Lynx Hilo - new offering from Pro Audio company.

http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=59

Looks like they're talking up the fact that it has both A/D and D/A converters.  Might be an all-in-one solution for people with vinyl and digital rigs.

"Available in the second half of 2011, the US suggested retail price is expected to be $2495."

Back:

I think that USB module is sold separately:

http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=58

I don't see any mention of what D/A and A/D chips it uses.

usb input card is included.

Estimated shipping late Summer 2011 

I have been listening to a Hilo for the past couple of days.  (An engineer friend of mine loaned me his.  It's nice to have generous friends!)  In short, the Hilo is the best-sounding DAC I have heard in my home system.  As points of reference, I just sold my Lavry DA-10 to make room for an Anedio D2, and the Hilo is in another league.  Not to diss the Lavry; it provided me with two years of great sound and listening pleasure. And Lavry support is second to none. But the Hilo is something else again.  I have also had in my system a variety of Musical Fidelity DACs, a Ben Duncan DaX, and compared my Lavry to my friend's Dangerous Dac.  In my opinion, the Hilo trumps them all.  Now it's got more stuff built in than I want or need including an A to D converter and a 32 channel mixer.  And it's more expensive than I intended to spend on my next DAC, but if the Anedio D2 does not match it in sound, I will bite the bullet and buy the Hilo.

Cycler2, I read that you were going to A/B the Lynx Hilo and Anedio D2 and was wondering where that comparison came out?   I have a Metric Halo LIO-8 presently and am trying to assess what might beat in sonically on a two channel basis.  I am encouraged by how well the Hilo fared in the DAC Loopback test.

Thanks for your perspective.  It is so hard to find people who have A/B'ed the litany of top performing DACs out there in the marketplace.  Also, have you ever heard the Mytek DSD 192 stereo DAC?  It seems to get excellent marks from various folks.

Earflappin,

Sorry to be so long with this reply.  Life seems to interfere with my hobbies!

To my ears, the Lynx Hilo was far superior to the Anedio D2.  In fact the Hilo was the best DAC I've heard in my system.  I wish I could justify spending $2500 on the Hilo, but that's not possible.  The D2 just did not work in my system and I returned it.  (Kudos to Anedio for being so gracious about my return.  Their customer service is second to none.) For what it's worth, I preferred my Lavry DA-10 to the Anedio D2.  I know that view differs from others on this board, so I may be in the minority. So I'm back in the market for a DAC.  I'm waiting to hear the Dangerous Music "The Source," which is supposed to be available in June.  

Rich

Almost forgot; I've never heard the Mytek, but I've read some glowing reviews of it on pro audio web sites.