, 12+

hey, I'm not anti-tube! in fact I've got a snipe setup on some amperex JAN 7308s as we speak.

heresy! you should have at least 5. or, if you're philodox, 12+

Compensation ftw

Those adapters are for the headphone and microphone jacks, as it was originally designed to be a computer audio add-on or convenience, so I think they assumed a lot of people would have gear with 1/8" plugs, but they wanted to use 1/4" jacks to maintain the studio-ness of the unit.

Looks great, enjoy. FWIW it's an even better deal than I initially thought, since they charge extra for the black w/silver knobs version (for some odd reason).

'cause black is teh kewl.

You should give the black on black look a shot.

heresy! you should have at least 5. or, if you're philodox, 12+

hehe, well, there are 12 in the signal path [the 13th is a regulator tube]. So that is 6 per side... of course 4 of the 6 are dual triodes, so you could look at it as 10 per side.

Dual triodes don't count as two tubes, you silly willy.

Dual triodes don't count as two tubes, you silly willy.

But a tube with a single triode certainly counts as one tube... it is all a matter of perception.

In any case, there are 4 channels, so it would be more like 5 per channel than 10 per side. Each channel consists of one 27GB5 in triode mode, one 6BQ7A with both triodes in parallel and one 6GU7 with both triodes in parallel.

How dare you all threadjack MY new source thread!!

Postjack... fuckin dance trax yall

Some early impressions:

Something I have noticed tonight is that the aqvox is more "forward" then the modwright 999es. This works out very well for rock music. However, with classical piano, like the Brahms piano concerto I'm listening to right now, its like the piano keys are chiming BAM right up against my ear! Not that this is unpleasant at all, just different from the more remote way the 999es presents piano. Perhaps more simply, I think the soundstage is smaller on the Aqvox then the 999es.

The Aqvox is definitely the furthest thing from bright, which is wonderful. i h8 brite. I think it is this lack of brightness that brings the midrange out more, and I believe this is the "laid back" sound signature Iron Dreamer refers to in his excellent DAC/amp comparison review he did a short time ago.

Overall, the tidier soundstage and emphasis on (or appearance of an emphasis on) the midrange contributes to an additive synergistic effect with the HP2. At least this is what I'm guessing, as I haven't been able to take these cans off my head since the Aqvox came in two nights ago.

The aqvox has made the W5000 midrange heat much more tolerable. I listened to them for a straight three hours solid tonight at low to moderate volume through the Dynahi and experienced zero fatigue. This is good, I might end up keeping these cans.

Pretty much my impressions two posts above stand. Smaller soundstage then the 999es, but that smaller soundstage is filled with a very tidy laid back sound that is wholly realistic and natural, with none of the treble hardness that is forever present in the Sony. Its still digital, but it is a smooth digital. A hell of a fucking deal for $750. At that price point, I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a USB DAC.

But then again, I'm listening to an SACD on the 999es and it is magical. So as it stands now I have to keep both, at least until I get a great deal on a Cary CD 306.

if you get a Cary 306, make sure you get the second, more expensive version.

I've seen the msrp quoted as both $5,000 and $7,500, and this has always confused me. Is the latter this "expensive version" you are referring to? did this address some issues with the earlier version?

yeah, the first version, which was less expensive, had some TOC and transport issues. they fixed these problems and then jacked the price up.

so basically i can get an earlier, broken version for less, or i can pay more to get a working product.

hmm, as a consumer me no like this.

you think its hard trying to find a quality redbook player with a digital input? try finding one with SACD capability. its like the 306 is the only option. ah well this is all a far off purchase anyway.

after getting my Capitole, i have to say that i'm completely uninterested in SACD.

Really?!?!? Wow, that's telling.

there is always the Accuphase stack. after getting my Capitole, i have to say that i'm completely uninterested in SACD.

Feel the same way after getting my Opus 21. My Sony was an SACD modded unit, and I still sold it after hearing the Opus. Redbook can sound pretty darned good with the right gear.

yep. CD on the Capitole is light years ahead of SACD on the best SACD player i have owned, a stock Sony SCD-C555ES.

That's hardly a fair comparison

I agree that SACD is not necessary, but it sure is a bonus if done right. And it also depends on what one listens to. If one listens to a lot of jazz and/or classical, then the SACD format is really nice, since there is a pretty large catalog, and some of the modern DSD-direct classical recordings sound phenomenal.