so mike you just spent an estimated 250k on digital that is just getting started on the bottom of the curve lol. wow
Let's Get A Consensus Of The Best DAC's In The Market Today
- Thread starter Steve Williams
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i still have a few older cd players , if you want to get a glimps of how far we have gotten try some . even older dac ,s as well . while some do sound ok at first over time they seem to become offensive . an old denon flagaship sounds nice and smooth but soon makes me feel im missing the edges of music . some just scream at me lol, i think we have come a very long way in digital . but im not so sure how far we have to go much less will i continue to want to keep changing equipment like cars . im 65 now just got my swan song car a 2022 cadillac BW smurf blue too . it will be my last sports car no doubt . thinking of getting the new H dac to match my car swan theam , hell got arnies swan song speakers to match .
i dont know how far audio has come in the analog domain as its real with its warts . digital is fairly new and does evolve fast and i think mike has it corerct as he does most all times when he said its the combo dac server not just dac . this is where lampi like wadax does it right as a combo . i wonder why msb never did or does msb plan to unvail a new combo setup .
i dont know how far audio has come in the analog domain as its real with its warts . digital is fairly new and does evolve fast and i think mike has it corerct as he does most all times when he said its the combo dac server not just dac . this is where lampi like wadax does it right as a combo . i wonder why msb never did or does msb plan to unvail a new combo setup .
It’s less than that but still plenty…
As I listen more and more and optimize things maybe I’m pretty high on the curve of what is possible, and what digital can and should be.
I guess we jump ahead 3-4 years and look back to judge. Right now feeling quite fulfilled and excited to listen every day. And don’t want my sessions to end. So it’s delivering on its promise to my ears.
Happy you are enjoying the Wadax.
What's also interesting to me is that the Rossini Apex now exceeds or equals the non-Apex Vivaldi. So the learning from mega-DACs continues to trickle down into more affordable DACs.
This hobby is partly rewarding because there is always innovation and new tech to learn about.
A very natural DAC is built into the Marantz SA-10 SACD player which is no oversampling and the DAC is direct out. This unit has tone, color, and really deep bass, and reproduction of piano and the human voice is just so right and real sounding, plus it plays my 1,500 CD collection and counting. I grew up on vinyl, I don't miss vinyl which is in my DNA as well as tube gear. I no longer care to use either. But nothing against them either, I just not fond either nor needed to enjoy my music, and definitely no need of screaming, in fact, my dealers keep pushing it and I keep saying sorry, my CD's sound much better, then I bring in my SA-10 and say hook it up and let's play songs on streaming and the same songs on my player, all say well, in this case, it does sound better, no in most cases it sound s better, but the streaming fad is hip and if I was new into this hobby I guess I will be streaming also because that is all I know.
In the end cd vs. Vinyl gets into the mastering of each, vinyl is not better because for every turntable, mat, and cartridge the sound is changed and sometimes night and day, and in the end, like always it is the sound you like that you keep in vinyl.
But accurate no way, too many colorations from the arm to mat and setup and how well it's done. CD is more pure and uncolored and even top to bottom which is why my days in vinyl I did not like it at first, that was until I took a Sony SA7es home and a/b it against my Linn TT, and started buying CDs from that point on in 1992 and like early vinyl, as the years marched on CD reproduction got better like I say a phonograph from the 1930s to the turntable in the 1950s and recordings through that same time got better, and CD-like vinyl had the same improvements. In fact some of my early sounds really great, with no overuse of compression like they use today on all formats.
When the sales magazines of TAS and Stereophile, say compared to early CDs/ Digital this vinyl or stream sounds better, BS, the key is they say early CD, they are bought and sold by advertisers they set the trends to support the manufacture of their small groups of players, sick of them talking about the same brands for the most part over and over and over. Plus they compare a $5,000 power conditioner to their cheap power strip and say man is that better, well it should be, going right off the wall would be better, give me a break Time to move on from those magazines. How do they own $100,000 turntables and gear writing reviews? They must make a good buck writing...LOL!
