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In Reply to: RE: Well damn... posted by Lee M on January 21, 2015 at 05:30:35
What have you found in the line of DAC/Preamps? I am also interested in buying something like that. There is one that intrigues me a lot, the Mytek Manhattan. It's not cheap, but it looks like it has just about everything I would need. Have you come across anything similar.
Thanks,
John Elison
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but a little more than I was hoping to spend. I would like to hear it. I'm really looking forward to the Chicago Axpona show in April where I'll get a chance to see and hear quite a few preamps and dacs. When I finally say ok it's time to buy I'll arrange to get as many off the list as I can at the same time for a home trial. Right now my list includes the following.
Matrix X-Sabre
Yulong Da8-I've heard good things about this one.
M2Tech Young-This one I'll probably listen to this weekend. A dealer around here has a floor model for sale for less than half the list price. At that price I could afford to sell it and get something else if it turned out to be the wrong decision.
Simaudio Moon 380D-I've heard great things about this one and intend to thoroughly check this one out.
The new Parasound integrated mentioned above or the Parasound JC-2BP I was considering the P-5 but listened to it A-B with a McIntosh D100 and the McIntosh sounded much richer in sound quality especially in the bass department.
McIntosh D100 which apparently is also badged as a Wadia 321
Benchmark dac2 HGC
It may not be as versatile or 'high-end' as the others, but I'm finding that the compact $1199 MSRP Oppo HA-1 is a very nice product.... and I don't even use headphones. I'm using mine to drive my amp.
I like the fact that it has a decent selection of digital & analog inputs which are all switchable via the supplied remote (or front panel) along with remote volume control / mute. The remote also controls Skip Back, Skip Forward, and Pause on my Mac music server. Most of my source material is either 16/44.1 AIFF 'rips' from my CD collection or 24/96 from a handful of vinyl records or 'hi-res' downloads.
Oh, there's also a free iPhone App for controlling the Oppo HA-1.
Playing with the Oppo HA-1
It's on the list now. I had read about it a while back and was very interested at the time. I've come close to buying their 105 several times in the last year but want to get settled on a preamp before buying a player. I read somewhere that up to a third of all the vendors at the RMAF were using 103s or 105s as their source for demos. Pretty strong statement.
If you're seriously considering the Oppo HA-1 I should tell you that it does not present a warm, rich, robust, full-bodied, or lush sound, at all. My PS Audio NuWave DAC has a little more richness in the mids and below. The Oppo might work out for you depending on your taste and other gear. I would recommend auditioning one if you can. I like mine but I tend to prefer a little more ripeness overall.... but it's not bad coupled with a bit of vacuum tube warmth from a tube amp. Does that make sense? ;-)
Mcintosh and Wadia plate swapping. Must be from the marriage with Sumiko. Only guessing.
The marriage with Fine Sounds. ARC, McIntosh, Sumiko, Sonus Faber, Wadia. Wadia is built at the McIntosh plant. No surprise a little cross pollination might occur.
with the pace of tech change, i like outboard dacs - so you can adapt to new dac tech without changing the rest.
I can appreciate your preference. However, it is not my preference. I would like to buy a DAC/Preamp and I'm rather intrigued by the Mytek Manhattan. I'm just waiting for a friend to tell me how he likes it and how it sounds. If he gives a positive report I think I'll probably audition it in the very near future.
Thanks,
John Elison
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