Well, after some reading online with other DACs having the same issue, I swapped out the stock OPA627AU's with a spare LT1364 and the unit works fine. 

Quote: No standards? But where's the snob-appeal?

Quote: .. but I am infuriated by people who buy audio equipment below my personal standards.

Quote: Oh no, I wasn't attacking the producers at all. I was just making some vague commentary touching on the human condition and all that rot.

  Quote: Well said, and thanks for the clarification.

Quote: Exactly, and that's something to be frustrated with for sure. I don't think incessant exposure justifies the gross toleration of being manipulated my marketing techniques. If there's a reason to be annoyed with people, I think it would be that most us perpetuate this crappy...

Is it just me, or is there a serious case of misdirected hostility here? Are people really that upset/frustrated/disappointed at the consumers, or is it at the targeted marketing, exploitation, and sometimes outright lying by the companies selling the "lower quality" products?   If I were to...

  Quote: I don't understand what you mean by not "meant" for a university education. What should people recognize specifically?

  Quote:   Quote:   gsilver, that's absolutely right. Which is why it's necessary that longer runs require a lower gauge wire to compensate for signal attenuation. Back to basics.   BlackbeardBen, could it be possible that difference you heard was from the replacement of...

The technological limitations of the time were/are part of the experience.. Or that's what I was trying to convey, anyways.

For the sake of argument, let's assume sound reproduction accuracy is largely a measure of your success in satisfying an illusion of the original. Now, given the fact the most of have never heard a live studio recording of a favorite band and probably never will, the lower levels of this...

+1 Vote to Sticky forever.   Oh, and this: http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

On a positive note, and something seriously surprising, Cannibal Corpse sounds way better live than on their earlier albums. I could actually decipher the guttural secretions coming from Fisher's mic, and afterward he hung around and we talked about the concert, setup, etc. It was great.

Awesome, somebody noticed!

I guess picking a favorite instrument isn't far enough down the rabbit hole for me. I like technique and personal characteristics from the artists. It's like tube rolling, but for performers.