[zerodeefex]

   

Sell the HE-500, pick up the Zana Deux Super, and mod your HD650. Sell all your other amps (La Figaro 339, Schiit Audio Lyr (1), Gustard H10, JDS Labs O2) and pair it with the Gungnir. Upgrade the Gungnir if it's ever a choice. It will be an endgame quality rig. My second favorite pairing at the SF Bay meet was the Yggy > Zana Deux Super > HD6xx. You will be amazed.

 

[Limniscate]

I've been comparing a Bryston BDA-2, ODAC and my Outlaw 975 and can't tell a difference on my Magnepan 1.7i through an Odyssey Candela preamp and Odyssey Stratos amp.  I just thought I'd add my two cents even though it's against the grain, fwiw.

 

[AudioBear]

Those are useful data points.  It might be helpful to also describe the material you listened to and how you conducted the hearing.  I am not in any way doubting you but I think there are those who will.  Your system certainly seems up to the task.
 
I owned a 975 for years and thought it was a very good processor/pre-amp.  Your observations don't surprise me at all.  Others will not be of the same experience or opinion.  I hope we can learn something from the discussion. 

 

[Limniscate]

  Those are useful data points.  It might be helpful to also describe the material you listened to and how you conducted the hearing.  I am not in any way doubting you but I think there are those who will.  Your system certainly seems up to the task.
 
I owned a 975 for years and thought it was a very good processor/pre-amp.  Your observations don't surprise me at all.  Others will not be of the same experience or opinion.  I hope we can learn something from the discussion. 

I was listening to FLAC files (16 and 24 bit) through foobar WASAPI (event).  The specific tracks that I've used: Dave Matthews - So Much to Say, Jem - Come on Closer, Daft Punk - Bring Life Back to Music, Beck - Turn Away, etc..  I will do a double-blind test later when I have someone to help me conduct one.
 
The USB cables that I'm using for the inputs are pretty crappy for the Bryston and the ODAC.  However, I'm using a Blue Jean cable (3.5mm to RCA) for the ODAC to my preamp and Nordost RCA for the Bryston to my preamp.
 
I've also compared the ODAC/O2, Schiit Magni/Modi, and the ASUS Xonar Essence One and have not noticed a difference on my HE500 with Jerg mod.
 
There's a very slight difference between the O2 and the Emotiva mini x a-100 (speaker amp) on my HE500.
 
I can barely tell the difference between the ODAC with Odyssey Candela tube preamp and my Outlaw 975.  It certainly isn't worth $1000 difference.  Granted, I haven't tube rolled or changed the fuse in my Candela pre-amp.

 

[AudioBear]

That's better.  Sounds like a good test to me.  Talking about [redacted] [redacted] testing is discouraged here.  I can't wait to hear your results.  Don't forget to critically balance the levels to within 0.1dB.  There's every chance your Maggies are just so good what you feed them is less critical.

 

[Limniscate]

  That's better.  Sounds like a good test to me.  Talking about [redacted] [redacted] testing is discouraged here.  I can't wait to hear your results.  Don't forget to critically balance the levels to within 0.1dB.  There's every chance your Maggies are just so good what you feed them is less critical.

Yeah I need to get a real SPL.  I was using an app on my phone.  The Maggies are supposedly very revealing of upstream components.

 

[AudioBear]

Testing and comparing equipment by ear is a learned skill.  You have to practice listening.  If you're happy with the Outlaw it might not be a skill you want to learn.  It'll be a lot less expensive, you won't have to do a lot of testing, and you won't get into debates here on the forum.  
 
I use an iPhone app.(Clear tune) to tune my instruments and it's pretty good but it's not going to be close to the  ±0.01dB or better that you need to match two sources.  There's some good discussion of testing over in the Sound Science area.  It is not an easy task to do a really carefully matched comparison; there are lots of booby traps along the way.  For those and other reasons some members here just trust their ears.  They would argue that if you use a piece of gear in several set-ups and with different material and on different occasions you get a pretty good sense of what it sounds like (if anything) and how good it is for their purposes. It's hard to argue with that even if it isn't a quantitative test. It's what most of us can do easily--as you are now doing.  On the other hand if you want to make a hobby out of testing that's cool too.  It's fun.  I've done a lot of it with speakers.
 
Don't want to degenerate this into another cable discussion so PM me if you want to talk about cables.  I personally would expect them to be more transparent to the comparison you are doing than the major pieces you are comparing.  It would be better if you the same interconnects and cables were used between all comparable pieces of the chain.  Eliminates cable differences whether you believe in them or not.
 
Keep us posted (I say us but I'm new here too).

 

[evillamer]

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

Schiit just [redacted] a new dac called the Yggdrasil.

 

[juanitox]

too much time for me to wait for an Yggi , so i decide to go to the vintage road..    and found a oldR2R dac who make me dreaming for long time ago the  METAXAS MaSDacII  with the legendary 

D20400 d'Ultra-Analog 

i will report how it sounds compares to my TOTALDAC A1. 

 

 

 

[JuanseAmador]

Guys, I have a question for you. I've always wondered, there are some special dacs for iStuff, like the streamer or a JDS Labs one, etc. This means that when you use any other non-dedicated dac you are not bypassing the iPod's dac? Does this mean that if I use a Moldi for example, I'm actually using both the Cirrus and the Schiit?

 

[LingLing1337]

Guys, I have a question for you. I've always wondered, there are some special dacs for iStuff, like the streamer or a JDS Labs one, etc. This means that when you use any other non-dedicated dac you are not bypassing the iPod's dac? Does this mean that if I use a Moldi for example, I'm actually using both the Cirrus and the Schiit?

Think about it... how would the signal get back to digital for the Schiit if it had already been converted to analog... theres no ADC in an Ipod or most DACs

 

[JuanseAmador]

Guys, I have a question for you. I've always wondered, there are some special dacs for iStuff, like the streamer or a JDS Labs one, etc. This means that when you use any other non-dedicated dac you are not bypassing the iPod's dac? Does this mean that if I use a Moldi for example, I'm actually using both the Cirrus and the Schiit?

Think about it... how would the signal get back to digital for the Schiit if it had already been converted to analog... theres no ADC in an Ipod or most DACs

Yeah I know. That's why I'm asking, are you bottlenecking the dedicated amp by doing this?

 

[Ableza]

In general, if you are using an Apple compliant device connected to the Apple interface connector (30-pin or Lightning) then you have access to the digital stream and you are bypassing the phone or iPod's DAC.  If you are connecting via the headphone out you are using an analog signal and that uses the DAC.  In some cases, using a non-Apple certified device on a 30-pin connectors you could also be using analog.  I don't know if the Lightning connector outputs analog.  I have no idea what you mean by "bottle-necking."

 

[JuanseAmador]

In general, if you are using an Apple compliant device connected to the Apple interface connector (30-pin or Lightning) then you have access to the digital stream and you are bypassing the phone or iPod's DAC.  If you are connecting via the headphone out you are using an analog signal and that uses the DAC.  In some cases, using a non-Apple certified device on a 30-pin connectors you could also be using analog.  I don't know if the Lightning connector outputs analog.  I have no idea what you mean by "bottle-necking."

What I mean is that if I were to use a regular dac (as opposed to an iDevice dedicated one) running from the headphone out, would that compromise the sound?

 

[Ableza]

What I mean is that if I were to use a regular dac (as opposed to an iDevice dedicated one) running from the headphone out, would that compromise the sound?

You cannot connect a DAC to the headphone out as that is already analog.  If you want to use an external DAC with an iDevice, you must use one certified compliant by Apple that connects to the digital output.  Or receives the data via BT or Airplay.