August 20, 200916 yr I like to learn new words! Well, I see the Ultracurve (aka DEQ2496) just as a toy with lots of possibilities and is an easy recommendation at its price. But if you use your computer as a source there are many totally free options to experiment with frequency response 'touch'. Off course I agree with Antonio most DACs measure ruler flat say to 16-18kHz, but if someone -like Monkey did- thinks there is 'something' in its sources freq resp, he needs to 'play' a bit with this and see the effect by itself. And this is why I put the craptacular Behringer into the eq...ation Yep, in this I agree with Josep. As a toy to learn how changing frequency response alters our music perception, the Ultracurve is funny. Even for speaker listening in very complicated rooms having big modes which you can't control by placement and room treatments, it is also more than funny, can become a cheap solution. With some trade offs, but everything in life has them. However in Monkey's case, I don't think the differences he notices among his DACs are frequency response related. Most DACs have the same frequency response curves with slight variations which alone won't explain how different we perceive their sound. Two of the areas where I find most of the differences are bass response (more in the bass quality: impact, body, texture, coherence, integration, etc) and voices rendition. Most DACs measure the very same from 20Hz to 8KHz, however some are very distinguishable -the Benchmark DAC-1 for instance-. I still have to find what measurable parameter has a correlation with the sound. These are its measurements as published by Stereophile. I can't see there what makes it so recognizable compared to others
August 20, 200916 yr I'm a huge DEQ2496 fan so I will not waste your time gushing. The free stuff that is software based works well too but to be honest once you get a calibrated measurement mic for $100 you're set with a pretty damn amazing setup for under $500. As far as audible differences between DACs I am coming to believe that the majority of it is in phase space not amplitude. In the case of the Benchmark DAC1 I think it's somewhere in the IMD that make stuff seem too bright. I can ABx out a DAC1 mastered track pretty easily using the samples from the Mytek Website: MYTEK DIGITAL USA Also in the DAC1 price range I would take the Mytek Stereo96 over the benchmark. I have done single blind between the Mytek, BC DAC3, DEQ2496, and Weiss DAC2 and to be honest I could never nail down any difference. I did not have my switcher when I had the DAC1 but I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to pick it out as long as I have a track with enough distortion. On a well recorded track I'm not so sure.
August 20, 200916 yr Most DACs measure the very same from 20Hz to 8KHz, however some are very distinguishable -the Benchmark DAC-1 for instance-. I still have to find what measurable parameter has a correlation with the sound. These are its measurements as published by Stereophile. I can't see there what makes it so recognizable compared to others If you are around home these days we must meet Antonio, and I will bring my Benchmark (with its single but relevant mod)...
October 13, 200916 yr Can we just simplify the question by deleting the last six words in your question?
October 13, 200916 yr deweet. Still love mine. I would recommend you try the DAC out as well but using it just in the digital domain is sweet Edited October 13, 200916 yr by Dreadhead
October 13, 200916 yr I can't believe I bought a Parasound D/AC 1000. We need an updated list. WTF don't you own at this point? I could have sworn you already had a Parasound...
October 13, 200916 yr Author No, I just said I was going to buy one about 1000 times. I don't anticipate owning it for long, but I think it will be helpful to me because so many others have owned some flavor of the Parasound DACs that it will help me establish a point of reference. In other words, I wanted it.
October 13, 200916 yr No, I just said I was going to buy one about 1000 times. I don't anticipate owning it for long, but I think it will be helpful to me because so many others have owned some flavor of the Parasound DACs that it will help me establish a point of reference. In other words, I wanted it. Haha. I bet you'll keep it and start selling some of your other sources.
October 13, 200916 yr In other words, I wanted it. I'm hardly one to talk, I'll have a post in the what you bought thread later today.
October 13, 200916 yr I could send you the Aragon for a PCM63 party with the Parasound. I think we should just have a little vintage DAC table in NYC, no?
October 24, 200916 yr Author I've been listening to the D/AC 1000. A very satisfying sound. Lots of mids, plenty of bass. Some congestion, too. And a relatively close soundstage. Great bang for the buck. The Dodson is better, IMO, but I see why people love the Parasound DACs.
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