[googleli]

Quote:

lol @ "mid-tier DACs like Zodiac Gold, Weiss DAC202, Resolution Cantata, Berkeley Alpha, PS Audio DAC".  Just when I thought you were at your peak with the "jaw dropping"-ness of the Cereballs, you go and fabricate another gem.  Priceless.
 
Have you even heard the Cantata, BADA or PSA PWD/PWT?

I heard them all. The showrooms in HK are so concentrated that it is not hard to audition almost all mid to high end DACs in the world in one day, although I did hear them in different situations. For pure mid to high end DAC without a CD player, which seems to be the preference on Head-fi these days, I do recommend everyone who have the chance to audition the Prism Sound DA-2. I auditioned it twice at my friend's house, with a heavily kernel-modified Linux system as digital transport - the sound is pretty amazing and I have to say more value for money than both my Zodiac Gold and Weiss DAC202, although its soundstage and minute details are still short of my K-01. Sure, a flagship dCS setup would be nice, but I am minded to spend that kind of money on a good analog setup.
 
Say, Goldmund Reference II (US$300,000) , or Clearaudio Statement (US$125,000) turntables... Only in my dreams. 

 

[forbigger]

Quote:

He forgot that Zanden is coming out with their new 90K DAC/Transport soon.  This will of course drop the K-01 to mid-tier, at which point it can be relegated to headphone duty.

some people progressed through the audio world and raising their standard higher and higher. i remember when i started this head-fi madness, a pico dac is considered high end. my jaw dropped when i saw the price of lavry da11. now 3 years afterwards, i reckon that lavry da11 is just another mid tier dac. so i wont be surprised on googleli perception on those dac's. the definition of classes in audio as we all know are very subjective and fluid. take the fact on the price-sq ratio though, in which this case lavry da11 is no doubt one of the forerunner

 

[johnwmclean]

some people progressed through the audio world and raising their standard higher and higher. i remember when i started this head-fi madness, a pico dac is considered high end. my jaw dropped when i saw the price of lavry da11. now 3 years afterwards, i reckon that lavry da11 is just another mid tier dac. so i wont be surprised on googleli perception on those dac's. the definition of classes in audio as we all know are very subjective and fluid. take the fact on the price-sq ratio though, in which this case lavry da11 is no doubt one of the forerunner

Some people progress blindly embracing the whole high end ideal, price equals performance.
Others prudently sift through the sea of smoke and mirrors seeking a much better deal.

 

[mwilson]

Quote:

Some people progress blindly embracing the whole high end ideal, price equals performance.
Others prudently sift through the sea of smoke and mirrors seeking a much better deal.

 
... and better yet, try finding it used.

 

[Radio_head]

I have found theft to have the biggest  markdown.  

 

[mwilson]

Also the biggest potential adverse effects should said operation fail.
 
Quote:

I have found theft to have the biggest  markdown.  

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

I have found theft to have the biggest  markdown.  

 
My name is Barack Obama, and I approve of this message.

 

[wink]

Quote:

 
I have found theft to have the biggest  markdown.  
 

Yeah, Midnight Spares is well renowned for those hard-to-get bargains at bargain basement prices.
All it really costs is your conscience........

 

[minimus]

googleli has at least heard a lot of DACs in the $3K to $7K range.  Maybe his comments are unwelcome in a thread that sings the praises of the Cantata.  What I see with the Cantata is a nicely machined chassis, a few innovations that increase connectivity options, good quality parts, and a manufacturer with a good reputation from building "musical" digital components.  That said, there are very few people who actually compare DACs in this price range.  googleli has done this, so he at least can provide context that other cannot provide.
 
In keeping with googleli argument, it is worth reading a thread on Audionervosa that describes a "shootout" between a number of DACs in the $3K to $5K price range, including the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC, the AMR DP-777, and the Antelope Zodiac Gold.  The conclusion was that there was no clear favorite among these well-respected products...the consensus was that they were all good, although in different ways. 
 
