[minimus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif also, I found this in a search:

Linuxworks, you are clearly more highly evolved when it comes to technical matters than I am, since I could only understand the first sentence of your last post, but thanks anyway for the effort.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herandu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I designed a commercial unit like that about three years ago. Look up Thor HDMI selector. Didn't get a cent in royalties though. Got made redundant instead.

hdc100 - is that the one?

I have a similar unit I got from ebay as a close-out ('psyclone'). maybe that one is even based on yours! best buy used to sell this for $200 or more. quite expensive considering what is inside

sorry about the redundant part. been there myself ;(

 

[ffrr]

Mytek Stereo 96. well less than 1000, stellar sound quality, no frills, ... just amazing sound.
I had the lavry , benchmark, grace, emm, apogee and mytek at various stages. at the time, I could have purchased any one of them, but went with the Mytek for multiple reasons, the biggest being that I loved the combination of clarity and "euphonics". the benchmark was , to my ears, very, very harsh, as was the grace. Lavry was better, but the Mytek had all the frequencies in spades, but with no trace of harshness. just beautiful, clean sound.
two SPDIF(coax), one optical/toslink and one AES input.
www.mytekdigital.com

comparisons with some very high end products Here

Quote:

Originally Posted by minimus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am trying to find a DAC with multiple digital inputs for less than ~$1500. I am aware of only two options: the Benchmark DAC1 and the Peachtree Decco (which also functions as a speaker amp). The Benchmark seems to get mixed reviews for SQ/musicality, with some loving it and others really underwhelmed by it. The Decco doesn't get much press. It supposedly sounds good but seems to have some quality control and reliability issues. I know that Bel Canto makes a multiple input DAC but it is outside my budget. Does anyone know of other multiple digital input DACs in my price range? I am looking for something that is "musical-sounding" (not harsh or fatigueing), reasonably affordable, and reliable (the holy grail.) Ideally, I am looking for three digital inputs -- one for a universal DVD player, one for a digital cable box, and one for a Wadia iTransport. Ideally, I want the input selector (dial, toggle...) to be on the front of the unit rather than the back, since the back of the unit will be hard to access.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by minimus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am trying to find a DAC with multiple digital inputs for less than ~$1500. ... Does anyone know of other multiple digital input DACs in my price range? I am looking for something that is "musical-sounding" (not harsh or fatigueing), reasonably affordable, and reliable (the holy grail.) Ideally, I am looking for three digital inputs. ... I want the input selector (dial, toggle...) to be on the front of the unit rather than the back, since the back of the unit will be hard to access.

how about this: the gamma1 dac allows 2 inputs, stock. I think its not hard to add 1 or 2 more inputs since the chip (cs8416) supports more inputs directly. there could be a small board for just the additional inputs and the switch would be a rotary 3 position switch (I think).

that can be done. for WAY less than $1k.

I'm actually working on a digital switch (in the background) that might also provide digital inputs to a single digital output - but its actually easy to update a gamma1 dac and just add more inputs.

or even the noodle-dac from ebay. that thing uses the same 8416 and so it can also take a bunch of extra inputs, right on the chip. real simple to add just extra toslinks or coax inputs and have a switch to choose which one is active.

do you need it to be prebuilt or is a DIY ok with you? if DIY, then there's lots of ways for way less than $1k.

 

[Herandu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm actually working on a digital switch (in the background) that might also provide digital inputs to a single digital output - but its actually easy to update a gamma1 dac and just add more inputs.

Very good idea. If it comes off, maybe you can put it in the projects DIY section. I am sure a lot of people would be interested. Right now I am using several pieces of the Beresford DAC just to be able to handle a wide range of switching requirements, but a far cheaper switched I/O only box would be a far cheaper solution. I am thinking about things like 5.1 etc., which can't be handled by a DAC as far as I know.