Digital Drive

Posted by Yashu (A) on April 21, 2007 at 22:13:08

In Reply to: I could really use a DAC suggestion! posted by budburma on April 20, 2007 at 10:15:23:

Check out the maker MHDT.

The Paradisea DAC has a tubed output buffer and is very nice. Very musical and can handle full 24/96, there is a + version, the Paradisea+ that has USB input and improved PSU.

The Rennesience II is also tubed, but I think it only does 16bit. The Dialogue II is the budget version of this without a tube.

The Constantine is the Paradisea without a tube.

These are all Non-oversampling DACs. They have a very smoothe sound and can be almost analog with the right setup, however being non-os means that they are going to be more sensitive to jitter, but if you have a good transport or a good usb s/pdif adapter it is going to sound great.

For the PC I would suggest the Trends UD-10 that gives you toslink, coax, and XLR from your PC, and it has a good clock so very minimal jitter. You could also consider the hagUSB by hagtech, this is a very well built usb to coax s/pdif adapter. All these devices are ASIO compatable so you can get bit-perfect streams from your PC.

• Re: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... - luvmusic8 16:46:24 05/21/07 (0)
  In Reply to: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... posted by Yashu on April 21, 2007 at 22:13:08

  Is USB Paradisea+ true I2S USB without conversion to spdif? If not is the sonic quality compromised? Can this be used with CDP besides PC? Anyone A/B compared this to Scott Nixon tubed DAC? Thanks.
  
  

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• Re: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... - budburma 12:00:07 04/26/07 (2)
  In Reply to: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... posted by Yashu on April 21, 2007 at 22:13:08:

  alrighty then. i took some time to look into your suggestions and the trends ud-10 i have to sy looks great. i think i would like to keep as much of my present setup as i can as i have invested a lot of time getting it wheere i want it to be. the tends allows for that and will maybe take take of the dreaded pc jitter problem?

  thanks!
  
  

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  • I think you will like it. - Yashu 14:33:43 04/26/07 (1)
    In Reply to: Re: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... posted by budburma on April 26, 2007 at 12:00:07:

    I think the UD-10 is probably the best value out there when it comes to providing digital out for the PC. It has every connection, PSU isolation, and a good clock.

    I bought a hagUSB and a monarchy DIP, I could have killed two birds with one stone on the Trends UD-10, and I would have come out ahead, since I prefer the sound of toslink (DIP has no optical out).

    The kicker was that the ud-10 came out just after I made my investment.

    You should post back a review.
    
    

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    • Re: I think you will like it. - budburma 14:48:32 04/26/07 (0)
      In Reply to: I think you will like it. posted by Yashu on April 26, 2007 at 14:33:43:

      You know, the Monarchy DIP was the exact extra piece I was referring to that would fix the jitter etc. The more pieces to the puzzle the more confusion as well as ppportunity for exploration and improvement

      I would really prefer to limit that, though. It can make any one of us crazy with options and the audiophile's devil of synergy. To my mind, you can't keep looking to catch lightning in a bottle with each change influencing the whole system. Ah, but i might start to was philosphical.

      I am happy trying to keeps simple as I can. As i get closer to the pc system with the Trends or whatever I try in the end, i will defintely be relating the experience.

      Enjoy the tunes!
      
      

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• How's the Dialogue II? Anyone heard it? - goks 16:00:36 04/22/07 (4)
  In Reply to: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... posted by Yashu on April 21, 2007 at 22:13:08:

  nt
  
  

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  • Re: How's the Dialogue II? Anyone heard it? - tvr2500m 17:37:14 04/26/07 (0)
    In Reply to: How's the Dialogue II? Anyone heard it? posted by goks on April 22, 2007 at 16:00:36:

    First DAC? The Dialogue may be my LAST DAC ;) After diggin' deep into the DAC thing, rolling through a dozen or two players, DACs, jitter filters, cheap to expensive, I actually like the Kusunoki-inspired, Philips TDA1543-based, 16-bit, non-os, filterless Dialogue II the best of anything I've listened to. Weighing in the price and it really is a nice value, me thinks. I have the Dialogue version that immediately preceded the most current version - 2.1 vs 2.2, or something like that.

    It's not the most extended or detailed DAC, but the soundstage and tonal character and density are very nice. The DAC sounds "natural", "organic", "analog" (to use those well-worn descriptors). The DAC has a very healthy dose of palpability. It breathes.

    I'd like to try the Renaissance, which as mentioned, is a tube-buffered version of the Dialogue. The Paradisea is a Philips TDA1545-based DAC. I found my way to the Dialogue because I wanted to try a TDA1543 DAC, but I'm curious about the Paradisea, too.

