I never imply things in my posts. It was just an observation about how conversations in threads about new products go. Indeed, I assumed, because there's a lot of "why can't a manufacturer just do x?" as if it's easy, and, not knowing your background, your post sounded a lot like what people...

That's what people do on Head-Fi, before the first impressions of a new product come out. As for engineering, I recommending reading all the Schiit Happened chapters to get an insight into manufacture. Then, please go and DIY a few amplifiers, and consider what it takes to put even a basic...

Like Nomax explained, it doesn't work that way at all. You are not paying for the physical parts, so much as you are the engineering. Removing, say, the marble would require re-engineering, and would increase the price, not lower it. And yes, the marble is an important part of the design.

I'm sure Rob loves being used for "appeal to authority" arguments. 😆 He can speak for himself anyway. He has specific objectives with his designs which he has stated repeatedly, including lengthy explanations of the science behind them. Indeed, the gross irony being that the Harman curve is an...

You're not going to debate, just post strawman arguments, and go on-and-on about snake oil? 😆 "Broken" would mean that a product doesn't function at all. The idea that something with higher than an approved amount of harmonic distortion is "broken" is propaganda, basically. You create an enemy...

Using NOS mode is best if you're going to be using digital filtering your transport, or only play back high-res files. It's not recommendable otherwise, as it will vastly increase distortion levels. That being said, here's a review I just posted of it.

The preference towards objective data when making purchases in this hobby is purely a subjective one. The real issue is that the entire hobby, for the end user, is subjective. If objective data doesn't improve a person's experience, or help them choose equipment relatively to what they will...

My bad -- I don't check their web site! Rob just posted a reply to some questions in the DAVE thread, so I thought I'd share it here.

It's full of people angry that they can't afford nice gear, combined with tribalism.

Given what he has said in the past, Rob could well be testing to see if the cables have any effect. If they don't, then he knows that he has succeeded in his design goals. It's the same for the power cable in the picture, which has a splitter allowing him to hook up a battery to compare with...

Indeed, what I said is pretty clear. I didn't at all suggest that it isn't Chord's responsibility. It's no different with Chord's DACs, which are designed by Rob Watts, who is under contract. If there's a problem with the design of one of Chord DACs, Chord has to have a third party, in this...

I didn't say it wasn't, just that they may not be able to offer an explanation publicly.

I can't say for sure, but as the software (and hardware) for the 2go are not made by Chord, it's possible that the issue is not actually with Chord, but a third party. I can't at all imagine that Chord are ignoring this, even if they aren't saying anything. Of course, if it is a contractural...

The good thing about doing that is, the DI 24 can always be used with whatever better Audio-gd DAC you end up getting.

Email Kingwa and ask him. He'll give you a straight answer.

The problem with this cable is, USB expects a 90 Ohm characteristic impedance from the plugs and cable. I can guarantee that a random braid is most definitely not going to be that, so this would be technically worse than something like an OEAudio cable that uses proper shielded USB cable. (My...

When was that from? I'm guessing over a decade ago? BTW, your signature is insanely long. 😀

Sell the DAC and upgrade to a better unit or units. The amplification is better with separates than it is with the integrated units, if you have the money and space for them.

Unfortunately I haven't been a moderator for some years now, and I stopped before the move to the current software, so I'm not sure what system they have set up.

I sympathise. I've thought about doing the same thing with a pair of headphones here that have failed electronics. I can understand why manufacturers have gone that route though. They probably can do as good as a regular studio DAC, with the added benefit of other features, which the ready...

Uhh, I was referring to a regular analog input that doesn't go through an ADC, if that wasn't extremely obvious.

You'd be better off using a DAVE to the analog inputs. A scaler of any kind can't fix the limitations of regular SD DACs.

The MacBook Pro tends to have a lack of gain. 99.3 dB is quite low, once you account for peaks in music that has a large dynamic range. Still, I agree the headphone out is pretty good. I've got a pair of MM500s in for review, and I'll include my impressions out of my MacBook Pro. So far, the...

I have a cable that was originally for connecting the Studio Six to speakers. I replaced the 6.3mm plug with a 4-pin XLR female plug, and use the cable with the Master 10.

I might have to try this. Not that I need to buy more tubes. 😆