[Frihed89]

For those of you in New England or up around the Hudson R. (and old enough to drive), there is a new Cantata dealer in Amherst, MA - Amherst Audio.  He only has the Cantata and does not carry headphone gear: However, he has some amazing SS and tube speaker systems and carries the Cantata as a digital front end for these systems (along with Audio Note and Blue Circle DACs).  In addition, he has great ears and listening experience as a "professional" equipment and music reviewer.  He's also honest and a gentleman.

 

[RedBull]

Anuone knows what happen to Cantata once the world is running out of 1704 chip?

 

[Radio_head]

There's still quite a few 1704's out there, and chances are he bought in bulk in the first place.  He'll be set for the foreseeable future, he's not that high volume from the dealers I've spoken to.

 

[RedBull]

I see.
I don't see they have yet other design based on DS design like the ever popular nowadays 9018 chip.
By using 1704 is the resolution should be limited to 24/96? but how does it support up to 24/192? it will down sample back to /96?
I dont know, maybe I understand the concept wrong

 

[Radio_head]

No, the 1704 can be programmed tot do 24/192 these days - it was a previous limitation of the USB receiver if I remember correctly.  

 

[RedBull]

Oh. That's great.

 

[MorbidToaster]

Shame this thread for such a great piece of kit has died out somewhat. I'm here to revive it (I hope). 
 
I finally got to hear one of these babies for myself (after months of anticipation and puddles of drool forming when I looked at it) and all I can say is it's the best digital source I've heard to date. 
 
Unfortunately I can only compare to my 851C directly, but at this time I just recently gave back a loaner Perfect Wave DAC 2 and Transport so their memory is fresh. 
 
To start off, it easily beats the Perfect Wave pair for me (and the Cantana costs less all things considered). The Perfect Wave was just too dry and uninvolving for my tastes. It was very detailed and a good DAC no doubt, but the Cantana is (again) easily my choice. It has a more musical, ever so slightly warmer and more full bodied sound. Not to the point of a tube component, but just enough to not seem terribly dry and boring. It's also sexier and doesn't have an (IMO) stupid touch screen. 
 
Compared to the 851C it is instantly noticeably better. As soon as you put on anything with a SSS sound you'll notice it. Much smoother but more detailed at the same time. Sense of space is a step up and again, it sounds less dry and more full bodied without being slightly muddied by tubes. 
 
As for the unit itself...pictures don't do it justice. Touching it for the first time was a pretty magical experience. The aluminum feels fantastic and I thought I'd hate the 'bumps' but I really like them. The girlfriend really enjoyed it, too. (wink) My favorite part is probably the display though. The 851C has a fantastic display and is admittedly probably overall more useful than the Cantana, but the Cantana's screen just adds a ton of character and it very easy to read from anywhere you can see it (which is nice). 
 
I'm a bit frustrated that it'll have to go back soon, because I didn't get to spend near the amount of time I wanted to with it...but I can say this...I want one. I really want one...and with tax season coming up it's a distinct possibility. 
 
I'll post pictures later.

 

[Happy Camper]

Thanks for commenting and bringing this up to the top again. My one experience with AR was with the Opus and I was impressed. It was the best digital I'd heard at that time. They do turn the bright knob down a tad (better). How's the imaging and depth presentation?

 

[paradoxper]

Are any of you using the Cantata with a NAS? If so, can you speak to how seamless and enjoyable the experience is?
 
Further, if any of you have had experience with the PWD MKII DAC, I'd appreciate any comparative thoughts on using the Bridge.
 
I've experienced the PWD is too much fuss when using bridge and the experience itself after fussing with it is still rather crappy (software side of things.)

 

[zachchen1996]

Any comparisons with the invicta would be nice too.

 

[mwilson]

Quote:

Are any of you using the Cantata with a NAS? If so, can you speak to how seamless and enjoyable the experience is?

 
I have my music files on a NAS, and they're played back by a dedicated Mac mini, which outputs to the Cantata via their Pont Neuf USB adapter. It's pretty seamless in that the playback is controlled by the excellent iTunes remote app.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

 
I have my music files on a NAS, and they're played back by a dedicated Mac mini, which outputs to the Cantata via their Pont Neuf USB adapter. It's pretty seamless in that the playback is controlled by the excellent iTunes remote app.

Very happy to hear it's seamless. Does the Cantata w/Neuf have any similar software, like, eLyric such as the PWD?

 

[mwilson]

Since playback is handled on the computer, you can use your choice of playback/control software.
 
Quote:

Very happy to hear it's seamless. Does the Cantata w/Neuf have any similar software, like, eLyric such as the PWD?

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Since playback is handled on the computer, you can use your choice of playback/control software.
 

Let me be more specific. eLyric is the software that supports gapless.  I find it clunky and a pain to use.
 
Was just wondering if the Cantata was more open in this regard.

 

[En_R]

Let me be more specific. eLyric is the software that supports gapless.  I find it clunky and a pain to use.

Was just wondering if the Cantata was more open in this regard.

The Cantata has no user software. It only has drivers that need to be installed on win7 for higher resolution files (requires firmware upgrade if needed).

Mac driver support is native, however be noted that the Retina Macbook Pros have issues identifying the resolution cantata when connected via USB on speeds above FS 96. This is a known issue with the Retina's USB slots, and Steve from Resolution Audio told me they are working on a fix with Apple.

They are developing software for the Cantata but I'm not sure I am not sure it is good for me to post the information publicly. PM me if you really want details.