[thathertz]

Hi Purrin / Putin / Hitler ...whatever
 
Have a few statements for you which I hope you can address
I must say that I disagree with alot of your comments but hey ho that's life.
You're not forcing people to read this thread but when you present it with a screw you attitude you just know that a flak jacket will be required.
 
Ok Q.1....What do you consider as being the best SABRE implementation?
 
2.  I'm biased of course but I've heard many Sabre DACs and the Invicta is the best I've heard by far. I just don't get your assertion that
     the Invicta is employing sleight-of-hand to cover supposed inherent deficiencies. I don't hear the 'strident' nature you attest to. Maybe
     my ears are more suited to the Invicta signature....I just know that I like what I hear when comparing to many other DACs in recent history.
     RESULT: We're both happy so that's a +.
 
3. Given your continued vocal stance on the imminent DEATH of DSD, how do you feel about the new path of PS Audio and their Directstream 
    implementation? Again, given that my DAC of choice is the Invicta I'm biased but even then when looking at the signal path for the proposed
    Directstream  'DAC' it looks beautifully simple. Ted (the designer) is a true genius and of that there is no doubt.
    Anyway, ignoring the heavy PS Audio marketing speak for a moment, there must be something strong and tangible here for PS Audio 
    to put all their weight behind this technology. They're saying that regardless of the input signal, you WILL be hearing DSD 'quality' and it will sound 
    better than the input PCM signal. So 16/44.1Khz recordings will show details that will not have been heard with current converters. This suggests 
    that current PCM conversion implementations are 'broken' and that DSD conversions under PS Audio Directstream will be a huge improvement.
 
Interesting times
 
4. Why the screw did you choose that avatar? I think it's overkill. Not required. You will elicit the same response through casual postings.

 

[boatheelmusic]

1) sell your harsh Invicta for a new PS Audio.

2) did you vote for OB?

 

[thathertz]

1) sell your harsh Invicta for a new PS Audio.

2) did you vote for OB?

 
1) But my Invicta is not harsh Have you actually ever heard the Invicta?
 
2) Nope I'm in the UK but yeah I would vote for Obama

 

[boatheelmusic]

God help you on both counts !

 

[thathertz]

God help you on both counts !

 

 

[MayaTlab]

  looking at the signal path for the proposed Directstream  'DAC' it looks beautifully simple.

 
I'm not too sure there always is a correlation between simplicity and sound quality - and even then this is a graphical representation of a circuit, which may be designed with bias (for example regrouping several components or dissociating others - for example, I'd like to know why they didn't put any power related components in their Directstream representation and decided to split the ESS chip sigma delta part into a "multibit sigma delta" and a "multple multibit DACs used at random" - typo included).
 
Regarding your comments about the Invicta, I too am not in total agreement with Purrin, but he's probably heard a lot more DACs than both of us, and at least I agree with him on certain points. So perhaps it would be wiser to try to understand relative to what other DAC he made these comments (because after all this is a relative point of view once we're past measurements).

 

[thathertz]

God help you on both counts !

 
OT but what are your thoughts on the ~NAD M51? I looked at that for a long time (along with the NAIM DAC-V1) before going with the Invicta.
I must say I LOVE the Invicta. I have two 128gb SDXC cards (so far) and it is just a dream to be able to control playback through the Invicta 
remote without having the hassle of using a PC/laptop source with Foobar or Jriver etc. etc.....

 

[music_man]

now, this is getting interesting!

 

[purrin]

  im about to order the Gen2 usb board for my Gungnir, to those that swapped out is it fairly easy to do?

 
Easy to do. Just a million screws on the Gungnir to open it up. Be sure to employ good anti-static practices.
 

I used the TEAC for a year and was happy to replace it with an uberfrost. It was an upgrade. Putin's right in calling the TEAC a piece. I regret ditching my DAC2 for it due to the hype.

 
Dude, you gotta mod it, get a power conditioner, and convert PCM to DSD to it.
 
