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DAC only Pico prototype impressions


tyrion

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This is pretty much the first time I've had a chance to spend any quality time with the Pico DAC prototype that Justin was kind enough to send me since I've been out of town all weekend. My system in transition at the moment so I only have the Duet as my headphone amp and won't have me monoblock back for my speaker rig until Wednesday. At the moment I'm using the mini out of the Pico for my 650's with the Pico connected usb to my Mac Mini. I'm using the volume control of itunes to control the Pico. I realize this isn't the optimum set up but it's the best I can do until later in the week when my speaker rig is back in action.

I have to say that Pico sounds great. I switch between it and the Duet, switching between the two dacs in system preferences and the Pico is every bit as good as the Duet and perhaps a bit better in detail retrieval. This is just preliminary and I will do a lot more listening but I am pretty impressed with the sq so far. Especially considering that it's using the volume control of the Mac Mini without an external amplifier.

That is it for the moment.

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I have my speaker rig up and running. The Duet's output is higher than the Pico so using a sound level meter I and a Cardas Burn In Sweep I was able to volume match by lower the output of the Duet. I've spent about the last hours listening to about 4 or 5 tunes over and over again. They include Alison Krauss Let Me Touch You For A While, Lucky One. Miles Davis So What. Albert King/SRV Call It Stormy Monday, Pride and Joy.

My preliminary conclusion is that those of us that own Duets are going to have a tough time deciding whether one is better than the other. I haven't picked out any real differences between the two but it's only been an hour. I would find it difficult to believe that anyone that owns a Duet would walk away from a comparison saying the Duet is the better dac. They both do everything so well, especially keeping my toes tapping. I have more listening to do and maybe my opinion will change over time as I get used to the Pico but for now, my hats off to Justin.

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Don't get all uppity just cause you picked a crappy laptop. n_maher-albums-smileys-picture171-nutkick.gif

I don't care much about PC vs Mac, but it would be great if they would do another commercial based on that emoticon. ;D

Excellent idea Ken, glad to see my favorite emoticon is finally getting some respect :D

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The amp that was just returned and died again. I'm sending both monos back. He's going to build a new amp for me to replace the one that went bad and upgrade the other. I hope to have a replacement while they are gone so I can continue to evaluate the Pico.

Having heard the SRD-7 mkii now for a few hours, I hope the KGSS DX is as good.

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The amp that was just returned and died again. I'm sending both monos back. He's going to build a new amp for me to replace the one that went bad and upgrade the other. I hope to have a replacement while they are gone so I can continue to evaluate the Pico.

Having heard the SRD-7 mkii now for a few hours, I hope the KGSS DX is as good.

What the fuck, Mike. Did you buy those things new? Sorry for the hassle but it is big of you to stick with them.

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What the fuck, Mike. Did you buy those things new? Sorry for the hassle but it is big of you to stick with them.

They were new. I've had them for 5 months and this was the first issue. He apologized and said he should have ran it longer before sending it back. The turnaround was just under 2 weeks, considering some others, that's not too bad. He is a good guy...so far.

I am picking up an amp from Oz this afternoon so I am good to go.

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