swt61 Posted May 30, 2008 Report Posted May 30, 2008 So the sickness is sucking me in yet again, and I've sold my beloved Opus DAC to try a Buffalo. I haven't heard a Buffalo, but why should that stop me from ripping the heart of my system out and taking a blind chance on the Buffalo? There are of coarse a few members I trust that have the Buffalo already, and their brief impressions are quite positive. However a little reassurance never hurt, so tell me about the Buffalo guys and gals. How many have heard it?
swt61 Posted May 30, 2008 Author Report Posted May 30, 2008 Well that depends. This build will most likely include their Uber controller with LED panel, custom faceplate and backplate from FPE, AES3, Coaxial, Toslink and USB digital inputs, and IIRC dual pairs of balanced and SE analog outputs. Probably looking at $1000.00
n_maher Posted May 30, 2008 Report Posted May 30, 2008 Steve, Last I knew there was no ETA on the uber controller, has that changed? Heck, they've been out of stock of Joshua Tree boards for months now and I just checked the DIY Audio thread and there's no ETA, just "soon". Here's to hoping you aren't without a source for too long!
swt61 Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Posted May 31, 2008 Steve, Last I knew there was no ETA on the uber controller, has that changed? Heck, they've been out of stock of Joshua Tree boards for months now and I just checked the DIY Audio thread and there's no ETA, just "soon". Here's to hoping you aren't without a source for too long! I don't have a concrete answer, except to say that the builder of my Buffalo (naamanf) just told me recently that it looks as thought the Uber will be out in time for our Buffalo builds. I'm not sure where his info came from, but he may be privy to top secret, armed services, highly classified TPA intel. Or you could just ask him.
luvdunhill Posted May 31, 2008 Report Posted May 31, 2008 I've heard the same, as I'm getting closer to deciding how the MPX3 will work into a current buffer (F4) for driving speakers. If it doesn't work, I will grab the controller as well and start looking for a preamp project. I talked to Russ about 2-3 weeks ago about it, for what that's worth.
Guest sacd lover Posted May 31, 2008 Report Posted May 31, 2008 So the sickness is sucking me in yet again, and I've sold my beloved Opus DAC to try a Buffalo. I haven't heard a Buffalo, but why should that stop me from ripping the heart of my system out and taking a blind chance on the Buffalo? There are of coarse a few members I trust that have the Buffalo already, and their brief impressions are quite positive. However a little reassurance never hurt, so tell me about the Buffalo guys and gals. How many have heard it? Being the one who gobbles up swt's orphan dac's once his upgradeitis hits, I am interested in opinons too. I absolutely love his old Zhalou D2.0C and I am eagerly anticipating his Opus .... could a Buffalo dac be in sacd's future someday when the next premium dac comes on the scene?
naamanf Posted May 31, 2008 Report Posted May 31, 2008 It looks like they are on their second test board of the Uber controller which they should have in a week or so. They are going to have a CS8614 MUX that has 1 AES input and 3 SPDIF with I2S and SPDIF output. All the inputs and outputs will be transformer coupled. Can either be switched with the Uber or a rotary switch. I'm excited. As for the Buffalo I am very impressed. A couple things jump out at me between it and the Opus/COD. It seems to be much more 3D. Instruments now have much greater depth and layering. Another is how basses sound, both electric and acoustic. They just sound amazingly resolved. Tonally it sounds very good but maybe a bit hot on the top end. Need to do some more listening to decide. Crap what am I saying. These suck. Don't buy them. If you see them for sale let me know so I can purchase them and take them off the street (I'm trying swt61 )
n_maher Posted May 31, 2008 Report Posted May 31, 2008 I have this sinking suspicion that I'll be building one of these...
swt61 Posted May 31, 2008 Author Report Posted May 31, 2008 I'm totally stoked now! That is DAC porn for sure! Being the one who gobbles up swt's orphan dac's once his upgradeitis hits, I am interested in opinons too. I absolutely love his old Zhalou D2.0C and I am eagerly anticipating his Opus .... could a Buffalo dac be in sacd's future someday when the next premium dac comes on the scene? LOL! That's always a possibility, but let's hope it's a while down the road. These frequent upgrades are killing me.
fierce_freak Posted May 31, 2008 Report Posted May 31, 2008 I have this sinking suspicion that I'll be building one of these... you will...the buffalo owns my panties
Dusty Chalk Posted May 31, 2008 Report Posted May 31, 2008 you will...the buffalo owns my panties QF...Oh, I don't know, just because it's a great expression.
fierce_freak Posted June 1, 2008 Report Posted June 1, 2008 Haha, for sure. I've always been pretty fond of that expression (and have managed to let it slip out at inappropriate times, lol).
