K3cT
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
- Posts
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The Parasound issss awesome. I seem to be getting a smoother sound with the Offramp Turbo 2 as opposed to the Musiland 01USD but it's a subtle change.
Thought I'd bump this since it's been a while.
Computerparts! Long time man. Still using the AN DAC? Have your thoughts on computers and servers changed at all? I'm seeing a lot of "best sound" and "best digital" going to products like the Empirical Overdrive USB DAC and Aurender servers now.
Hey Dave. Yep still using the AN dac. Haven't had the urge to even think about trying any other dacs. For me, that was it. I knew it was the one from the first listen. I still have the same thoughts on computers and servers. You won't get me to replace a good cd transport with one even if you paid me lol. I think a lot of why you're seeing those acclaims is simply because that's where digital has moved to. There isn't a lot to compete with these days since a lot of the companies known for the classics (Levinson, Theta, EAD, Classe, Sonic Frontiers, Krell, etc...) aren't making stand alone dacs or are no longer in business. USB dacs seem to be commonplace now. Empirical Audio was always known for their horrendously IMO overpriced products and I see that still continues to this day with their $5,999 Overdrive SE. That price is outrageous so it better be the best USB dac out there.
In a way, its reassuring to know that I have about as much chance of ever hearing the DAC2X as I have of hearing a Gryphon or Meridian CDP. Or driving a Ferrari. By contrast, the Overdrive - while undeniably wallet-busting - is still within the realms of possibility, if not my definition of 'affordable'. Its like reading about the section of society who can afford a thousand dollar bottle of wine with dinner and not even bat an eyelid when the bill arrives - surreal.
Here's the thing though - an Esoteric P-03 will run you under $5K second hand, obviously more than an Auraliti or Sonore server, but less than the cost of a new Aurender. A used Meridian 808.2 or Audio Aero Capitole Reference is maybe $5500. Declining interest in spinning physical discs means that the values on these players are collapsing. That's bad if you paid full price, but good if you're not interested in a music server and you want top shelf CD playback for 1/3 the cost.
That's exactly my point. The Overdrive may have good value compared to other dacs currently being manufactured. But when you compare it to a top of the line player/dac on the used market, that value quickly fades. I'll agree in terms of technological advancement, cd is dead. But sound-wise, IMO it's still the best out there. Music servers are improving I'm sure. But when they get it right, it's going to cost an arm and a leg for the best stuff just as it did with cd. 24/96 digitized vinyl may sound good but I don't see the point when my AN practically gives me the same presentation from all of my cd's, only without the artificial upsampling.