Lest I remind everyone of the Teac in varying states of disuse by two reputable makers of headphone related gear. Names shall be withheld to protect the innocent.
 

 

 

 
Ok Q.1....What do you consider as being the best SABRE implementation?

 
Probably the Vega, or one of MisterRogers insane SABRE builds. Lord knows he probably spend countless hours and well over $5K in parts for experimentation to get the right sound on it.
 

 
2.  I'm biased of course but I've heard many Sabre DACs and the Invicta is the best I've heard by far. I just don't get your assertion that the Invicta is employing sleight-of-hand to cover supposed inherent deficiencies. I don't hear the 'strident' nature you attest to. Maybe my ears are more suited to the Invicta signature....I just know that I like what I hear when comparing to many other DACs in recent history.
 

 
I'm really sensitive to treble stridency, probably more so than most. Again, I grew up listening to vinyl and still have a ton of it around.
 

 
3. Given your continued vocal stance on the imminent DEATH of DSD, how do you feel about the new path of PS Audio and their Directstream implementation? Again, given that my DAC of choice is the Invicta I'm biased but even then when looking at the signal path for the proposed Directstream  'DAC' it looks beautifully simple. Ted (the designer) is a true genius and of that there is no doubt.
 
Anyway, ignoring the heavy PS Audio marketing speak for a moment, there must be something strong and tangible here for PS Audio to put all their weight behind this technology. They're saying that regardless of the input signal, you WILL be hearing DSD 'quality' and it will sound better than the input PCM signal. So 16/44.1Khz recordings will show details that will not have been heard with current converters. This suggests that current PCM conversion implementations are 'broken' and that DSD conversions under PS Audio Directstream will be a huge improvement.

 
I think they could be on to something. If so, that would be great. The proof will be in the pudding. I almost went for the trade-in program to get their new DAC. But thinking about it more, it's obvious that Paul's reference system and sonic preferences do differ somewhat from a vocal subset of their customer base (the ones who felt the PWD1->2 running 2.02 or 2.03 was the best sounding.) Given the issues with the firmwares making the PWD2 sound different, the Bridge being broken for so long, and what appears to be Paul's preference for the nasty sounding treble of the latter firmware revisions, I've decided to wait on the sidelines. In time, the $6K PSA DSD DAC will probably come down to $3K anyways like the PWD2.
 

 
4. Why the screw did you choose that avatar? I think it's overkill. Not required. You will elicit the same response through casual postings.

 
My buddy AL mis-typed Putin instead of Purrin on his mobile device in the AGD-M7 thread. A few peeps, some of them my friends, got slightly hung up on it, so I decided to play along.
 
I'll probably change my avatar because of recent events and also because Putin is an as5h0le. However, I do admire Putin because although he appears crazy, he stands by his convictions and doesn't give a sh1t about what other people think about him. I also like him because he out maneuvered the Barry and Kerry foreign policy team, reminding us how incompetent they (Barry and Kerry) were. (I didn't like W's foreign policy execution either.)
 
But you are right. Again, Putin is an a-hole and I will change my avatar back soon.
 

 

[MayaTlab]

What puzzles me most is that if you find the Invicta's treble perfectible (I do too), you seemed to prefer the Lavry in that regard, while I would personally take the Invicta any time over the Lavry as far as listening fatigue goes, or the presence of grain / dirt / grit / lack of refinement in the trebles. In the same way I don't find it any less detailed / textured / agile in the bass than Dan's creation (but then you may very well argue that it probably should be a lot better than it given the price difference and I'd agree with you). I suspect you may find the Benchmark DAC2 quite similar to the Vega given your description, perhaps a little less convincing overall.
 
