n_maher

The balanced MAX creates a differential signal regardless of digital input (coax, usb, or optical). Nope, that's the entire balanced MAX DAC module right there. Quite the technological achievement to get it on that small a space really.

It was 9 deg F when I left this morning for work.

That's a friggen scary thought right there.

My DAC has twice as much stuff (balanced vs. single ended). Otherwise, as far as the DAC is concerned I believe that they are identical (MAX DAC architecture). Of course the power supply that feeds mine is overkill to a degree that is laughable, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm not buying anything for the rest of the day. Today is my company dinner, where my boss takes us out for dinner and pays for everything. Good food and scotch here we come.

Don't forget a bit of this and a bit of that along with a dab of whatever you call it.

For single ended cables I usuall connect them at the source end only. For balanced cables I've tried source-end and both, with no difference (in my rig). But for the most part I follow the industry standard of source side only.

My technical opinions about the Dr.'s amps are largely derived from conversations that I've had with a good friend who has intimate knowledge of the designs (he's built and heard all of them). I freely admit on these forums I'm no designer and have limited abilities so I don't feel at all qualified to speak about the latest iteration. If the HD200 is as Earl says and is an evolution of the custom amp he had built it should sound great and seems to be getting back to the baseline of what Mapletree used to do. But then he went and threw the fracken ridiculous magic eye tubes in there. It takes a gorgeous amp and makes it a gimmick and I'm sorry to say I can't get past that.

The Ear+ Purist HD is really the only one that I'd recommend buying. The newer versions all don't sit well with me from a design standpoint and the + Purist has received enough universal acclaim that I think you'd be able to flip it effectively. But heck, if you've got a EC/SS loaner it seems like a moot point unless the loan won't bridge the whole gap.

Ryan, Have you ever heard a Mapletree Ear? That amp might fit into a similar price range (especially used) and has been reported to sound good by many people. I can only comment on the modified Ear that I heard, which sounded fantastic.

This is exactly what I do and I actually run a piece of shield up to each connector, not just one.

No, mea culpa, missed the USB input. Still, for $1100 I can think of a few other DAC's that I'd prefer to own although that comes with the qualifier that I don't need or want USB input on my DAC's.

I'll be around other pretty much any weekend I think. Unfortunately it looks like all I'll be able to provide is some interesting source options. And Haj, I hadn't seen the update on your Ipod situation, glad they took care of you even if it took a while.

That's absurdly over-priced, I almost bought the same DAC last year for $650 (and yes it was the .24) and I've seen several others in the $800 range.

Finished up a mini-rca last night. It started life as a single run of 24ga silver wire from HGA, was handed braided into this: And was then covered in nylon multifilament and terminated with a Neutrik 1/8" plug and Pro-fi RCA's.

If I was in your shoes I'd be looking on the used market not new. If you're pretty sure that you're going to end up with a different amp anyway then why shell out full price and take a hit later? You'd stand a much better chance of at least coming close to breaking even with used gear. And heck, there's a used '6' for sale on HF right now for under $500 and includes some tubes for rolling.

Zach, It has both SE and balanced outputs, the male XLRs in the middle of the two sets of RCAs. Everything to the left of the line out label is an output (see the internal wiring for proof).

Take a picture of the back panel, damnit!

Evidently my college days did more damage than I thought, no memory of this.

Having nothing to explain is easier than having something to explain.

I know my personal headphone threshold has pretty much been reached with the W5ks, hell it took a pretty unique circumstance to bring them to me in the first place.

I've already got one pair on their way to me (W5000) and my wallet sure as hell can't take another pair of ~$600 headphones. And Jay, you may well be right about another headphone taking the place of the W5000 eventually, but simultaneous A/T's is not going to happen so it'll have to be a different pair of VTGs should that day come. For now I'm just planning on giving the W5ks a fair and thorough evaluation.

[me=Vince]does not need more headphones, repeat, I do not need more headphones![/me]