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New HeadRoom Micro Stack Arrived... - Page 10

post #136 of 148
6/14/05 at 11:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oski
My (and JiiEF's) posts were to suggest that the Micro DAC is potentially a great value as a stand alone DAC for home use. However you continue to focus on its portable use and indictment of portable audio (which I'm in complete agreement with, I don't want to carry all that gear around either). However what we are interested in is the Micro DAC's capabilities as a stand alone DAC in a home system. The Micro DAC uses the Cirrus CS4398 DAC which is their flagship part used in much more expensive CD players and has the potential to really outclass most mid-range CD player such as the NAD. One can essentially get the sound quality of a $1K+ CD player with a $300 device such as the Micro DAC by using an inexpensive CD player with a toslink out (portable or component size) as a transport connected to the Micro DAC to perform the digital to analog conversion into a home stereo system or home headphone setup.

And according to Lan, he preferred the Overture to a Benchmark DAC1 (a $1K DAC), which was Stereophile’s Product of the Year in 2004!



You have to understand that its diminutive size should not be construed as lacking in guts, and just because something is portable doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the ability to outperform similar home units as you seem to continue to insinuate. But I'll be able to perform my own comparisons later this week when I get my toslink cable and I'll compare against the 24 bit X-Ray CD player in my home stereo system.
I am interested to hear your result
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post #137 of 148
6/15/05 at 12:11am
Oski, I just wanted to share my point of view. I have not tried to turn the microDAC down by any means. I already mention how great does it sound, additionally Headroom is a hardest working company in the headphone world. If they put something out is because it performs very well.
What I've been trying to mean is that it just did not work for me because , instead of just buying the DAC, I would have to buy a portabe cd player with optical output also, and considering that I would not be using it portably....I rathered to get a good cd player as a source. Who knows, maybe the microdac beats my cd player's built in DAC, if so, I might consider it in the future, but right now I's very happy with my cd player and I'm looking forward to buying a pair of DT880 and a power supply for my XP7.

Additionally, I could clearly noticed that the NAD beat my Denon dvd player DVD1910, it was incredible to hear that in some complex passages the Denon sounded mushy and confused, on the other hand the NAD sounded excellent. No sybilance, it is very smooth and detailed at the same time, with an excellent punch in the bass department.

I had no idea there was a NAD cd player above the C542.......It is the C500....
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post #138 of 148
6/15/05 at 12:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariowar
Oski, I just wanted to share my point of view. I have not tried to turn the microDAC down by any means...but right now I's very happy with my cd player and I'm looking forward to buying a pair of DT880 and a power supply for my XP7.
Understood Mariowar, but I was just trying to clarify my point and did not mean to put down the NAD player either. Congrats on the new source and glad that it's working out very well for you. As for the DT 880 and the XP7, you'll get no arguments from me, both great choices!
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post #139 of 148
6/15/05 at 12:23am

Flagship?

Wow, I just found this: http://www.cirrus.com/en/press/releases/P344.html

The Cirrus Logic CS4398 was launched more than two years ago and according the press note it is not a flagship DAC by any means. it is a cost effective DAC focused on consumer and professional applications. Price $ 4.32 per unit ( 10.000 units). The press note does not mention any focus on audiophile devices, so I doubt this DAC is in thousands of dollars cd players.

With this I don't want to mean that it doesn't do its job, it does it VERY well, but if you think you are getting an audiophile DAC, worth of players of KKK, forget about it.
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post #140 of 148
6/15/05 at 12:39am
If you read other things on their site and look at the specs, it's their highest rated one and it is their flagship DAC chip.

You can use this chip in a cheap or expensive priced unit. It's final performance is dictated by the implementation of course.
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post #141 of 148
6/15/05 at 1:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariowar
The press note does not mention any focus on audiophile devices, so I doubt this DAC is in thousands of dollars cd players.
The very first sentence of the press release:

"Targeting high-end consumer and professional audio applications, Cirrus Logic Inc. (Nasdaq: CRUS), has introduced one of the industry’s highest-performing, cost-effective digital-to-analog converters (DACs), the CS4398, which heightens analog performance and defines a new standard for sound quality."

Translation:

"High-end" = Expensive electronics (typically)

"Highest-performing" and "new standard for sound quality" = Benchmark level performance


Here's brochure where the headline for the product is "Flagship Stereo DAC":

http://www.cirrus.com/en/pubs/brochu...o_Brochure.pdf


This DAC is used in the Marantz DV9500 Universal DVD (retail price of $2,099)
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post #142 of 148
6/15/05 at 1:40am
Thread Starter 
mariowar:

The NAD 542 uses the same Burr-Brown Sigma-Delta 24 bit DAC chip that's in my 541i . It's also in the 540, 520, and many other CD players.

These chips can be purchased for next to nothing as well. The design implementation of the DAC chip and the surrounding electronics are equally as important as the chip itself.
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post #143 of 148
6/15/05 at 2:24am
Well, so the analog output stage is what it counts when you have two players with the same DAC?
That's why I wanted nice cd player.
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post #144 of 148
6/15/05 at 7:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oski
Understood Mariowar, but I was just trying to clarify my point and did not mean to put down the NAD player either. Congrats on the new source and glad that it's working out very well for you. As for the DT 880 and the XP7, you'll get no arguments from me, both great choices!
You also did a rather good job of clarifying mine. Thanks for that

/JF
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post #145 of 148
6/15/05 at 7:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariowar
Well, so the analog output stage is what it counts when you have two players with the same DAC?
That's why I wanted nice cd player.
TBH, this thread is starting to sound a lot like you're just trying to justify your CDP purchase. I have a NAD, I love it, I want a micro dac for my computer setup and possible comparisons to the NAD. Can we just return to waiting for some kind of in-depth review of the micro stack, please?

/JF
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post #146 of 148
7/18/05 at 10:12am
I'll be ordering as soon as I am officially a conributing member.
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post #147 of 148
7/18/05 at 4:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ken36
I'll be ordering as soon as I am officially a conributing member.
Great news, Ken. Are you getting the stack, or the amp alone?

Either way, your gonna' love it!...

Please share some of your impressions when it/they arrive.

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post #148 of 148
7/18/05 at 5:11pm
Outsanding thread, thanks.
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