And I'm sorry but Kerry's lack of prescience regarding foreign issues is nothing in comparison to the jolly disorganised mess that the EU foreign policy is regarding Russia. Let me claim that we're better at being diplomatic noobs than Kerry ATM : http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/04/o-10-ukraine-sanctions-gaffe-city-profits-diplomacy-britain-russia?CMP=fb_gu

 

[thathertz]

   
I'm not too sure there always is a correlation between simplicity and sound quality - and even then this is a graphical representation of a circuit, which may be designed with bias (for example regrouping several components or dissociating others - for example, I'd like to know why they didn't put any power related components in their Directstream representation and decided to split the ESS chip sigma delta part into a "multibit sigma delta" and a "multple multibit DACs used at random" - typo included).
 
Regarding your comments about the Invicta, I too am not in total agreement with Purrin, but he's probably heard a lot more DACs than both of us, and at least I agree with him on certain points. So perhaps it would be wiser to try to understand relative to what other DAC he made these comments (because after all this is a relative point of view once we're past measurements).

 
At face value the Directstream 'DAC' looks good. However, I've read the forum posts and watched the videos. It's really hard to not get caught up in 
Ted Smith's enthusiasm. He's just one of those guys that you want to believe in. Imagine him being there at a 'meet'.... I'm sitting on a huge investment 
(for me) in the Invicta so I'm bound to be defensive. I spent a LOT of time researching DACs before buying this from a UK dealer which was £3500. 
At current exchange rates that's $5,832.28. Not a million miles away from the projected price of the Directstream. 
 
I've learned alot from Purrin. He's certainly more qualified than I to comment on the various DAC's in the marketplace, but talk of DSD dying, chocolate
ice cream, SABRE SABRE SABRE SABRE SABRE etc. just winds me up...

 
 
We're all human after all. 
 
I'm more than happy with my setup. My ultimate would be the Invicta +_ (HP AMP) + JPS LABS Abyss which is something I'm working towards.
 
For me that means I need to reconsider the car I'm looking to drive. Do I go for the BMW 3 series or do I buy the Renault Clio + the Abyss etc?
 
My son is 7 years old. If he were my age how would I advise him? 

 

[MayaTlab]

 
For me that means I need to reconsider the car I'm looking to drive. Do I go for the BMW 3 series or do I buy the Renault Clio + the Abyss etc?

 
The Clio please. France counts on your support to get its economy going. Don't you want to taste a bit of va va voom ?

 

[boatheelmusic]

As for me, in all seriousness I like a detailed but SMOOTH presentation first through my Maggies then secondly through my HD 600's.

Having said that, both Sabres I've tried in the Oppo 105 and the BMC puredac had this sheen that while plenty detailed didn't sound real. I'm a professional jazz guitarist, so maybe a little familiar with just what that is.

I liked the M51, but similar in character to the Emotiva DC1 which at 1/4 the price and with more features represents a remarkable value.

I have a PS Audio PWD being delivered tomorrow, and will file a report in due time.

As to "Barry and Kerry", they represent major posers who embarass many of us on this side of the Pond!

Best,

Bill

 

[MayaTlab]

As for me, in all seriousness I like a detailed but SMOOTH presentation first through my Maggies then secondly through my HD 600's.

Having said that, both Sabres I've tried in the Oppo 105 and the BMC puredac had this sheen that while plenty detailed didn't sound real. I'm a professional jazz guitarist, so maybe a little familiar with just what that is.

 
Agreed on the sheen. But I still think the ones I've tried (DAC2, Invicta) are the smoothest DACs I've tried yet (there probably is better around). Smooth, refined, but more or less lean, thin with a more or less "synthesised" timbre.

 

[thathertz]

Hi Purrin
 
Sorry couldn't quote your last post. Not sure if it was a 'Chrome' issue.
 
Anywaaaaaay....
 
I agree with your comments on the Directstream approach AND (mostly) on Putin 

 
It's really hard to read your posts when it seems they have come from Putin's mouth  
 
You changed your avatar! Top man.
 
Sorry if I seemed overly emotional in my recent posts.
 
I chose a bad week to give up meth.