I see I was mistaken. Thank you for the explanation. This is interesting. So it is not the dac that is being bombarded but rather the clock in the pc. With this bombarding in the pc, would it be possible for the clock to produce extra errors or maybe I should say noise on the clock? I...

  And yet isn't it ironic that to this day some of the best sounding dacs date back to the 90's?  By the way, I never said anything about a cd player being good at jitter. I never even said anything about jitter to begin with so I'm not sure where you conjured that up. Back to dac talk. Weren't...

  It is a matter of perspective. I view your Marantz as an SACD player that is capable of playing cd's. Other's may view it as a cd player, but that is not its greatest strength. As far as the differences go, the transport mech would be the main difference. SACD spins at a higher speed than...

  I should also apologize and clarify I'm talking about used gear which had an msrp of $1k and can now be had for a fraction of that. Let's keep things simple and just talk pure redbook. I'm curious, have you tried any mid-fi cd players used by itself, not as a transport. And have you compared...

  I do not own a laptop. But for that comparison, why limit yourself to a cd player? Why not use a high quality cd transport instead?

  I have no experience with SACD so I can't say anything for sure. You mention having coax in on the player. Are you using the macbook pro as transport into the player and comparing that to the player used by itself? I remember reading that the even the NA-11S1 is lacking in redbook playback...

  Your post is confusing. Where did I mention anything about SACD? That is not what I'm talking about here.     Computers aren't made for the sole purpose of reproducing music, that is a fact. They are a rat's nest of noise. It has always been my opinion that a mid-fi cd player will sound...

+1

You're right it's not the rule. There are always exceptions. For example, a $10k music server should beat out a $1k cd player. I can't remember many people raving about the PWT and I've never heard a setup with one so I can't comment. However, you stated "you don't hear all the dreaded nasties...

  IMO a computer is a horrible source or even transport period. It's just not made for that purpose in mind (laptops are even worse yet). In a typical pc, you've got the cpu and gpu emitting frequencies in the ghz with no shielding in sight. The wiring going to the front panel usb port is...

  Can't agree at all. I find it interesting how people who prefer the Levinson sound find the mbl to sound colored. Your comments seriously make me wonder if you had something setup wrong or if you had a faulty unit. You'll not find one review of anything from mbl reflecting those comments. In...

  Sadly, no I haven't came across any other delta sigma dacs that have similar characteristics as R2R dacs in that price range. The only other that springs to mind is DCS Elgar but they are a bit more than $3k used. Then again I'm not sure if their ring dac would qualify as a delta sigma...

  As good as the Theta Gen Va was, it was soundly beat by an mbl 1511D (which is a Delta Sigma design) in my setup. I highly recommend an audition of an mbl if you get a chance. It certainly changed my thoughts on Delta Sigma dacs. Not only that but it sadly destroyed even my vinyl setup. Just...

The Steeplechase gets my vote. But if you look around you can probably find a used Paradesea which will be cheaper than the Steeplechase. Whatever you decide on, you can always experiment with different tubes as well.

They usually cut a lot of corners in receiver dacs. Judging from the design of the others, I'd say they would all sound about the same.

  You really can't just judge a dac chip. You have to take into account the entire design of the dac itself. For example; Audio Note took a unique approach with filterless NOS dacs. Mbl has some unbelievably incredible Delta Sigma dacs, DCS processes the digital signal to the moon and back with...

A couple hundred more than the Pagoda. As far as sound, I can't say since I have not heard the Pagoda. From a design perspective, the AN wins by a mile. I do know the AN is an absolute giant killer in every sense. I have yet to come across another dac that can render itself indistinguishable...

  Fully assembled kits can be purchased. But there's not only the AN, there are some extremely good vintage dacs/cd players that can be had for around the same price or even less as well. The Paradisea was known to be a bargain at the time of its inception, the Havana was a step above and still...

I'm appalled at the prices of MHDT stuff these days. For that price it better sound good! For a little more, you could get an Audio Note Dac Kit 2.1. I know from experience the Audio Note will lay waste to some dacs costing as much as 5 figures. In any case enjoy your purchase.

I'll chime in. A musical and relaxed dac that doesn't sound smoothed over and cost under a grand? That's a tall order. IMO You're better off hunting down some vintage dacs. I own a Pink Triangle turntable with Accuphase cart which I have always held in high regards as a benchmark for any dac I...

Quote: I think I can see why. Horns definitely need to be associated with rich and laid back sounding gear due to their physical composition and high efficiency. I can imagine it would be quite overbearing with the mbl dac.

Quote: That's interesting. The 1611F is quite the step up from the 1511D I had. I can't say I remember it sounding thin at all but then again I was using B&K separates at the time which gave it a warm sound. I remember the presentation being very vivid. Maybe it was the ideal match. Do...

Quote: Just wondering, have you ever owned any from mbl? I owned an mbl 1511D and that was very close to live music. I'm wondering how it would compare to the Dac kit 3.1 sig. I would say the mbl 1511D and my current AN are easily the best dacs I ever owned.

Quote:   I'm still around. Mostly trying to piece together the rest of my system. Welcome to the world of NOS   Quote:   Sounds like the AN is right up your alley. I have the DAC kit 2.1B and it made a good match with the Raysonic tube integrated I used to own as well as the...

Quote:   I agree, though I wouldn't say the the Audio Note has a rolled off top end. More like an even tonal balance with no spotlighting. In my AN dac detail is there in spades, it's just not emphasized and calling attention to itself.