Beefy Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 This is mostly a cross post from Head-Fi...... but hopefully there are enough interested Head-Casers that won't see that, that this post won't make you all crack the shits I know that a whole heap of Buffalo boards were shipped over the weekend, and surely other Head-Casers got in on the act for this batch. I'm keen to show off the progress on my all-but-finished casework prior to the arrival of my gear, as well as hear back from what others are doing with their builds...... I went with the Buffalo, IVY and power supplies combo and I also bought an additional LCDPS to power all the accessories and LEDs. Key accessories are a TOSLINK module and an OTTO which will perform SPDIF switching. The OTTO will be controlled by a Bulgin latched switch on the front panel. The LEDs on the front panel will also be switched by the OTTO. Power comes in and is DPDT switched at the back by an all-in-one filtered and double fused IEC receptacle. The two transformers are 15VA 2x0-15V that are currently putting out 18.1 VAC unloaded. RCA jacks are from Neutrik, XLR connectors are from Amphenol. The case is a 1U rack mount from Altronics. The front and rear panels are aluminium, and the sides and base are very tough steel... drilling the base has been a very steep learning curve! The case feet are from Jaycar. Some pics: So speak up, Head-Case Buffalo builders...... let us all know what you've been up to!
n_maher Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 Why use an IEC with a built in switch when you've got another front panel mounted switch? I try to use as small an IEC as possible these days since it's always the most annoying hole to cut. And while you're at it, I'd switch all those back panel connectors for black units, but that's just my personal preference.
Beefy Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 Why use an IEC with a built in switch when you've got another front panel mounted switch? I try to use as small an IEC as possible these days since it's always the most annoying hole to cut. And while you're at it, I'd switch all those back panel connectors for black units, but that's just my personal preference. The front switch is for controlling the OTTO. Power is only switched from the IEC unit. Also, I didn't cut the hole for the IEC.... my lady friend works in an engineering department, and a hole like that costs me just two beers in their workshop Everything else I did myself with a Unibit. I would have gone with black connectors, but couldn't get them locally
Hopstretch Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 Forgive my clanking ignorance, but what are the input options for this build and can it be configured for balanced operation?
n_maher Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 Forgive my clanking ignorance, but what are the input options for this build and can it be configured for balanced operation?It can be configured with different modules to accept just about anything you can think of (coax, optical, usb, whatever) and yes, it'll do balanced straight out of the gate.
luvdunhill Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 Why use an IEC with a built in switch when you've got another front panel mounted switch? I try to use as small an IEC as possible these days since it's always the most annoying hole to cut. And while you're at it, I'd switch all those back panel connectors for black units, but that's just my personal preference. Nate, one good reason to use 2 switches is when you're using a non-latching switch, there is a transformer / psu that will still be always on. It's nice to be able to completely shut off the unit.
Beefy Posted August 5, 2008 Report Posted August 5, 2008 Forgive my clanking ignorance, but what are the input options for this build and can it be configured for balanced operation? What n_maher said. The Buffalo module itself can take SPDIF, PCM and DSD, and you can use any number of receivers, converters etc. to feed those signals. It outputs balanced audio natively, but needs an active I/V stage to achieve its full potential. The IVY that Twisted Pear supply does I/V and also balanced to unbalanced conversion, and can output both simultaneously.
Beefy Posted September 10, 2008 Report Posted September 10, 2008 More Buffalo modules for sale if anyone is interested: Buffalo Sales - News - Twisted Pear Audio Support
n_maher Posted September 10, 2008 Report Posted September 10, 2008 Interested, but broke. Not quite desperate enough to hear one to offer to build one for someone. Not quite.
PFKMan23 Posted September 10, 2008 Report Posted September 10, 2008 I feel like buying a kit just to have one.
n_maher Posted September 10, 2008 Report Posted September 10, 2008 Quite frankly I'll be shocked if the website survives the onslaught.
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