[rds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glitch39 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Aha! But Earl's opinion is one you would want to trust. believe me.... that said, I ended going for a zapped zhaolu b/c of his suggestions. And I do not regret it one bit. why reinvent the wheel when other respected members have done it?

When someone says a zap filtered zhaolu sounds better than a Buffalo with Ivy I stop listening.

That's what I was responding to, to warn the op that that might not be great advice to take.

 

[mourip]

I have a Scott Nixon USB DAC that I built around one of his board kits. I have owned two of his DACs. They are good for the price. Very musical and non-digital. Remember however that at $150 you must still add a power supply, jacks, wire case etc. Unless you use a shoebox you will double that cost to $300. Even if you buy a cheap DAC and mod it you will probably spend as much as you would by just getting a better one. You can definitely get more bang for the buck by doing a kit however really inexpensive DACs are mostly worth what you paid

I just built a dual mono OPUS with a Metronome and SPDIF input. The Scott Nixon is pale next to it. I am even trying to decide if I want to keep my Havana. I got my OPUS as a partially completed kit with case, borards, connectors, and trannies. I built it for about $450. I paid about $900 for the Havana. I have a Buffalo32 on order which was my original plan. I am wondering how it could sound better than the OPUS. My OPUS has remarkable detail and remarkable transparency. It is also non-fatiguing.

The reason that folks praise the Twisted Pair DAC is that they really are good.

 

[xTr3Me.aka.Chris]

Do you think there is a noticable difference between a dual mono opus and a normal stereo one? And which output stage did you use?

Often the people here buy a dac/kit for lets say $200 and then an output stage for much more money..


edit:
now im not sure if i should go for Scott Nixon or opus dac xD

 

[mourip]

I bought the partially completed kit with two OPUS boards and a Ballsie. Originally I was going to set the DAC up with just the single OPUS board and try it out. Then I would add the other OPUS board for dual mono and then add the Ballsie.

To be honest I just went for it and set it all up, dual mono with Ballsie. I would have to say that it excells at spacial representation and detail. I am running it through a 2A3 amp so that may warm it a bit. I have also tried it with a chipamp and it still sounded very good. When I get a chance I want to try it runnng phones directly...

 

[xTr3Me.aka.Chris]

Well I think I will try the Opus Dac and get the basic kit with SPDIF Receiver. A Ballsie module is not required if I only want to use the DAC with normal RCA - connectors right?

 

[ting.mike]

been really curious about the Buffalo DAC.

Any comparison to commercial units? Lavry 11 maybe? Benchmark 1?

 

[mourip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ting.mike /img/forum/go_quote.gif been really curious about the Buffalo DAC. Any comparison to commercial units? Lavry 11 maybe? Benchmark 1?

I hope to reply about the Buffalo DAC soon. Currently I am using a dual mono Opus with Ballsie and Metronone. I bought it to use while waiting for another round of Buff32 boards to appear.

What a surprise. The OPUS is the best sound I have ever gotten from my system. It has my MHDT Havana gathering dust. Other previous DACs were Paradisea, Scott Nixon USB, Bel canto DAC2, an older PS Audio, and an older Audio Note. The OPUS is wonderfuly detailed and the music is very layered. Soundstage is wide and tonally it just sounds right.

To be honest I have been dragging my feet on putting in the new Buffalo board because I could hardly believe that it would be better. I have heard that it is so I will of course proceed...

More to follow...

Best,

Paul

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xTr3Me.aka.Chris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I think I will try the Opus Dac and get the basic kit with SPDIF Receiver. A Ballsie module is not required if I only want to use the DAC with normal RCA - connectors right?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the Ballsie is a Balanced to single-ended converter. The OPUS DAC is a balanced output DAC, so yes, I think you would need it to output single ended (i.e., RCAs).

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pars /img/forum/go_quote.gif Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the Ballsie is a Balanced to single-ended converter. The OPUS DAC is a balanced output DAC, so yes, I think you would need it to output single ended (i.e., RCAs).

You can take the +/GND straight off the OPUS DAC for unbalanced connections.

However, the benefit of using IVY or Ballsie for unbalanced use is that you can bypass the output coupling caps on the OPUS module.

 

[ting.mike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mourip /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hope to reply about the Buffalo DAC soon. Currently I am using a dual mono Opus with Ballsie and Metronone. I bought it to use while waiting for another round of Buff32 boards to appear. What a surprise. The OPUS is the best sound I have ever gotten from my system. It has my MHDT Havana gathering dust. Other previous DACs were Paradisea, Scott Nixon USB, Bel canto DAC2, an older PS Audio, and an older Audio Note. The OPUS is wonderfuly detailed and the music is very layered. Soundstage is wide and tonally it just sounds right. To be honest I have been dragging my feet on putting in the new Buffalo board because I could hardly believe that it would be better. I have heard that it is so I will of course proceed... More to follow... Best, Paul

Very nice, Paul.

I'm still curious on how the Opus or Buffalo compare to Benchmark 1 or Lavry DA11

 

[amb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can take the +/GND straight off the OPUS DAC for unbalanced connections. However, the benefit of using IVY or Ballsie for unbalanced use is that you can bypass the output coupling caps on the OPUS module.

Also, if you just take the + and GND, you get only half the output voltage swing, and you lose the common-mode cancellation that such a DAC gives you (which reduces noise and distortion).

 

[Beefy]

Yep, that too