Personally, I have a lot of respect for Resolution Audio from my time with the Opus 21.  However, I feel that the Perfect Wave DAC/Transport betters the Opus 21 by a good margin, and balked at the price tag of the Cantata, .just like I balked at the price tag of the Liquid Fire.  (I am glad I was never all that intrigued by the aesthetics and cache associated with ownership of the Liquid Fire, given Kevin Gilmore's recent assertions regarding the schematic of the Liquid Fire...)
 
OK, enough rambling.  I am sure the Cantata is very enjoyable for headphone listening.  Whether it will shine in a reasonably high-end speaker system (say $20K on up) is another question.

 

[minimus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridhar3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
My name is Barack Obama, and I approve of this message
 

 
Mitt, is that you?

 

[Elysian]

I think we were all kicked out of Summit-Fi
 
The Cantata has a beautiful faceplate.  Very Thinkgeek with the LEDs.  I wonder how many people were sold on the looks.

 

[Radio_head]

Quote:

googleli has at least heard a lot of DACs in the $3K to $7K range.  Maybe his comments are unwelcome in a thread that sings the praises of the Cantata.  What I see with the Cantata is a nicely machined chassis, a few innovations that increase connectivity options, good quality parts, and a manufacturer with a good reputation from building "musical" digital components.  That said, there are very few people who actually compare DACs in this price range.  googleli has done this, so he at least can provide context that other cannot provide.
...

While I am impressed that this time he only mentioned DAC's he has heard, his dismissal of them came largely from show impressions.  If there's one thing you really can't judge at a show its a DAC.  How many rooms will switch out DACs at your request so you can compare?  What differences can you attribute to the DAC?  There's really not all that much you can tell.  
 
I don't think I came off as just singing it's praises - I like it a lot but I did have issues with it's transparency.  This is not an appreciation thread.
 
Oh, and I initially bought this thing based on solely the looks.

 

[googleli]

Not show conditions - I auditioned them in distributor showrooms. And for the record, I never "dismissed" any of them. They are all very good DACs (except one which I consider really not worth its price, but I will not disclose here), it is just that I have heard things which are considerably better in similar systems so I call the bunch "mid-tier" - and there is nothing to do with the price difference.
 
If anyone is interested and can read Chinese, in one of the local audiophile activities in Hong Kong, the Weiss DAC202, DAC2, the Zodiac Gold, Zodiac Plus, Esoteric D-07 and EMM Labs DAC2, among others, were blind tested in the same speaker setup:
 
http://www.hiendy.com/hififorum/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=14772&highlight=CAS
 

 

[cat6man]

Quote:

Not show conditions - I auditioned them in distributor showrooms. And for the record, I never "dismissed" any of them. They are all very good DACs (except one which I consider really not worth its price, but I will not disclose here), it is just that I have heard things which are considerably better in similar systems so I call the bunch "mid-tier" - and there is nothing to do with the price difference.
 
If anyone is interested and can read Chinese, in one of the local audiophile activities in Hong Kong, the Weiss DAC202, DAC2, the Zodiac Gold, Zodiac Plus, Esoteric D-07 and EMM Labs DAC2, among others, were blind tested in the same speaker setup:
 
http://www.hiendy.com/hififorum/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=14772&highlight=CAS
 

 
since i can't read chinese, would you be able to give a short summary?

 

[brat]

Quote:

After setting up my speaker system, I must admit that the difference in performance among DACs does not justify the huge cost differences, in most headphone setups....

yes, yes, yes... I thought I was the only one that noticed this Headphones are uncapable to show all aspects of the sound like speakers (even not high-end speakers) can do. Things like 3D, soundstage, instrument positioning and separation are applicable to speakers and headphones can be misleading.
 
P.S.: I listen mostly to headhones. I have omegas, audezes and some dynamic cans. My current primary source is Weiss DAC202U. I have some other dacs and CDPs