96db was difficult to understand ?

It does not mater what you feed this thing its dynamic range is listed as 96db ! that is 16 bits not 24 bits what happens to the other 8 bits ?

Not that it matters as 16bits is good enough but describing it as 24 bits is misleading, rather like saying that an LP was made from a master with a 120db dynamic range

If you really think 24 bits gives you anything worthwhile this unit does not , according to its specs deliver 24 bits !

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I'm curious. Have you heard one? If so, how much time have you spent with the DACtilus?

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I have not heard one and I have spent no time with one and I have made no statements at all about its subjective sound quality.

I am merely stating that this device does not have 24 bit resolution !, if it did its dynamic range would be 144db. To describe it as having 24 bit resolution is just plain inaccurate, that is all.

For those folks who believe that resolution as defined by bit-depth makes any difference whatsoever (I am not one of them) this is not a 24 bit device, it may accept 24 bits but my Entech also accepts 24 bits but does not have 24 bit resolution (~18 bits as it happens) , not that I care , I only ever feed it 16 bits. The DACtilus may accept 24 bits but is loses an awful lot of them.

Thanks for the quick reply, Nick. I appreciate that and your observations.

Please don't take my question as attacking you as it really was not intended as such.

We're good.

I've heard that the best way to keep stores like Ultimate Electronics or the late Circuit City from selling you useless crap is to see if the salesperson can hear the difference blind. If the salesperson can't discern which cable is Monster and which is generic, clearly you don't need Monster. (Don't take this to mean that I think all cables are equal, it is just a consumer-level analogy.)

I'm not suggesting that DACtilus would perform the same as a consumer level product, but this hobby is all about the sound. Dan, since you have a Heed DACtilus at your home, maybe you could be a resource in this. Do you have other DACs as well? Do you have anyone that could assist you in a blind listening test based on material and a system that you know well?

Does anyone else have access to a DACtilus that could provide some opinions?

Being a dealer... I have access to several CD players using different means to get you "there" and other DACs as well. Not to mention the body of digital stuff I've dealt with being in the industry as a retailer back when CD players were just coming out.

Acoustic memory is, in fact, fleeting. But when you know certain pieces intimately from working around them on a daily basis, you get a good handle on things.

Look, the DACtilus, like the CanAmp and their phono stage the Quasar, are not necessarily the "last word" among products like them. But they do, in my opinion, represent an very good buy. As I've said all along, the Heed components have a lot of heart and punch their weight against other components that one could spend a great deal more money on and not necessarily come away with significantly better.

Is there better? No doubt. There is certainly different and the two should not be confused but are certainly valid as a matter of personal preference or ability to be of a compliment in making a system that has a certain synergy to it.

As for the cable comment, we've done many demos here, and group listening tests comparing them, including the relevance of power cables - especially on amps, and all brought something different to the table.

System matching can seem a black art - but blind purchases based solely on specifications has potential for folly.

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I like my Dactilus very much. Previously I had MHDT Paradisea, which was also very nice, though a bit too fatiguing for me (it was very, I mean very susceptible to any recording faults). Dactilus is a very fine, detailed, slightly warmish, though with good PRAT. It pairs with CanAmp and K701 really well.

I wonder if adding Q-PSU has a significant effect on the sound quality. It's not very expensive, bur since I cannot find any faults in Dactilus sound, I'm not sure if it's worth buying.

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I would encourage you to try the Q-PSU from your dealer. Either bring your stuff in to use with his demo or see if you can make some arrangement with him to audition one at home.
The US distributor has been to the Heed factory on several occasions an decided from his listening experiences while there, that he'd only bring them in to the US with the upgraded power supply. The Quasar, Dactilus, the Luna preamp and even their Obelisk integrated amp all benefit from the bigger external power supplies (in the case of the Obelisk, it starts out with a really nice internal power supply but the Obelisk X2 power supply really ups its game).
Anyway, if you ever get the curiosity for it, check it out and see for yourself. I'd like to think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Dan

Good information. Keep it coming.

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The problem is that Polish Heed dealer is.. ekhm, not very professional. I buy my Heed equipment in the UK (though it's a bit more expensive, buy at least I have this priceless certainty that if my orders will be shipped in time) and therefore demoing stuff at home is rather difficult. I think that I will buy the power supply in January, maybe it will be locally available by the time. I am very sceptical about all these "nigh and day" changes, but let's hope there is at least some improvement

One more thing that puzzles me - on some photo I saw that Dactilus LED was orange (if I remember correctly) - it made a nice combination with blue LED in CanAmp and green (if I remember correctly) in the PSU. Mine Dactilus has a blue LED and therefore I wonder if Q-PSU has now also a blue one?

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The Dactilus, Q-Psu and CanAmp that I have here currently all have blue LED's.

Mine as well but when my Dactilus has signal lock its light is green.

is there anyone around that can post some impressions on dactilus? i'm thinking of buying one

I have a DACtilus DAC 1.2 (24/192) card in my Heed Si Amp power by Heed X2 Power Supply quite a balanced polite sound but not was as powerful as Fiio D3 @ £25 however a bit more refined than the Fiio which sounds a bit more rukus.I like both depending on the recording music type alternate between.I have herd that the BiFrost is a better DAC altogether doubles up as a USB - Spdif Converter or DAC. http://schiit.com (£286 with USB) so I hear from other Heed users  the heed DAC Card lacks punch. you have to have very good recordings to and cable make use of it,like a Oyaide DR-510 75 Ohms pure 5N cable, otherwise a bit mellow dull sounding,my starlight 6 coax didn't seen to help in that respect,dunno about the stand alone version you mention but uses the same 1.2 DAC card I guess !!
 
I wouldn't recommend a DACtilus DAC though, it came in my amp part of a deal so I'm happy because I paid half the RRP for it. forget the 1.1 Version not so good at all really.
 
 
DACtilus DAC 1.2 (24/192) is a nice warn sounding DAC but will as I said draw a lot of power in an SI.

Some late breaking news from Heed that I think applies to this thread as well, is their introduction of a new headphone amplifier called the Canalot which also uses the Q-PSU external power supply and like the Obelisk Si, has the ability to be fitted with the optional Dactilus DAC card v 1.2!
I've posed a bit about it in the CanAmp group thread here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/192190/heed-canamp/2745#post_8407510
 
Have a great day everyone!
 
Dan