T and A DAC 8

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Mechnutt

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The other day I was over at my friends house and heard his new T and A DAC-8 which replaced his Hugo Chord. He had it paired with his Magnepan 1.7's, AVA 400R amp and AVA FET Valve CF tube preamp using HQplayer as his source running at DSD512. I was stunned when I heard it. It made the Hugo sound midfi. The level of detail, resolution, texture and layering of the music was stunning. The sound stage was huge. There was just a hint of warmth with no digitis or glare what so ever. There where no noticeable sibilants. It was very analog sounding. We listened for 3 hours to all types of music.
 
The DAC8 is a good one for sure. It's the same DAC in the T+A PDP 3000HV which is an excellent digital hub.

It's kind of funny, I was talking about T+A for over two years and just now people are hearing how good it is. I guess the reviews help. :)
 
audiodoctor said:
As the Northeast dealer for T+A I must say you are so right! I have never heard a dac for that price range when feed a DSD 512 file perform that way. The sound stage opens up dramatically and you have a front to back image that can just sound spooky, and the difference between DSD 256 and 512 was very dramatic. I think PCM sounds very good but the real magic is at 512.

I wish more servers would offer up conversion, it would be so much easier then having to use a computer.


/QUOTE]


Yes, DSD512 is where it is at with this DAC. There was a big difference between 512 and 256 as you stated. The DAC has a real synergy with HQ Player. I wish my Luxman sounded that good with HQP and DSD. My friend is going to bring the T and A over to try in my system. I just may be in the market for one if it blows away the Luxman.
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Mechnutt said:
audiodoctor said:
As the Northeast dealer for T+A I must say you are so right! I have never heard a dac for that price range when feed a DSD 512 file perform that way. The sound stage opens up dramatically and you have a front to back image that can just sound spooky, and the difference between DSD 256 and 512 was very dramatic. I think PCM sounds very good but the real magic is at 512.

I wish more servers would offer up conversion, it would be so much easier then having to use a computer.


/QUOTE]


Yes, DSD512 is where it is at with this DAC. There was a big difference between 512 and 256 as you stated. The DAC has a real synergy with HQ Player. I wish my Luxman sounded that good with HQP and DSD. My friend is going to bring the T and A over to try in my system. I just may be in the market for one if it blows away the Luxman.
Click to expand...

The key is that you need the computing power to seamlessly upsample to DSD512.


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Mike said:
Mechnutt said:
The key is that you need the computing power to seamlessly upsample to DSD512.


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Click to expand...

An I-7 will do the job and a top of the line I-5 might.

My audio computer is a laptop with an I-7 6700HQ Skylake cpu and 16gb ram and an Nvidia 980m graphics card so I can do CUDA off loading with HQP. Even with CUDA turned off, it works seamlessly. It runs 2x DSD on HQP and upsamples without any hiccups in HQP and Bug Head. It should work with DSD512.

Speaking of Bug Head, if no one has tried versions 7.88 and 7.96 they are missing out. They are very analog, organic and natural sounding with a bit of warmth and really no hint of "digititis". They have a natural sound setting that is remarkable. If interested, PM me and I can drop box these versions to you.

I currently switch back and forth between BH and HQP. They each have their strengths.
Click to expand...
 
Mechnutt said:
Mike said:
An I-7 will do the job and a top of the line I-5 might.

My audio computer is a laptop with an I-7 6700HQ Skylake cpu and 16gb ram and an Nvidia 980m graphics card so I can do CUDA off loading with HQP. It runs 2x DSD on HQP and upsamples without any hiccups in HQP and Bug Head. It should work with DSD512.
Click to expand...

Perfect! I had to buy a new PC to get to 512!
Click to expand...
 
Mike said:
The DAC8 is a good one for sure. It's the same DAC in the T+A PDP 3000HV which is an excellent digital hub.

It's kind of funny, I was talking about T+A for over two years and just now people are hearing how good it is. I guess the reviews help. :)
Click to expand...

Mike,

I was just reading the TAS review of the PDP 3000HV. The review makes it sound like an amazing SACD player. Do you know how it compares to Esoteric?

Here's a link to the review:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ta-pdp-3000-hv-cdsacd-player-and-dac/
 
Mike said:
Both are excellent. Sonically, the T+A is a little more linear, but still very musical. The Esoteric has a touch of warmth.


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Thanks, Mike!

I know you carry T+A. Do you carry Esoteric as well?
 
Just ordered one of these from Mike. I can't wait to plug this in the Franco Serblin/ McIntosh chain. It will be replacing my beloved Oppo 105D Modwright.
 
Thanks, Paul! Just sold our IB2i speakers....enjoying the process of starting all over again...and Mike is the best in the business as far as I'm concerned.
 
I just bought a Lenovo yoga 910 laptop with a i7 7500u and 16GB but I'm not sure it will have the horsepower to deliver DSD512...HQ Player takes some serious juice! Where are y'all buying computers for this type of application. When I start to look at the systems w the high powered processors, they are all designed for gaming.

I have been reading all day about approaches to consider w the DAC8 DSD...I have gone to school but have so much more to learn. Good times!
 
bikeman71 said:
I ended up emailing with Andrew Gillis of Small Green Computer today. They have a solution that matches the T + A DAC/HQ Player use case perfectly:
https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/...roducts/sonictransporter-roon-server-hqplayer
Click to expand...


In order to do ALL rates up-sampled to DSD512 with ALL option choices in HQP the processor needs to be a i7 6700K speed or better. Note the K as there are three speed choices in the that processor line, the K being the top. Anything lesser and you might be able to do DSD512 but you will not be able to use all the options for filters and modulators in HQP. OR worse you will not be able to do DSD512.

So just make sure it is a K.

I hope that helps and you are in for a treat.
 
bikeman71 said:
I ended up emailing with Andrew Gillis of Small Green Computer today. They have a solution that matches the T + A DAC/HQ Player use case perfectly:
https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/...roducts/sonictransporter-roon-server-hqplayer
Click to expand...

"K" is the overclocking version of a particular processor. HQP by itself is not a killer. I can upsample to 512 in JRiver or HQP with a 4790K (-2 filters), however, when you add the ROON BLOATWARE, then you have an overload for anything less than the i7 6700K (as HifiAL said). I wish they hurry up and develop the 3rd party link for JRiver to control HQP. Then you have a very nice and relatively light interface to front for HQP. There is a workaround for this at CompAudiophile, but its not totally stable yet.
 
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