Price drop!
Now $740 plus fees for Head-Fi members initiating contact through PM.
A few words about the Lavry...I recently experimented with the Cambridge DACMagic. While a nice DAC for the money, for a little more than twice the amount of money (but still well under $1K), you get a DAC that provides much more of the soul of the music. Body, smoothness and that 'almost live' feeling are very much present here (no, you'll never get 'live').
On just the basis of the DAC alone I'd choose the Lavry (the Cambridge is already in the happy hands of its new owner). However, the Lavry also adds a superb headphone amp, volume control (so you don't need a preamp), and a couple of nifty features. As many folks pay upward of $400 just for a nice head amp, this would be a no-brainer in my book.
To anticipate the question - why then am I selling? I am not much of a headphone listener - too antsy to sit in one place. I sold my nice cans a while ago. Recently, I upped myself to the Lyngdorf TDAI2200, which is basically a 'power DAC' that can drive speakers. It is very good, and at $7K it better be, but I still had a hard time deciding between its DAC and the Lavry. I ultimately opted for the minimalism of the TDAI - no more interconnects, one power cord for everything from the DAC onwards, etc.
Give yourself a treat and take the Lavry for a spin. I am a compulsive gear changer and small components like this usually don't last more than a month or two in my system before I move on. The Lavry I've owned for over a year and it took a product from a completely different design and price class to usurp it.
