new dac considerations (for computer transport)

[Nanoha]

All I have to say about Wavelength is that they have amazing engineers.

Haha, good luck with the hunt mjg!

[mjg]

Yeah the inputs are fairly limited I'm not totally sure why but I think he has some sort of hardcore proprietary processing on the usb that makes it sound the best.

Can always look on the used market. There's a used cosecant version 1 for 2150 or so on audiogon last time I looked.

I hear version 2 is significantly better though.

that review he had a link too was really interesting. The guy was comparing it to the reimyo players, I had no idea there were usb only dacs by design that could compete with 20 grand cd players heh.

[grawk]

that review he had a link too was really interesting. The guy was comparing it to the reimyo players, I had no idea there were usb only dacs by design that could compete with 20 grand cd players heh.

Take any review like that with a boulder of salt. EG. imod

[mjg]

im not ready to go buy anything, esp that expensive but I saw he had a dealer in NYC that had them. Wouldn't hurt to go down and check it out one day maybe.

[Icarium]

Yeah I mean I'm skeptical of that too... but I really don't find any flaws with the sound. But 20k Reimyo? that seems pushing it. I still stand by my stance that no matter how good the dac is. dac + cd player > dac + computer and depending on the cd player it could be superior to dac + computer....

Still if any company out of those I've heard could do it it might be Wavelength.

[philodox]

My modded Eastsound is better than the Reimyo... or at least that is what Christopher Walken told me in a dream last night.

[postjack]

You can pretty much pick any relatively popular source and find some article, somewhere, that says it is the best source ever that beats even $250,000 CD players.

For example, from a Positive Feedback review:

"The Sony DVP-NS 999ES CD/DVD/SACD player with Signature Truth modifications by ModWright is state of the art. There is no better-performing or more musical digital playback unit available today. More expensive and more flexible digital front ends are available, but the Modwright/Sony 999ES defines its category, and thrills the listener. Highest accuracy plus ultimate musicality equals state of the art in my book. The ModWright/Sony 999ES is that and more, with excellent DVD playback as a bonus. If you already own a 999ES, you are only $1300 away from digital perfection as it currently exists."

see, I own digital perfection.

[mjg]

My modded Eastsound is better than the Reimyo... or at least that is what Christopher Walken told me in a dream last night.

did he do a dance afterwards?

[n_maher]

Hmm. Where do i get a new one? What are my options?

Uh, as far as I know I've built the only one currently in use by jp#'s on head-fi. Not that it's incredibly complex, any DIY'er worth a poo can build a sigma11 set to output 12VDC/1A. FWIW John likes the sigma11 powered mini-dac more than the transporter.

[Salt Peanuts]

Speaking of mini-dac power supply, if you don't want to shell out for getting a sigma11 built, there's an Elpac ps you can buy that reportedly is noticeably better than the stock one. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try that option before I sold my mini-dac a while back.

[philodox]

No dance, unfortnately... He just did the whole creapy Dead Zone act and said, "The Reimyo sucks balls, keep the Eastsound." Then Lawrence Fishbourne came in, they both did a line of coke and left when they spotted that red haired guy from CSI watching them from a parked van.

[mjg]

Thanks guys, im 1100 poorer (so far haah).

i went and got a demo unit of a North Star m192 dac. I figured at worse I can get all of my money back, or more... and the reviews i read made it sound like worth a try atleast. The really cool thing about it is the is2 interface, I'm thinking of trying that is2 to usb converter thing I was reading about on the empiricle audio website. For now though, i'll see how spdif works out, so i can atleast tell if i like the sound of the dac or not. Since the dac was cheap enough, i can afford to hold on to both and compare them side to side. Pretty psyched about the acquisition.

[mjg]

yea i read alot of the stuff u and jpak said about it. I was wondering what u thought of the deal i got? It's supposed to be a mint demo unit...

[mjg]

hah yea, how'd u guess?

[tkam]

cause thats where he bought his

[postjack]

cool, grats on the new DAC!

[mjg]

thanks guys, having a raise in salary hasn't helped my audio spending one bit I guess. Would u guys say this is a vast upgrade from the minidac?

[mjg]

reks;

Did you try out the is2 interface at all? The transport they make looks pretty good too.

[grawk]

reks;

Did you try out the is2 interface at all? The transport they make looks pretty good too.

Ok, you've done that enough that I just have to correct you. It's i2s. Not is2.

[mjg]

whatever you say nad

[mjg]

reks, what did u use as a transport with it?

[deepak]

Thanks guys, im 1100 poorer (so far haah).

i went and got a demo unit of a North Star m192 dac. I figured at worse I can get all of my money back, or more... and the reviews i read made it sound like worth a try atleast. The really cool thing about it is the is2 interface, I'm thinking of trying that is2 to usb converter thing I was reading about on the empiricle audio website. For now though, i'll see how spdif works out, so i can atleast tell if i like the sound of the dac or not. Since the dac was cheap enough, i can afford to hold on to both and compare them side to side. Pretty psyched about the acquisition.

It is nice DAC, high five

[deepak]

I compared the DAC1 side by side with the DA10, preferred the DA10.

I later compared the DA10 side by side with the M192, and the M192 was better by a looong shot, I sold the DA10 in a week. It was definitely a very big source upgrade. I would only upgrade the Northstar if I really needed a source with a built in preamp, which I might if my K1000/Avantgardes get a nice pair of monoblocks. But more than likely the lowly headphone setup will stay seperate from the speakers.

[mjg]

wow so the dac is here already. I'm listening with the meta42 i got my dad for now, my extreme should hopefully be here next week. All i can say is, so far i really like it. Very smooth, yet forward sound that goes great with grados. Very articulate, open sound. I ordered an emu 0404 off ebay that ill use for the transport for now, but right now Im using my motherboards spdif which is decent I suppose. I hope this one is a keeper, gonna let it break in while Im waiting on my amp.