[tuk123]

The Monkey thanks for the suggestion, i know the luxman are nice amps but unless i can find a 2nd hand one. they are very expensive in australia.
 
keces dac looks pretty good ill look into it tonight

 

[justin520520]

My recommendation is MUSILAND MD11(4XX USD to USA).
If you need play music by your PC. It can support up to 32Bit/192kHz input sampling rate.
the reproduction quality is awsome.

 

[tuk123]

i just want to post an update, today i picked up the antelope zodiac+ after a month worth of searching.
 
i have tested the same 5 songs on about 10+ different units/combos price ranged from $500 to 3k, most of the units had few hour use on them, but straight out of the box zodiac beat them all. it is the most expensive unit (not combo) out of them all but i can assure you its money well spent. its better to spend more than you have than wanting to upgrade in a few month.
 
its pretty funny, when i got the unit home, plugged in everything and somehow the mute button is "half on" eg i had the volume on full but it was quite. i was in panic thought i got a faulty unit. but after i pressed it twice it went back to normal.

 

[Permagrin]

Quote:

i just want to post an update, today i picked up the antelope zodiac+ after a month worth of searching.
 
i have tested the same 5 songs on about 10+ different units/combos price ranged from $500 to 3k, most of the units had few hour use on them, but straight out of the box zodiac beat them all. it is the most expensive unit (not combo) out of them all but i can assure you its money well spent. its better to spend more than you have than wanting to upgrade in a few month.
 
its pretty funny, when i got the unit home, plugged in everything and somehow the mute button is "half on" eg i had the volume on full but it was quite. i was in panic thought i got a faulty unit. but after i pressed it twice it went back to normal.

 
Sweet another Zodiac+ owner! I think your timing for being in the market for a dac/amp was quite fortuitious. C'mon Antelope release the base model already!

 

[tuk123]

im not sure if its true but the owner of the store said he went to some expo and heard the prototype of all 3 units and said the base model isnt as good as the + and gold is even better.
 
maybe his just saying it so i will buy but he have been in the business for about 20 years selling pro audio stuff and the 2 hours im in the shop testing he was never pushy, even suggested me the cheaper units

 
 
 

 

[solarstabi]

 
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TwistedPearAudio Buffalo32s (now superseded).
www.twistedpearaudio.com
Their new Buffalo II DAC combined with their IVY III output stage will easily drive HD800s.
Is a kit which is easily built and if you use just SPDIF coax, you have a complete audiophile-quality headphone system for playing digital.
I have a Buffalo 32s which I built a year ago, using Toslink optical (@96kHz, 24 bit) out of apple macs at home with CDs & downloaded rips. I'm limited to 96k/24bit with Toslink, but it suits my application. I have mostly 44.1k/16bit CDs, stored in native AIFF under iTunes.The Buffalo 32s does 192k/24bit over coax SPDIF. The Buffalo II does more. See TPA's web site.
The Sabre32 used in TPA's Buffalo 32s & Buffalo II is a nice bit of kit.
No jitter or clocking issues on coax from my CD player, or from Toslink from the Macs.
I agree that highest-bit-rate/sample rate are the things to go for, but nothing can fix a bad recording or bad engineering (or, for that matter, bad performance by the artist).
TPA stuff is hard to get, but you just have to watch the web site and place your order as soon as you can. You'd need the DAC, an IVY III, Toslink module (if using optical), a +5V power supply for the DAC (& another for the Toslink module, & +-15V for the IVY III. Brian & Russ are good to deal with, technically & commercially.
TPA has a number of power supply kits: Placid (new shunt-regulated power supply - not tried it yet), LCBPS (+-15V), LCDPS (twin +5v).
So with Buffalo II, IVY III, Toslink, LCBPS, LCDPS, a couple of transformers and a box you have a system which outperforms a commercial $3000 DAC/HP Amp system for under $1000 Australian. My other DAC is a Musical Fidelity V-DAC. I don't use it's USB (rubbish), but it's optical & coax SPDIF are good. It needs a separate headphone amp, though, & it's power supply (walwart) is rubbish and needs to be upgraded to a better one. Has a nice sound, though, and is less critical of badly-engineered recordings than the Buffalo (which will let you know what faults are in the source material, if there are any).
 
​

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[Permagrin]

Quote:

im not sure if its true but the owner of the store said he went to some expo and heard the prototype of all 3 units and said the base model isnt as good as the + and gold is even better.
 
maybe his just saying it so i will buy but he have been in the business for about 20 years selling pro audio stuff and the 2 hours im in the shop testing he was never pushy, even suggested me the cheaper units

 
 
 

Thanks, there hasn't been any info on differences between them. Are you referring to comparison via headphone amp stage or analog/digital out?
 

 

[tuk123]

 
Quote:

Quote:

Thanks, there hasn't been any info on differences between them. Are you referring to comparison via headphone amp stage or analog/digital out?
 

i would not have a clue since i wasn’t there. but from the few youtube videos flying round i think there will be different setups for the dealers to listen.
 
personally i doubt there are any difference between the normal and the + other than the usb and inputs. but from a company point of view i think there might, after all they are here to make money. im sure it doesnt cost 1k more for a few inputs, right?
 
even if there is no sound difference between the two models i think i made the right decision cause if you wait another 6month, got something in between, you probably lose the money you saved anyway. but if you are thinking about upgrading i think you should wait and see.
 
solarstabi, building a custom unit will probably be cheaper and might even sound better but like many of people out there i have 0 skill in DIY kits. i rather work few hours more than pulling out my hair trying to figure out how to put everything together and why the damn thing wont work. also i want something that look as good as it sound so i doubt you will find anything in the DIY section.