[Nylus]

Excellent, just the replies i was looking for.

 

[jonoliew]

ahaha. if the pico was 'bad', i would be so devastated cause i've ordered one! lol

 

[pageman99]

Ok, just a follow up.

After posting earlier and then reading some of the opinions of some of those whose experience I really respect, I decided to take the time to maximize the Pico's performance. I mean by taking the time to match tubes, cables, volume levels, and power cords.

This ain't as simple as it seems. After several hours, I feel I've got it right. At least for me and my ears.

The Pico as dac and preamp is a steal when using a computer as source. Especially if your computer is quiet enough to play cds/dvds without much internal noise/interference.

Bottom line. If I were to do it all over again and base my decisions on best sound dollar for dollar, I'd start with the Pico. The rest is a matter of budget and taste. But golly, a Pico into a good tube amp with careful matching of tubes, cables etc. would be awful hard to beat. IMO a great combination of SS accuracy and tube warmth.

I'm too tired at the moment to go into all the gory details of my final setup, but let's just say notebook into Pico into my MAD, is 95% of my balanced setup. And at less than 40% of the cost. And that includes the cost of a new notebook.

Kinda hard to beat. A real no brainer if you already have the computer.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pageman99 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Especially if your computer is quiet enough to play cds/dvds without much internal noise/interference.

That kind of defeats the whole purpose of using computer as a source, lossless files work much better.

 

[pageman99]

Yes and no, but let's not go there...

 

[shiezan]

Has anyone listened to both the DACs on the Pico and the Cantate?

 

[majid]

I have the Pico and the DAC 1. I haven't level matched them for an accurate comparison, but using HD650s, the Pico isn't blown away in the comparison. Given the Pico's size, you'd be hard-pressed to find a portable DAC+amp combo that outperforms it. The Headroom doesn't count as it is only a DAC and does not include the amp section.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiezan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone listened to both the DACs on the Pico and the Cantate?

The DAC in the Opera stinks, and the DAC in the Cantate is worse. I'm sure the Pico's DAC blows it away.

With that said, I feel that the analog outs from my Juli@ ONLY in the configuration listed in my signature rivals a $5,500 DAC I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks with.

 

[22906]

Which $5500 DAC is that? Do you have to use Ultra mode SSRC or is Top mode OK?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Where do you set volume at when using Pico as a DAC?
I used to use 3 o'clock in low gain, it was about equal to DA100 line out, but have tried to max it out today and it seems that there are more details and better dynamics. And yes, I lowered external amp volume accordingly.
Can be just a placebo though unless there is some physical explanation behind this.

 

[grawk]

As long as you're not overloading the input, you're gonna get the best sound by maximizing the volume on the pico. Remember, that the volume knob is attenuating the sound, so the less you attenuate, the better the resulting sound is going to be.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif As long as you're not overloading the input, you're gonna get the best sound by maximizing the volume on the pico. Remember, that the volume knob is attenuating the sound, so the less you attenuate, the better the resulting sound is going to be.

Great, thanks, I thought it has something to do with the attenuation.