[ooheadsoo]

I'm sure that this is a question that a lot of people would love to know, though the chances of one of us having both the piccolo dac and the emu 1212m on hand to A/B compare are slim.

Anyone have an opinion on this one? I've got a m-audio revo, as you can see in my sig. Aos has also just raised the price of the piccolo by $50 to $250, so the emu is now significantly cheaper. However, not having to deal with the hassle of having two soundcards in your system is a bonus.

If there's gonna be one at the next SoCal meet, be sure to let us know! The emu1212m is showing up there for sure

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

You would be using the Piccolo with your Revo, right?

Well, as much as I like the EMU sound (especially modded) I still the that external DAC's have the potential to do much better than an in-computer DAC. That said I'm not sure how good this particular DAC is. One guy in a new meet thread says it comapres well with a Meridian CDP, FWIW.

If the only EMU at the meet is mine, it will be hyper-modded out by that time, with mucho blackgates and new opamps, probably at least $120 worth of parts upgrades, so it may not be the best basis for comparison. However, with how hot these cards are getting of late, I wouldn't be suprised if more than one surfaces.

It would be nice to hear an AOS dac there, of course!

 

[Demolition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer That said I'm not sure how good this particular DAC is. One guy in a new meet thread says it comapres well with a Meridian CDP, FWIW.

Others at the meet (including me) thought that the Piccolo performed very well. I listened to various PCDPs with and without the Piccolo connected to a few amps (AOS PPA, HeadRoom Little, X-Can V3) through HD 650s (w/Equinox). In all cases, the Piccolo improved the sound quality markedly.

So, in general, I'd recommend the Piccolo. $250 seems very reasonable.

D.

 

[Watchdog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer One guy in a new meet thread says it comapres well with a Meridian CDP, FWIW.

That was me, but it wasn't the Piccolo DAC, but the slightly more expensive Ally DAC.

Keep in mind, that although I've been interested in audio for a long time. I don't spend the same amount of time in the hobby as the "hard-core" guys here and thus what I consider small differences in quality, might be considered significant by the "hard-core" group.

Hopefully guys like TrevorNetwork, Xtreme4099, and Steelblayde will voice their opinions on AOS's DACs. I do know that Trevor was pretty impressed with the IHP-120 feeding a Piccolo DAC going into the X-Can 3.

btw - The Meridian CDP in question was a 507.

Check out the thread in the member's lounge about our meet.

OT a bit - Iron Dreamer I'm looking to build a computer as an audio source and you seem to be one of the most knowledgeable guys in this area. I hope you can take the time to respond to my thread when I start it.

 

[Watchdog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer It would be nice to hear an AOS dac there, of course!

You guys should contact him about sending a DAC down. Shipping would be minimal, they're absolutely tiny.