    I heard very good things about the Zhaolu D 2.5 from diykits (www.diykits.com.hk/), and you might want to consider Dusty Vawter's latest DAC, the Channel Islands Audio VDA-2.

    - SJ
    
    

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  • I have it... It's nice. - Yashu 09:00:53 04/23/07 (2)
    In Reply to: How's the Dialogue II? Anyone heard it? posted by goks on April 22, 2007 at 16:00:36:

    I like it, it has a smoothe sweet sound, *almost* analog. I would say that it is very musical and not meant for clinical listening, but enjoying the music.

    It is only 16bit, but it still sounds great. It is extremely dependent on the transport, IE it is greatly effected by jitter because it is a non-oversampling DAC.

    It is a wonderful value, it has toslink, BNC, and coax, and I liked the toslink the best. If you have a good transport, you are going to get a great sound. A good transport or a good USB s/pdif adapter (hagUSB, trends ud-10) will make this thing sing.

    If you have the money, though, I would get the paradisea+. Better transformer and PSU, and USB support, not to meantion a tubed output stage. If you do not like tubes, the constantine is the same DAC but wthout the tube.

    The dialogue II is a wonderful value, though... it makes a great first DAC.
    
    

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    • thanks - goks 12:52:19 04/24/07 (1)
      In Reply to: I have it... It's nice. posted by Yashu on April 23, 2007 at 09:00:53:

      the only thing that might worry me is a number of s/h pieces you can see in classifieds. it seems everyone wants something better.
      
      

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      • Re: thanks - Yashu 08:03:44 04/25/07 (0)
        In Reply to: thanks posted by goks on April 24, 2007 at 12:52:19:

        As I said this is a good "first DAC". It certainly has wet my appetitte for more, but I can't afford a new one yet. You may see a lot of them go on sale, but many of the people that sell their MHDT are buying a better MHDT model. Many of the people with the regular paradisea are selling it and buying the + version. I think that says a lot about these products, if many are willing to go through the trouble to get the latest version even if it only has incremental improvements.
        
        

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• Re: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... - Gmood1 08:08:38 04/22/07 (0)
  In Reply to: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... posted by Yashu on April 21, 2007 at 22:13:08:

  Having owned several of these dacs. I agree completely with what you've said Yashu. The guys at MHDT labs take care of their customers. With well over 400 perfect transactions on Ebay and I would think many more not through ebay. I wouldn't stress one bit about them doing what's right. You get more than what you pay for with these fellows.

  Good listening
  
  

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• Warning - NO US distributor = potential big trouble - Frihed89 00:58:57 04/22/07 (2)
  In Reply to: Mhdt: Paradisea, Paradisea+, Rennesience II... Trends UD-10, hagerman hagUSB, ect... posted by Yashu on April 21, 2007 at 22:13:08:

  Good news: it keeps the price lower.
  Bad news: you get what you pay for.

  For those of us who have been stranded by equipment mfrs in other countries, the experience is both memorable and edifying.

  Give it some thought before you buy.
  
  

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  • However... - Yashu 10:19:09 04/22/07 (1)
    In Reply to: Warning - NO US distributor = potential big trouble posted by Frihed89 on April 22, 2007 at 00:58:57:

    MHDT seems to be reliable, I bough mine used on audiogon, and that seems to be a good way to grab one. Since the USB versions have come out, a lot of people have been upgrading to those versions, so there have been a lot of the non + versions popping up on the used market.

    I think that is a good sign, that so many people are willing to upgrade to something that is almost the same as what they had.

    If you buy directly from MHDT on ebay, and there seems to be at least one for sale there at any one time, you will get it shipped straight from the manufacturer, arriving in 2 weeks or less, that seems to be the average. That is pretty good from Taiwan.

    I bought it not knowing what to expect, but I can say that I am now a fan. I also bought the hagUSB, but if the trends ud-10 was out at the time, it is what I would have rather haved, although the hagUSB is remarkably good.
    
    

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    • Yes, but you never know - Frihed89 02:41:19 04/23/07 (0)
      In Reply to: However... posted by Yashu on April 22, 2007 at 10:19:09:

      I am not talking about fraud here. That's another issue.

      I am quite experienced in export and import of audio equipment. Maybe about 80% of all transactions are smooth and the equipment is a solid performer and outlasts the warranty period (if it exists). But 20% of the time, in my experience, there are problems that could have only been solved by a local distributor with warranty service and schematics. To solve these problems you have to find a repair person who can figure out what is going on without schematics and then fix it.

      Just a word to the cautious.

      My rule: don't import it unless you are prepared to lose ALL your money. I still find deals that pass this test! And some of them fail, but I don't feel bad.

      
      
      

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