[DaveBSC]

Quote:

I've never been a fan of computer based transport but what you have in mind should improve things.

I know what you mean. Until...maybe last year, I would've agreed with you that computers stink as transports. Thanks largely to Gordon Rankin though, I think computers can now at least match if not exceed the performance of even the best CD transports. The fact that CD players have mostly disappeared at shows like THE or RMAF in favor of either computers/servers or vinyl I think bears this out. You also have companies like Linn abandoning the CD in favor of servers. Granted a server is different than a Windows PC (although many servers are just dedicated PCs usually running some kind of stripped down flavor of Linux), but I think the Legato, OR4 and Pace-car, and some of the other top level asynch converters can go up against just about any transport - maybe even a MBL or Burmester. I'd certainly like to see that anyway.
 

 

[computerparts]

That's quite a claim. I think the reason more servers are showing up at shows is just because they are gaining popularity due to their convenience, not because they sound better. Look what happened with mp3. It quickly became popular but doesn't sound better than a cd or flac files. Of course some companies are going to abandon cd in favor of servers. It's a lucrative market so why not cash in on it? Some companies will stick to cd because they believe it sounds better regardless. What disc based transports have you heard? The best I have heard are the mbl 1621A and the Forsell Air Reference Mk IV. I'm still wanting to hear an Audio Note transport though. I haven't heard many music servers but I have heard the Nova Memory Player and recently the Linn Akurate DS and wasn't impressed with either.
 
IMO any of those usb converters would get embarrassed against a good vintage transport not to even mention a top level transport. For what it's worth, my neighbor was just bragging to me the other day about his recent purchases. He purchased the Linn Akurate DS and speak of the devil, the Art Legato. I was completely unfamiliar with this device until now. Anyway I went over to his place to see what all the fuss was about. We both agreed that the Akurate DS doing transport duty sounded better than his pc with the Legato. His dac is a Monarchy Audio 22A, a very nice sounding vintage dac. He has heard my turn table before but doesn't know I have a digital setup. He said "it doesn't sound as good as your turn table but it sounds pretty good for digital." I simply smiled and said it sounded nice. Frankly I'm all for the music servers gaining popularity because that will drive the prices down on the top notch disc based transports.

 

[DaveBSC]

I've heard some very good transports from Simaudio, Mark Levinson and the like, but that was quite awhile ago, and I haven't had the chance to do any kind of direct comparisons with servers or computers. The next time I go to a high-end shop I definitely need to bring a laptop and USB converter with me. I do remember that Robert Harley was pretty emphatic in his Sooloos review that its digital output was as good as his TOTL Esoteric transport. That I find a little bit hard to buy, at least not without a dedicated clock generator that the Sooloos could slave to.

 

[computerparts]

Update for those still interested: I can finally say the Audio Note is fully burned in. Over 960 hours on it now. There weren't many changes from the 500 hour mark until the 800 hour mark when transparency increased. This dac absolutely smokes all of the dacs I have reviewed in this thread thus far. Right now I'm listening to some of my lesser quality 320 kbps cd's and this dac is breathing new life into these recordings. I have owned this for over a month and not once have I experienced listener fatigue. This dac is just incredible.

 

[Lil' Knight]

I got a chance to pick up a SFD-1 MKII locally for ~$800. Would it be still worth the asking price, comparing to current DACs? I've experienced quite a lot modern DACs but really only a few impressed me.

 

[computerparts]

Quote:

I got a chance to pick up a SFD-1 MKII locally for ~$800. Would it be still worth the asking price, comparing to current DACs? I've experienced quite a lot modern DACs but really only a few impressed me.

Compared to current dacs, it would be worth $2k easy. But that price is a tad high compared to the next model up in the SF line unless there's some killer tubes in there. I've seen the SFD II MkI go for that price. In any case if it has the stock Sovtek tubes, make sure you replace those first.
 

 

[Lil' Knight]

Thanks. Yes, the price seems high, I saw some SFD-2 MKII went for 1k. However, being able to pick it up locally is a plus. The stock tubes are still Sovtek. I have a stash of NOS Siemens and Telefunken CCa that I bought months ago for my other tube DAC and headamp. If only I could find a SFD-2 MKIII or even the Processor 3. These things are so rare.

Any idea about how it stands up against the Assemblage DAC-3?

