Best digital you've ever heard (to date)

Mike said:
Wow, three pages and no pissing contest. Amazing. No Monday Morning quarterback going on a rant that DAC A can't be as good as DAC B, because the designer screwed up when he put the USB port next to the AES/EBU port. No one saying DAC B can't be as good as DAC A because it doesn't measure as well.

Respecting others opinions. Such a novel idea. Frankly, my take away from this thread is this: I love my Lumin and so happy to read all the positive comments from others who love theirs too. Next, I need to audition the MSB products and finally, I need to keep an eye on AMR (they may have woken up from their multi-year hibernation).

Oh, and one more....the Cary digital products are real sleepers.
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Mike-We both know that simply isn't possible on some audio forums! A friend of mine has a Lumin and he loves it as well. He says it's one of the best audio purchases he has ever made.
 
Mike said:
Wow, three pages and no pissing contest. Amazing. No Monday Morning quarterback going on a rant that DAC A can't be as good as DAC B, because the designer screwed up when he put the USB port next to the AES/EBU port. No one saying DAC B can't be as good as DAC A because it doesn't measure as well.

Respecting others opinions. Such a novel idea. Frankly, my take away from this thread is this: I love my Lumin and so happy to read all the positive comments from others who love theirs too. Next, I need to audition the MSB products and finally, I need to keep an eye on AMR (they may have woken up from their multi-year hibernation).

Oh, and one more....the Cary digital products are real sleepers.
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Yes, they are. They all punch above their weight class.
 
So far best digital I personally have heard is my 3 box Bel Canto DAC3.7 fed by a custom C.A.P.S with an external linear power supply.

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It is very refreshing to to see people share experiences without attempting to void those of another. A rare thing on any forum!
 
Yoga said:
Hey buddy! It's only a loan for the time being - no purchase yet :¬)

It only has the basic USB module installed, although I've heard from another Analog owner that the Regen does wonders with it.

I wanted the Network Renderer for that reason - I2S too - but in the UK it's not available. In fact one of the dealers here said it's not even completed and released yet. Then I see people in the US owning and talking about its performance. Very confusing!
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Ah well, at least you'll get to hear it :) The Regen will likely add some of the benefits in isolation implemented in the new Quad USB... But still, my suggestion to try the SPDIF stands :)

As for the renderer, here's me holding one of the beauties:

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Let me know if you need help getting hold of one of these :)


cheers,
alex
 

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asiufy said:
Ah well, at least you'll get to hear it :) The Regen will likely add some of the benefits in isolation implemented in the new Quad USB... But still, my suggestion to try the SPDIF stands :)

As for the renderer, here's me holding one of the beauties <snip>
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I think it may only have the USB module installed. Unless spdif comes as standard, like RCA?

That's even more confusing, why on earth have I been told by a dealer that these things are not available! Madness.

I live in the UK Alex, thanks though! :¬)
 
Yoga,

There are no "standard" parts/modules on the Analog, it can be entirely configured by the user! So here's hoping that unit has RCA/SPDIF :)
 
asiufy said:
Yoga,

There are no "standard" parts/modules on the Analog, it can be entirely configured by the user! So here's hoping that unit has RCA/SPDIF :)
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XLR/RCA is hard wired is it not?

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Yoga said:
Yes indeed, it's those last few percentages that we raid our wallets for :¬)

Have you heard the Lumin A1/S1 by any chance? It sounded more analogue than the Analog to my ears, although a direct comparison soon will be far more accurate (going from memory).
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Ross, i haven't directly compared them but have had them in my system at the time. I did compare the Lumin /Aurender in my system & I prefered my Meitner dac & laptop at the time, but they were all close, more like maroon & crimson really
 
Can you imagine a DAC shootout between all the uber high priced DACs. It would probably be next to impossible to get them all in the same room. My top five to include in this shootout in no particular order would be MSB Select, Esoteric Grandioso, DCS Vivaldi, Soulution 760 and Trinity.

What would be your top five??

Ken
 
My top five would be MSB, dCS, Berkeley Audio Design, Soulution, too many for the last spot.
 
Alpinist said:
Can you imagine a DAC shootout between all the uber high priced DACs. It would probably be next to impossible to get them all in the same room. My top five to include in this shootout in no particular order would be MSB Select, Esoteric Grandioso, DCS Vivaldi, Soulution 760 and Trinity.

What would be your top five??

Ken
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I would probably have another DAC shootout for under $25,000. My top five to include in this shootout in no particular order would be the Lampizator Balanced Golden Gate, Berkeley Alpha Reference, Esoteric K-01X, DCS Rossini and MSB Signature DAC V.

What would be your top five for under $25,000??

Ken
 
Under $25K, nice idea. I've cheated a little, but hey ho :)

1) Berkley Alpha Reference
2) TAD DA1000
3) LH DaVinci
4) Gryphon Kalliope (sneaked that in)
5) Lampi GG
6) TotalDAC d1 dual (monoblocs with larger budget)
 
For me: Lampi GG/Trinity/Aries Cerat Kassandrai/Chord Dave/BADA Alpha Ref

Subs would be the MSB Select/CAD/TotalDac/Nagra HD/LH DaVinci.
 
It doesn't surprise me that the Berkeley Alpha Reference DAC is in so many peoples lists. It's superb for redbook and high res PCM.
 
Mike said:
It doesn't surprise me that the Berkeley Alpha Reference DAC is in so many peoples lists. It's superb for redbook and high res PCM.
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Berkley Alpha Reference + Lampi DSD would cover all bases rather well :¬)
 
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