[MacedonianHero]

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Did you have a marantz sa8004 before? i thought i saw it in your profile not too long ago but maybe i am mistaken. i ask because i have a chance to buy the sa7001 for 225 euro which is a steal. im on the fench as to whether i should go for it or not. even if i was not playing sacd it would still be a good source right?
 

 
I used it strictly as a CDP to feed my DAC, so I can't really comment on how it "sounds".
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DSD is an encoding, not a format. SACD is a physical format that uses DSD encoding. Traditionally, music is encoded using PCM (CDs, mp3s, flacs, etc). It is claimed that DSD to analog conversion sounds better than PCM to analog (I have not had a chance to listen via a DSD capable DAC). That's why DSD capable DACs have started showing up. There are tools to convert PCM files to DSD. 

My point was simply no one is using either physical SACDs or DSD encoding anymore. PCM to analog is pretty much everything out there. 

 

[OPR8R]

As much as I'd like something like DSD to catch on, it's hard to imagine.  If you use USB you might have more reasons to do the DSD upgrade though.

 

[Silent One]

Actually...
 
...there are boutique studios doing DSD recordings. Blue Coast Records, Channel Classics Records, and Cybele Records off the top of my head for now. Computer Audiophile even has some of the owners/presidents/engineers from the labels participating in the forums over there.
 
 
Add: The one thing that had me sitting down in a corner - trust me, I wasn't alone - was selection. Both SACD & DVD-A were pricey. And any of the discs I wanted to buy weren't offered. The few that were left me exhausted - another copy of the same thing I own for the Nth time?! Okay, if it's at the top of the list, but... 

 

[Silent One]

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As much as I'd like something like DSD to catch on, it's hard to imagine.  If you use USB you might have more reasons to do the DSD upgrade though.

 
I'm wondering if all the energy and resources being spent on DSD revival wouldn't be better served in another aspect of audio. You know, bigger 

Catfish to Deep-fry!

 

[preproman]

They still have a long way to go.

 

[OPR8R]

Quote:

Actually...
 
...there are boutique studios doing DSD recordings. Blue Coast Records, Channel Classics Records, and Cybele Records off the top of my head for now. Computer Audiophile even has some of the owners/presidents/engineers participating in the forums over there.

Yeah, I've picked up a couple songs from Blue Coast, and have seen a few albums on Channel Classics that look interesting.  Aside from a few classical recordings though, there isn't much out there (that I've seen) for which I'd be willing to pay $34/album.  I'll keep my fingers crossed though; we'll see where this ends up in a few years.

 

[Silent One]

I'm going to attempt to reshape my library with maybe 60% Digital, 20% Vinyl and 20% Reel-to-reel tape. I don't need a new DAC but I like to overall upgrade W4S did, sooooo... I'll set out some more empty Tea tins. 

 

[OPR8R]

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I'm going to attempt to reshape my library with maybe 60% Digital, 20% Vinyl and 20% Reel-to-reel tape. I don't need a new DAC but I like to overall upgrade W4S did, sooooo... I'll set out some more empty Tea tins. 

20% reel-to-reel?  I like your gumption.

 

[Silent One]

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20% reel-to-reel?  I like your gumption.

 

 On second thought, with the price of pre-recorded reels, maybe we'll revise downward to 10%.

 

[Junior mints]

I'm still a few pages behind, but was wondering how the dac-2 would pair with the lyr? I didn't know if I should upgrade my dac (Uber bifrost) or amp first? Any suggestions and/or comparisons of dac-2 and bifrost would be appreciated! Amp in mind is the taboo mkIII.

 

[hedphonz]

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I'm still a few pages behind, but was wondering how the dac-2 would pair with the lyr? I didn't know if I should upgrade my dac (Uber bifrost) or amp first? Any suggestions and/or comparisons of dac-2 and bifrost would be appreciated! Amp in mind is the taboo mkIII.

i have had the dac2 for over 2 -3 years and just bought the lyr last week - im still getting used to the sound and it has had only 20 hours use but so far I am very impressed. I also own the HD800's and the dac2/lyr combo has fleshed these out the best i have heard so far. The hd800's were really frustrating me as I found i was inclined to turn the volume up to try and get some bass and lushness - the lyr has shown me the hd800's do have this capability after all and for this alone it is worth the investment.
 
i have noticed for some tracks its a bit bright/sibilant on cymbals and vocals (from the lyr thread this has been commented on before but apparently improves with use)
 
I am just about to start tube rolling in a couple of weeks to tweak the sound to my tastes ( a little more colouration but w/o losing any detail)
 
For the price and the fact that stock its impressive plus the ability to adjust the sound its fantastic 

 

[Icenine2]

I've owned my DAC 2 for quite a while and it is stellar.  Yes I would spend the money on any upgrade available.  I know someone who's done the USB upgrade and has nothing but good to say about it!

 

[WNBC]

I had the Taboo MKII + DAC-2 + HE-500 and it was an excellent match.  Dynamic duo.  An end game set up for many.  I had the Lyr + DAC-2 + LCD-2 at some point as well.  Really, the DAC-2 won't be the weak link in the chain.  I don't have any of these components anymore but I do have the MKIII.  Somebody want to send a DAC-2 w/ USB upgrade my way then I'm totally willing to make the comparison 

.
 
Quote:

I'm still a few pages behind, but was wondering how the dac-2 would pair with the lyr? I didn't know if I should upgrade my dac (Uber bifrost) or amp first? Any suggestions and/or comparisons of dac-2 and bifrost would be appreciated! Amp in mind is the taboo mkIII.

 

[longbowbbs]

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I had the Taboo MKII + DAC-2 + HE-500 and it was an excellent match.  Dynamic duo.  An end game set up for many.  I had the Lyr + DAC-2 + LCD-2 at some point as well.  Really, the DAC-2 won't be the weak link in the chain.  I don't have any of these components anymore but I do have the MKIII.  Somebody want to send a DAC-2 w/ USB upgrade my way then I'm totally willing to make the comparison 

.
 
Quote:

I'm still a few pages behind, but was wondering how the dac-2 would pair with the lyr? I didn't know if I should upgrade my dac (Uber bifrost) or amp first? Any suggestions and/or comparisons of dac-2 and bifrost would be appreciated! Amp in mind is the taboo mkIII.

The Taboo MK III and DAC-2 combo is terrific with the HD800's!

 

[audioholik]

Quote:

My point was simply no one is using either physical SACDs or DSD encoding anymore. PCM to analog is pretty much everything out there. 

 
Actually, "PCM to analog" is pretty non existent today. See the link: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/ps-dsd/8946/ 
 
And I, for one, am not surprised that so many manufacturers are enabling DSD playback on their delta sigma DACs. That's simply the right thing to do. Let us play all the formats we have, especially that today's converter technology allows that.