Thoughts on a bunch of DACs (and why delta-sigma kinda sucks, just to get you to think about stuff)

[ericr]

OK, I just won an eBay auction for a Paradisea 3 DAC for $330. It is a supposedly a good implementation of the Tda1543.

Does anyone have experience, thoughts or guesses as to how it will fare against my Uber Bifrost?

 

[AudioBear]

Do you want it to be better?  Have you arranged a [redacted redacted] cross-over controlled comparison test?  [PM me if you don't know what got redacted]

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
 
 
 
Does it mean the highly precise yggdrasil is a super electrical noise sensitive machine that will benefit even more significantly from Dac chip shielding, (usb)input noise isolation, power conditioning, emi/rfi reduction and vibration isolation?

Are any of these purported effects known to be audible, or simply measureable on super sensitive devices that can detect fluctuations that aren't audible anyway?

 

[ericr]

Do you want it to be better?  Have you arranged a [redacted redacted] cross-over controlled comparison test?  [PM me if you don't know what got redacted]

LOL - that was [redacted] funny!

I assume you must have been burned in the past for suggesting a [redacted redacted] as a reasonable way for me to answer my own question. Funny to see you put it that way, kinda sad you have to though. But that's just my subjective option

Oh I will take you suggestion, but the Paradisae is coming from Sweden so it will be a while 'til it arrives and it seems I'll need to let it warm up for a bit (those Scandinavian winters can be cold).

And YES! You're dang right I want it to be better - in a reallllllly big way. Had to stop reading the Yggy thread and hopefully the Paradisea 3 will help me stay away. My lovely wife is very supportive of my hobby (even encouraged me to do the 1964 Kickstarter at $1200 for the A12 | ADEL), but even I question the wisdom [edit: of us] spending the money for the Yggy at this time.

Unfortunately this thread has helped me understand why people couldn't convince me my Nakamichi MB-2 CD player (from the early '90s with dual PCM1700 or 1702 IIRC) wasn't an obsolete relic. It was a sad day when it died.

My post was mainly for fun while I wait. To hear what others might say, and maybe learn a bit (npi) as I don't really know anything about the Tda1543, nor MHDT's implementation of it. Hoping it at least has a street taco buffer!

-Eric

 

[AudioBear]

Yes, it's against the rules to mention [redeacted] [redacted] testing anywhere but some thread in Sound Science.
 
I sprung for the A12s too and they are really great.
 
I bought an Angstrom 200 new in the late 90s an it was something special. Many of the old Thetas are legend.  I'm sure I've heard DACs with that chip but can't remember which.  There's probably a bit of nostalgia working in liking these old Dacs and chips but that's not the whole reason people like them.  They ARE good.  You have good reason to hope the Paradisae will be good indeed but as you obviously recognize, that desire and the fact that you must wait for it can do strange things to the brain.  The very awareness of trying to avoid confirmation bias can make it more persuasive.  Either you find a way to test it that will give you an answer you have confidence in, or you just listen to it and say it's wonderful.  Plan B has a much lower downside.  So maybe [redacted] [redacted] testing isn't a good idea after all.

 

[ericr]

Would love to hear the A12 on the Yggy. So much of what is being said about the Yggy (analog, tone/timbre, hearing the venue, not just the guitar but the guitar strings too, etc.) are what I'm hearing with the A12.

 

[AudioBear]

Yes it really sounds good.  I too would love to hear it especially since I have owned one of Mike Moffatt's babies.  It's also not expensive for what it appears to do but I haven't decided if I want to spend that much. Not sure the wife would understand why someone with mild age-related hearing loss needs a world class DAC.  But you never know.  This could be a very compelling purchase.  That's why we're all here isn't it?

 

[evillamer]

 

   
 
 
 
Does it mean the highly precise yggdrasil is a super electrical noise sensitive machine that will benefit even more significantly from Dac chip shielding, (usb)input noise isolation, power conditioning, emi/rfi reduction and vibration isolation?

Are any of these purported effects known to be audible, or simply measureable on super sensitive devices that can detect fluctuations that aren't audible anyway?

 
That's something that the Yggdrasil users need to experiment on and give their honest take on it.

 

[evillamer]

  Yes it really sounds good.  I too would love to hear it especially since I have owned one of Mike Moffatt's babies.  It's also not expensive for what it appears to do but I haven't decided if I want to spend that much. Not sure the wife would understand why someone with mild age-related hearing loss needs a world class DAC.  But you never know.  This could be a very compelling purchase.  That's why we're all here isn't it?

Age related hearing loss just means you lose HF hearing, but it doesn't mean your entire auditory system is gone? Maybe losing >16KHz hearing might be a good thing imho as makes you enjoy/notice the <16KHz frequency content more? Relax, and enjoy the good music provided by the excellent audio equipment that mike designed.

 

[wink]

{Redacted][Redacted] has just been {[Redacted][Redacted]}  good news  for all.....

 

[Ableza]

  Does it mean the highly precise yggdrasil is a super electrical noise sensitive machine that will benefit even more significantly from Dac chip shielding, (usb)input noise isolation, power conditioning, emi/rfi reduction and vibration isolation?

More likely it means you have quoted some of the reasons why the design took a long time to perfect.

 

[zerodeefex]

 
Well, I am currently running Yggy+ECZDs+HD650 (tweaked) in my living room right now.

Nice to see some HD-650 love. I have a friend who runs the ZD with the HD 650s as well. I wonder if your mods are to calm down the upper midrange?

The ZD super is also much improved as well.

The Yggdrasil > Zana deux super > HD6xx is something special. Surprisingly super layered and resolving.

 

[LingLing1337]

 Does it mean the highly precise yggdrasil is a super electrical noise sensitive machine that will benefit even more significantly from Dac chip shielding, (usb)input noise isolation, power conditioning, emi/rfi reduction and vibration isolation?

More likely it means you have quoted some of the reasons why the design took a long time to perfect.

I think hes just listing the $1000s of mods he wants to do on a $2000 DAC...

 

[Liu Junyuan]

The ZD super is also much improved as well.

The Yggdrasil > Zana deux super > HD6xx is something special. Surprisingly super layered and resolving.

Thanks Ravi. Thanks for the help. I am pretty certain a Black Widow is in my future. A Zana Deux would be glorious.

 

[AudioBear]

Thanks.  You're right and I do enjoy the music.  I said my wife might not understand. And I think I'd enjoy and Yggy. The great majority of music energy is below 10KHz and while the higher frequencies are important, I'd like to believe if you get that right, it going to sound pretty good. Maybe somebody will loan me their Yggy to test that hypothesis.