[fierce_freak]

I'm sure I don't know nearly all there is to know as far as tube distortions, so my comment may not be worth much. This is one great big learning experience ;D

 

[music_man]

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=digital&m=126982 , just as i said. it is subjective. i can sit here and say "i think" that the presonus is better than lavry gold too. if i think it is then it is to me. take these reviews with a grain of salt. or the reviewers ears. not necessarily everyones ears. or your own for that matter. do you really think any company could sell dacs for $4,000++ if one for $599 beat out every one of them?

i still want to know if the cs is better than the channel islands. thats fair game. whatever substantial(unweighted) claims have been made about the channel islands stuff have also been made about the cs. right here in fact. it's what you and i hear not what someone else does. good thing for 30 day trial i guess then. i may just go use it.

about tubes, what i said is not some new ground breaking theory i proposed.
this is pretty well known amongst engineers. you cannot hear the distortion?
the distortion "is" what makes them so desirable. maybe some people don't want to admit what they enjoy has less than perfect specs on paper?
that pretty, warm, colored sound is in fact due to distortion. no, it is not due to distortion. it is distortion! the tubes add much more than what is coming from the source. they were designed when vinyl was in vogue and went well at the time with the pops and clicks. it just so happens that many audiophiles continue to covet them today. as do they vinyl. i happen to like tubes and vinyl so i am just stating some facts not bashing them.

anyways, i don't mean to start an argument. these are my own opinions. take them as you will. they are certainly not written in stone. if i thought a cmoy was better than single power for instance, who is to tell me? now, if i write a review to that effect please keep in mind the subjectivity. ten people will agree and ten will laugh.
not everyone likes the cs either mind you all. i do though. a lot.

music_man

 

[fierce_freak]

Yeah, I completely understand what you're saying and also quite agree with you. Each person's ears need to take precedence over anything they read about their gear.

Have you thought anymore about the zapfilter in the cs? I'm going to make a post over in the DIY section later today with pics asking for recommendations on modding the CS. I'm keeping your suggestions of replacing power supply caps and diodes with similar spec but better quality parts in mind.

 

[music_man]

did you start a thread about modding the cs? i don't see it yet.

i think the zapfilter is a good idea. i just don't have time right now. it will not fit inside the cs so it will be a long job. maybe even go hybrid. with a tube somewhere. you would have to remove some of the analog stage or it is going to get to dark i'd think. a lot can be done. the case has no room though. i might put it into a larger case from another rack item one day.

i think if do a few hundred dollars of mods the thing might be reference level equipment. of course that means good work. it could also end up sounding rotten.

normally mods make subtle improvements. unless something is designed poorly. all that is really sub par in the cs is part of the psu. once that is fixed the cs is going up against $1000 dacs and $800 headamps. fixing the power issue makes a huge change. right out of the box the cs is worth more than $400. shh. we all know that.

please try not to ask me what i did. i cannot take mine apart now. it is hard to get apart as it is. just find the junk caps,resistors and diode. replace them with the same value audio quality parts.

music_man

 

[robm321]

No argument Music_man, I trust your opinion is genuine - just throwing out an apossing view since I ran across it. I don't buy that the $4K dacs get beat as the review states. I think maybe he just likes the sound and price. I'm loving my Cary 308T for redbook and modded Sony XA777ES for SACD, but I would sure like to have 1 player like the Sony and a DAC instead of 2 different players. So, I keep reading and maybe one day will try some of these out. The Sony makes an excellent transport.

 

[fierce_freak]

Yeah, it is a pain to crack open. I haven't posted the thread yet, but plan to today when I get to work (the pics I plan to post are there). I do plan on sprucing up the power supply section, but I'd like to see what else I can do and if it might even be worth it.

 

[music_man]

the benchmark sounds a lot better than i originally thought. you have to get used to it. the cs is more "fun" but the benchmark is much more accurate and true to the source. the cs adds a lot that does not exist on the source.

if you take the time to get used to the benchmarks headamp you will hear stuff you cannot with the cs. the cs is easier to listen to though. certainly worth having both. i'd say the benchmark is more like the grace. that doesnt surprise me since both are made for monitoring pro audio. they are trying to present what is on the recording as is. without adding or subtracting anything. i think presonus just built a product to a price point. it just happens to sound good. it is actually it's flaws that make it sound good. i mentioned this before.

music_man

 

[chesebert]

After a week with Presonus CS, I came to the conclusion that the DAC easily compares to CDP in the $1k range maybe $1.5K. The bass is excellent, certainly comparable to Saturn. The one area I find CS lacking a bit is the soundstage, as in front to back and top to bottom space, not as well defined as Saturn. The timber is not accurate, not in a bad way; much of the note took a nice 'tubeish' bloom. The top end extension is not as effortless and therefore the notes lacked a little 'you are there'ness. Overall a very good DAC indeed.

IMO this player will not embarrass itself if put against CDP up to $1.5K. What a bargain!!!

I am feeding it with EMU1212 spdif and the power condition is the UPC200 from PS Audio. All my thoughts are from driving Ayre AX7e via balanced input...oh you just know Ayre luv balanced connections

I can't comment on the headamp since I didn't have anything to reference too, but it sounded decent to me (>PPA probably >= M3, def NOT as good as Dynahi, all going from memory here...I can probably make some comparison to B52..but I hate to rely on my meet impressions... so no comment on the headamp

 

[music_man]

please say what you think compared to b52. if it is even close thats amazing.

i have had many headamps and dacs. i have tried quite a few lately. between the cs and dac1 i don't see why i need anything else.

the dac1 "plays it as it is" the cs "plays nice". i just don't think you can get both types of sound from the same component. it is not possible if you think about it. so i have two boxes that do either type of the most sought after sounds nicely. maybe not the best but i am done for a while at least.

i don't even really feel the need to buy any more headphones any time soon.
i am going to spend my time listening for once.

sure, you can do better but big time diminishing returns are going to kick in. i think if you were to own a dac1 with balanced 650's and a cs with 701's you have it all for the most part. plus you didn't have to apologize to your wallet more than once

music_man

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif please say what you think compared to b52. if it is even close thats amazing. i have had many headamps and dacs. i have tried quite a few lately. between the cs and dac1 i don't see why i need anything else. the dac1 "plays it as it is" the cs "plays nice". i just don't think you can get both types of sound from the same component. it is not possible if you think about it. so i have two boxes that do either type of the most sought after sounds nicely. maybe not the best but i am done for a while at least. i don't even really feel the need to buy any more headphones any time soon. i am going to spend my time listening for once. sure, you can do better but big time diminishing returns are going to kick in. i think if you were to own a dac1 with balanced 650's and a cs with 701's you have it all for the most part. plus you didn't have to apologize to your wallet more than once music_man

I sure will not compare CS to B52......mostly because I am not confident about the meet condition (yeah I was the one turning up the stereo rig..

).