In the end cd vs. Vinyl gets into the mastering of each, vinyl is not better because for every turntable, mat, and cartridge the sound is changed and sometimes night and day, and in the end, like always it is the sound you like that you keep in vinyl.
But accurate no way, too many colorations from the arm to mat and setup and how well it's done. CD is more pure and uncolored and even top to bottom which is why my days in vinyl I did not like it at first, that was until I took a Sony SA7es home and a/b it against my Linn TT, and started buying CDs from that point on in 1992 and like early vinyl, as the years marched on CD reproduction got better like I say a phonograph from the 1930s to the turntable in the 1950s and recordings through that same time got better, and CD-like vinyl had the same improvements. In fact some of my early sounds really great, with no overuse of compression like they use today on all formats.
When the sales magazines of TAS and Stereophile, say compared to early CDs/ Digital this vinyl or stream sounds better, BS, the key is they say early CD, they are bought and sold by advertisers they set the trends to support the manufacture of their small groups of players, sick of them talking about the same brands for the most part over and over and over. Plus they compare a $5,000 power conditioner to their cheap power strip and say man is that better, well it should be, going right off the wall would be better, give me a break Time to move on from those magazines. How do they own $100,000 turntables and gear writing reviews? They must make a good buck writing...LOL!
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Of course there's a subjective best at any point in time, past, present and obviously more bests at points in time in the future. And this applies to any technology - audio components, cars, refridgerators, etc.
And there is no universal best way to move from DAC to DAC; your supposition is based on simplicity and a budget. If you can afford the best DAC (again it's all subjective) then you likely have no budget so sticking with a singular brand limits your prospective best choices.
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I remember one of the now late members here, Roysen, was assembling 3 different SOTA systems. On his digital, for each system, he had different SOTA systems for redbook vs high res based on his own personal experience in listening (ie, 6 different digital systems). I think he was using MBL1621 or Zanden for redbook, and then Playback, DCS or some others for hi-res. He said he found that SACD, etc sounded 'best' in his experience from players with that format foremost in mind, and same for redbook.
I find the Mola Mola interesting. DACs typically use some kind of "intermediate" format internally. Mola mola and PS Directstream are the only ones that I know of which use some form of Pulse-density modulation (PDM) as their intermediate format. Mola Mola use Pulse width modulation which is form of PDM. PDM is especially how DSD/SACD works as FYI. Most other DACs I am aware of use some kind of PCM format as their intermediate format. In any case, I know the Mola Mola measures extremely well but the fact it uses a PDM intermediate format is what makes this DAC interesting to me.
mytek has been used in studios yet I truly dislike there dacs for playback.
Msb also makes ADC and I do like there dacs.
there was a thread here I think on how much does it effect the playback sound on the ADC used
I think not much
there is a lot more that matters in the totality of what the cd sounds like
Msb also makes ADC and I do like there dacs.
there was a thread here I think on how much does it effect the playback sound on the ADC used
I think not much
there is a lot more that matters in the totality of what the cd sounds like
Interesting, did you compare the Merason to other DACs before purchasing?There is very little talk here about the Merason Dac-1. I am of course biased since I own one since almost a month. This one
just sounds tonally correct and musical. Just love it
If yes, to which ones?
Thanks
Matt
No I could not hear it before buying. Maybe very stupid to buy something unheard but unfortuneately that is how I have to do. Reading up alot of reviews. It replaced my internal DAC card in my Vinnie Rossi amp. As the VR amp is 6sn7 tubes in the preamp stage the DAC also benefits from this tubes. Sounding very organic and detailed all what one likes with tubes. Going for the Merason dac without tubes was a bit interesting for me. One objective was to compare the more speedy presentation and detailed lowend of solid state against the sound I got from my VR DAC. I was not dissappointed because the Merason did both according to my SQ preferences. I appreciate how they think regarding design of the unit. I am merely using 16/44 files and are not very interested in upsampling DACs. This one does its job really good.
Try to listen to it if you have the possibility.
Just a question:
Did you listen by chance to the new Lejonklou Källa streamer/DAC?
Thanks
Matt
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