I have heard the GG this year, in my Stax system with 009s and my custom Carbon amp, v my then resident Audio Note DAC 5. I have no DAC right now, well my lowly AMR. I am going for the Kassandra Ref II, seems like my cup of tea. The GG was nice, but not maybe right for me, I am hard into Redbook only, no interest in DSD. And I want to avoid expensive tubes etc if possible, though I like a tube DAC. I also don't want to get sucked into constant updates, not that that is really bad, it is just I want an end game DAC, no more spending or messing around with stuff. My Audio Note DAC 5 was very nice, but I am thinking things may have moved on in the digital world, though the 'old girl' still managed to kill off most newcomers.
Anyway, that is my story. Keep you posted, but Aries Cerat is doing some magical things and they are very creative and high end, and crucially to me, are expensive yes, but that is aligning with the performance on offer.
Hi Astro,
Were you ever able to audition any of the TotalDAC’s, or is your curiosity piqued by the reviews/word of mouth? One thing that has pulled me to the TotalDAC is the synergy between the D1 Server/Reclocker and the TotalDAC DAC lineup. Much of the new advancements in digital technology has been related to clocking and the intrinsic value of compatibility between various devices such as the Server/DAC. If you are planning on doing a fair amount of streaming I think this is something you should explore. I have had the Naim CD555 (pre-computer audio era), Aqua, and Chord DAVE in my system and have heard the GG enough times and have always found myself wanting more (or less). I was looking at the DAC 5 as an option before I decided to go TotalDAC, but the pricing is a bit out of reach for me. I am going to hold off on any more comments until after I get the DAC Seven and Reclocker, which should be within two weeks.
Holy cow guys you are not aloud to say these kinds of things on the internet.