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See the full review here, as part of a mini-meet report:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/co...1/#post4515237
I have to say that the Apogee mini-DAC is probably my most important piece of audio gear in my home. As my primary source it forms the foundation of everything I hear, and as they say, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". With the Apogee mini-DAC (or the Duet), one doesn't have to worry about what they are feeding their amp and headphones - if there is something that sounds wrong, the problem is likely your program material, the interconnects, amp or headphones.
For the past few weeks I have been feeding my Macbook optical into the Apogee more frequently, and then sending the audio on to feed my Stax SRM-1 Mk2 Pro stat amp and maxed out Woo WA6 dynamic amp (and now my Woo GES stat amp). My Pico and Predator have been seeing less and less use as a laptop DAC (unless I am traveling), and more use hooked up only to iPods. With a simple flip of the switch, I can listen to my Marantz CD Player via Coax, without disconnecting the Macbook or iRiver H140 from Optical. I have the Apogee's XLR-out set up as a pre-amp out and controlled by the volume knob (which goes to 11 I might add), and configured this way the mini-DAC also does a remarkable job driving my HD600 in balanced mode with an APureSound V3 cable.
So, when the opportunity came up to compare the mini-DAC to Blutarsky's Duet, I jumped on the opportunity. I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about, because I really haven't much that is negative about the Duet at all. See the results of the mini-DAC vs Duet comparo in the thread linked above, and feel free to post there, or here with your experiences.
The Apogee Duet Appreciation Thread can be found here: Apogee Duet DAC ROCKS!
And here is a great Apogee mini-DAC review, which at the end goes on to re-evaluate the initial review while using better interconnects: apogeedac
I hate to say this, but when I travel I am going to want an Apogee Duet with me, so now after I finish paying to upgrade my GES I have to come up with the greenbacks to get a Duet. I highly suspect that in the future I will be selling a Pico to get the funds. We'll see...
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/co...1/#post4515237
I have to say that the Apogee mini-DAC is probably my most important piece of audio gear in my home. As my primary source it forms the foundation of everything I hear, and as they say, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". With the Apogee mini-DAC (or the Duet), one doesn't have to worry about what they are feeding their amp and headphones - if there is something that sounds wrong, the problem is likely your program material, the interconnects, amp or headphones.
For the past few weeks I have been feeding my Macbook optical into the Apogee more frequently, and then sending the audio on to feed my Stax SRM-1 Mk2 Pro stat amp and maxed out Woo WA6 dynamic amp (and now my Woo GES stat amp). My Pico and Predator have been seeing less and less use as a laptop DAC (unless I am traveling), and more use hooked up only to iPods. With a simple flip of the switch, I can listen to my Marantz CD Player via Coax, without disconnecting the Macbook or iRiver H140 from Optical. I have the Apogee's XLR-out set up as a pre-amp out and controlled by the volume knob (which goes to 11 I might add), and configured this way the mini-DAC also does a remarkable job driving my HD600 in balanced mode with an APureSound V3 cable.
So, when the opportunity came up to compare the mini-DAC to Blutarsky's Duet, I jumped on the opportunity. I wanted to hear what all the fuss was about, because I really haven't much that is negative about the Duet at all. See the results of the mini-DAC vs Duet comparo in the thread linked above, and feel free to post there, or here with your experiences.
The Apogee Duet Appreciation Thread can be found here: Apogee Duet DAC ROCKS!
And here is a great Apogee mini-DAC review, which at the end goes on to re-evaluate the initial review while using better interconnects: apogeedac
I hate to say this, but when I travel I am going to want an Apogee Duet with me, so now after I finish paying to upgrade my GES I have to come up with the greenbacks to get a Duet. I highly suspect that in the future I will be selling a Pico to get the funds. We'll see...