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Audio-Gd Master 7 - Discrete Fully Balanced DAC (PCM1704) - Page 6

post #76 of 456
10/1/12 at 7:08am

Because WM8805 is not as neutral as DIR9001.

 

You can order BNC instead of RCA for other SPDIF inputs though.

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post #77 of 456
10/1/12 at 9:10am

I think it's pretty cleaver to have different chips on different inputs.  And having an RCA in changed to BNC is only like $10 and doesn't cause a delay.  Though I'd think they use BNC standard on the higher data rate signals.
 

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post #78 of 456
10/6/12 at 5:09pm

I can verify that the ref-5 can play an non oversampled 24/192 input signal with no issues.
 

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post #79 of 456
10/7/12 at 7:35am

OK has anyone taken the plunge and have one of these ????

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post #80 of 456
10/7/12 at 5:26pm
  • Hi,
    I'm pretty new to this forum and i wanted to know if anyone has compared the Ref 7 to the Eximus DP1 or has an opinion as to which of the two sounds better. I'm guessing that this is going to be highly subjective but i would be thankful for any opinion.
    Cheers...Ane
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post #81 of 456
10/8/12 at 7:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by paradoxper View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by tme110 View Post

There's another reclocker, I don't remember the make or the exact issue but it had several outputs including AES.  The manufacture themselves stated that they would rate AES the lowest quality signal. Something like it needed to be buffered then converted to an AES signal or something...  I'm not sure how or why their implamentation would be different than others it sounds like though AES may be the best for long paths, it's not the best to have a signal converted into.
 

I2S can be directly connected to a DAC chip, so it does not have digital signal conversion like AES. But it really comes down to implementation.

 

It probably comes down to the quality of the transformers used. You could always upgrade them to Lundahl on both ends for better AES performance. 

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post #82 of 456
10/8/12 at 10:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by maguire View Post

OK has anyone taken the plunge and have one of these ????

2

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post #83 of 456
10/18/12 at 12:35pm

Just tossing it out - has anyone had the opportunity to listen to the W4S DAC2 and the Master 7?  Thoughts?   

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post #84 of 456
10/27/12 at 9:56pm
Hi all,
I'm intrigued by all of audio gd's options and am not sure i appreciate the differences between all of their hi end dacs.
My first thought is, given that you can add volume to all the audio gd dacs (right?) can you then use it as a pre amp as well and just hook up an amp?
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post #85 of 456
11/6/12 at 3:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by paradoxper View Post

I2S can be directly connected to a DAC chip, so it does not have digital signal conversion like AES. But it really comes down to implementation.

 

I2S can't be connected directly to a PCM1704.  It has to be converted to PCM,  typically like here with a FPGA.

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post #86 of 456
11/6/12 at 3:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by catfish View Post

 

I2S can't be connected directly to a PCM1704.  It has to be converted to PCM,  typically like here with a FPGA.


you are all kinds of wrong on that one duder...the 1704 is an old school chip design, it doesnt have any sort of spdif reciever built in

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post #87 of 456
11/12/12 at 6:05pm
Thread Starter 

Any more impressions of the Master 7? Particularly on the key differences in sound as compared to the Ref 7.1?

 

I'm tempted to upgrade from the Ref 7.1 to the Master 7 but would like to know if the Master 7 is indeed a clear step up from the Ref 7.1 and in what ways?  

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post #88 of 456
11/23/12 at 1:42pm

Well im surprised at the lack of input here....But I have it on good authority that at least 2 people I know own the Master 7 and they both feel its the best Dac Kingwa has produced....Its a work of art.....

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post #89 of 456
11/27/12 at 2:53pm
I got my Master 7 exactly 2 months ago. The last weeks I have been busy moving to a new house, so not much time for "listening". As with all Audio-gd stuff: don't listen to it after at least a few hundred hours of burn-in. So I let it play in the corner of my new listening room for a few weeks. I upgraded from a Ref.7 DAC.
After about 500 hours on my Master 7, this weekend I decided to A-B the DACs for a few hours. I listened through the HP and the speaker setup. Source was my PC via USB (WinAMP-ASIO) and my Transporter via AES-XLR digital out. Music was 16/44 to 24/192. My 42 years old ears could not distinguish any difference between them.
My guess is that this is as good as it gets (for my ears)...
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post #90 of 456
11/27/12 at 3:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenBau View Post

I got my Master 7 exactly 2 months ago. The last weeks I have been busy moving to a new house, so not much time for "listening". As with all Audio-gd stuff: don't listen to it after at least a few hundred hours of burn-in. So I let it play in the corner of my new listening room for a few weeks. I upgraded from a Ref.7 DAC.
After about 500 hours on my Master 7, this weekend I decided to A-B the DACs for a few hours. I listened through the HP and the speaker setup. Source was my PC via USB (WinAMP-ASIO) and my Transporter via AES-XLR digital out. Music was 16/44 to 24/192. My 42 years old ears could not distinguish any difference between them.
My guess is that this is as good as it gets (for my ears)...


To be honest, I'm not surprised. I think this particular DAC is limited by the transport, which is why I have invested more money into that than I have in the DAC.

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