[TheAttorney]

Quote:

 
It's official, then. I'm stupid.
 

 
It's official then. So am I.
The differences in DACs may be more subtle than for transducers, or even amps, and not so obvious in AB testing. But still important for long term musical enjoyment.
 
BTW, I've finally put in an order for a BHSE, after procrastinating for even longer than it takes Justin to build 'em

.
The final thing that got me to that decision was the sometimes mentioned brightness of the SR009 relative to O2 Mk1. Enough for me to put that decision on hold for a while.
 
 

 

[jaycalgary]

I ordered a Wyred4Sound Dac2. Reading the reviews and seeing the many people with high quality systems it must be fairly good. I am going to contemplate the bhse for one more week. There are a couple of things that make me wonder if it makes sense for me. I know I am going to have 1 heavy suitcase when I go back out to camp to work. That's where a modded Srm-727 would make sense. It probably doesn't come close in sound though. The other part is if it is going to be ok to turn it on and off everyday and just the 2min to turn it on.

 

[googleli]

Comparing sub-US$5,000 DACs really leads you nowhere. Almost all of them, perhaps except the Antelope Zodiac Gold, lacks the front / back sound stage which US5,000+ DACs can deliver. Someone mentioned the Benchmark DAC. Hate to say that but it sounded like absolute garbage to me - sounds extremely digital and unnatural - just like listening to some cheap MP3 player 192kbps music while it was playing lossless. Now I am interested in hearing some Wyred4sound DACs as it is so popular on head-fi but not so popular in HK.
 
For those in doubt,  try Weiss DAC202 / Antelope Zodiac Gold.  Do a blind test against your Benchmark / Lavry etc. The Linn NAS systems are also worth trying. The Linn Klimax DS is very good IMO. 
 
http://www.hiendy.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=14772&highlight=CAS
 
We had a local meet and we had 3 groups of 15 people doing a BLIND TEST in 3 different sessions. Around 10 DACs were compared. The Antelope Zodiac Gold and the EMM Labs latest model got voted as the top 2 in EACH OF THE THREE SESSIONS. Those who know Chinese can check it out.

 

[warp08]

Quote:

Comparing sub-US$5,000 DACs really leads you nowhere. Almost all of them, perhaps except the Antelope Zodiac Gold, lacks the front / back sound stage which US5,000+ DACs can deliver. Someone mentioned the Benchmark DAC. Hate to say that but it sounded like absolute garbage to me - sounds extremely digital and unnatural - just like listening to some cheap MP3 player 192kbps music while it was playing lossless. Now I am interested in hearing some Wyred4sound DACs as it is so popular on head-fi but not so popular in HK.
 
For those in doubt,  try Weiss DAC202 / Antelope Zodiac Gold.  Do a blind test against your Benchmark / Lavry etc. The Linn NAS systems are also worth trying. The Linn Klimax DS is very good IMO. 
 
http://www.hiendy.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=14772&highlight=CAS
 
We had a local meet and we had 3 groups of 15 people doing a BLIND TEST in 3 different sessions. Around 10 DACs were compared. The Antelope Zodiac Gold and the EMM Labs latest model got voted as the top 2 in EACH OF THE THREE SESSIONS. Those who know Chinese can check it out.

Don't forget to tack on the optional Voltikus PSU to the Zodiac Gold.  Well worth the cost in terms of SQ improvement.
 

 

[El_Doug]

 
Quote:

Comparing sub-US$5,000 DACs really leads you nowhere. Almost all of them, perhaps except the Antelope Zodiac Gold, lacks the front / back sound stage which US5,000+ DACs can deliver.

 
 
...and I bet if you spent $10k on the same BHSE, it would magically sound better too

 

[grokit]

Completely OT, but overkill for a $250 amp?
 

 
Not bad for an iPod rig.
 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/antelope2/2.html

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

 

Hey Aaron, the C32 is the SR-009.

"C32" was just a code name for it before the official model designation.

I know, but thanks, Steve.
 
The DAC6E is the Cat's Meow, if you have multichannel, in that price range.
 

 

[googleli]

"I bet"? How many times have we seen non-believers of cables and sources say if we conduct blind tests we won't be able to tell the differences? And have they conducted any blind tests? The blind test we conducted with the high end DACs was systematic and with a score sheet in each area, and the two better ones prevailed in the number of votes for each of the sessions with different groups of 15 people. Well I do believe some of you may hear differently and will insist there is absolutely no difference. And "I bet" for those people, they can't hear the difference between a skullcandy and an LCD-2 as well. 

 
Quote:

 
 
 
...and I bet if you spent $10k on the same BHSE, it would magically sound better too

 

 

[googleli]

Among our tested products were the Zodiac Plus and Zodiac Gold, both with Voltikus.
 
Warp08 - they announced the P02 / D02 last week. Go check it out on Esoteric's Japanese website. Wondering how these would compare with the P01/D01 and P03/D03 combos. Wanna try them out and let us know?

 
Quote:

Don't forget to tack on the optional Voltikus PSU to the Zodiac Gold.  Well worth the cost in terms of SQ improvement.
 

 

 

[El_Doug]

do we have a formal count of how many people have ordered Black vs Silver vs Grey vs Blue? 
 
seems black is the most popular, though I definitely prefer the look of the grey faceplate/knob that are on the headamp website.  of course, I opted for blue - i thought the bright color might cheer me up when I consider how much I blew on the amp  
 
 
Quote:

"I bet"? How many times have we seen non-believers of cables and sources say if we conduct blind tests we won't be able to tell the differences? And have they conducted any blind tests? The blind test we conducted with the high end DACs was systematic and with a score sheet in each area, and the two better ones prevailed in the number of votes for each of the sessions with different groups of 15 people. Well I do believe some of you may hear differently and will insist there is absolutely no difference. And "I bet" for those people, they can't hear the difference between a skullcandy and an LCD-2 as well. 

 
on the contrary, with regard to sources, there can be a great deal of difference!  I don't think I said anywhere that all sources sound the same, nor did I say anything about blind testing (you brought that up).  and how the heck did you manage to bring up the topic of cables!?
 
I do find it funny, however, that you got so defensive, and jumped right into the "you non-believers" rampage mode - it made me chuckle

 
edit:  accidentally typed "headroom" - OOPS!  Justin forgive me <3

 

[grokit]

It could have been your comment about how spending twice as much would make something magically sound better when it was clearly stated that there was blind testing involved

 

 

[El_Doug]

perhaps my comment was instead provoked by blanket statements on how dollar levels correspond to sq  
 
Quote:

It could have been your comment about how spending twice as much would make something magically sound better when it was clearly stated that there was blind testing involved

 

 

 

[TheAttorney]

 
Quote:

do we have a formal count of how many people have ordered Black vs Silver vs Grey vs Blue? 
 
seems black is the most popular, though I definitely prefer the look of the grey faceplate/knob that are on the headroom website.  of course, I opted for blue - i thought the bright color might cheer me up when I consider how much I blew on the amp  
 

At what point do you get the choice? I've just put in my order, and the only option was for the volume control and country for delivery.
Also, will there at some point be an option for choice of tubes?
.
 
 

 

[pachku]

IMHO, Justin would be nuts to start selling different tubes - everybody's looking for something else in the sound signature, and the grass is always greener beyond the next hill...

 

 

[Double F]

Different tubes!!  Just make them quicker and let owners find their own tubes