 

[computerparts]

Quote:

Thanks. Yes, the price seems high, I saw some SFD-2 MKII went for 1k. However, being able to pick it up locally is a plus. The stock tubes are still Sovtek. I have a stash of NOS Siemens and Telefunken CCa that I bought months ago for my other tube DAC and headamp. If only I could find a SFD-2 MKIII

or even the Processor 3. These things are so rare.

Any idea about how it stands up against the Assemblage DAC-3?

I have yet to hear an Assemblage dac so I wouldn't know. SFD II MkIII's usually go for over $2k when available. If you have that kind of money to throw around and capable with a soldering iron, I highly recommend one of the Audio Note Dac Kits.
 

 

[Currawong]

The Assemblage DAC-3 is one of the ones I've briefly heard. My first impressions, having no idea what was inside, was that it sounded "tubey" and that it either had a basic tube output stage in it or OPA627s. My second guess was correct. If you like a warm, syrupy sound over bright and detailed, it's a nice DAC.

 

[Lil' Knight]

I have yet to hear an Assemblage dac so I wouldn't know. SFD II MkIII's usually go for over $2k when available. If you have that kind of money to throw around and capable with a soldering iron, I highly recommend one of the Audio Note Dac Kits.
 

Ouch, then what I just missed was a total blow Stopped by my local audio store and they let me know that a mint Processor 3 was sold last month there for ~$1,300.
I built a maxed-out AD1865 tube DAC that based on the AN kit some months ago. It's quite nice but truthfully I'm not extremely impressed. From my own impressions, AN stuffs are usually overpriced and the the price is always based on exotic parts which are not easy to notice the difference.

Thanks for the impression, Amos. Assemblage stuffs are rare here, haven't seen any up for sale. I once saw a Parasound DAC-2000 Ultra for $800 but that was the time I was still interested in modern stuffs.

 

[computerparts]

Quote:

Quote:

I have yet to hear an Assemblage dac so I wouldn't know. SFD II MkIII's usually go for over $2k when available. If you have that kind of money to throw around and capable with a soldering iron, I highly recommend one of the Audio Note Dac Kits.
 

Ouch, then what I just missed was a total blow

Stopped by my local audio store and they let me know that a mint Processor 3 was sold last month there for ~$1,300.
I built a maxed-out AD1865 tube DAC that based on the AN kit some months ago. It's quite nice but truthfully I'm not extremely impressed. From my own impressions, AN stuffs are usually overpriced and the the price is always based on exotic parts which are not easy to notice the difference.

Thanks for the impression, Amos. Assemblage stuffs are rare here, haven't seen any up for sale. I once saw a Parasound DAC-2000 Ultra for $800 but that was the time I was still interested in modern stuffs.

Wow that is an unbelievable price for a Processor 3! That maxed out dac may have the 1865 chip but the similarities end there. I agree, the production AN stuff are over priced from what I've seen. But the kits are an entirely different story. If anything, they are significantly under priced for the performance they offer IMO. Check out my review on the first page of this thread if you haven't already.
 

 

[Lil' Knight]

Yes, I did read and it's very interesting. Last time I spent time listening to my friend's Audio Note setup which has the DAC 4.1, it was quite amazing, despite its hefty price. Now if only I had >$3,000 to burn for the kit

 

[Currawong]

The Parasound DAC-1600HD I have here is about spot-on for me, not seeming to be coloured in any noticeable way yet "musical" and enjoyable to listen with. My only regret is that it seems unaffected when I use a better transport, but that makes it great when you don't want to have to care so much about what input you're using and what effect it may have. The OPAMPs in the Assemblage were all socketed from memory, so so it is possible to roll them to taste, though some knowledge of the design of the output stage would probably help here for best results.

 

[padam]

I have a DAC1600 as well and it reacted to the transport change, it was bright and harsh and fuzzy with the Philips CD transport and now with the Halide Bridge it is much smoother and deeper in the bass but of course the old transport was just a cheap and temporary solution.
 
With the DAC3.0 it is also possible to change the digital filter, you would probably prefer the more "digital" DF1704 if you found it smooth it probably had the PMD100 in it (which is the same as in the Parasound but the rest is different)

 

[Lil' Knight]

Most of the reviews I read preferred the DF1704. Not sure if pcx still has the DF1704 module in stock though.