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Hey there,I'm narrowing my choices for a new CD source, and if I don't get a one-boxer, I might end up with a DAC-1. I'll audition it hooked up to my Classe CDP-10, but I'm going to sell that shortly thereafter.
My system: Plinius 8200mkII int, Dynaudio 1.3se, Speltz Anti in between. I'm looking for something less "smooth" and recessed, more resolving and involving. All kinds of music.
What are some good transports? Is there a lot of difference? Should I look at "audiophile" type brands only? Or should I consider cheap DVD players? Should I date my coworker if she's cute and friendly? Who do you have on Sunday, and how many points spread?
Thanks, I'm going to take the plunge soon.
Follow Ups:
I used a Marantz SA8260 when i had a DAC1. Sounded wonderful and three dimensional. benchmark claims the DAC1 is indifferent to the type of transport feeding it, but i found significant differences in the sound quality amongst the transports i tried. i sold the unit recently and have a very good bnc to rca digital coax cable from lat international if you are interested. Regarding the coworker, heck yes, and take her on the fax machine. colts by 3. good luck.
Aram - I used to recommend the Sony DVP-S7700 with mods, but now that Northstar has put out an I2S-output transport, this is the Transport that I am recommending. If you can eliminate S/PDIF, this is a big win in clarity and dynamics. The first time I drove the DAC-1 with an I2S Northstar 192 Transport my jaw dropped. Closest thing to PC-driven audio. No other transport can touch that I2S Northstar IMO.There are speaker dealers that will only audition their speakers with this I2S transport.
HEy Steve,I was looking at your I2S Offramp, and noticed that it has an RJ-45 jack for I2S.
My birdland dac has an input with that same jack that just says "Data in" and another one that says "Clock out".
What are these used for since the manual doesn't mention there use?
You got me. If it's I2S, then this is interesting. Designers use RJ-45 for all kinds of interfaces though. I would ask Birdland.
n
Hi,Doesn't this arrangement require modification to the Benchmark DAC1?
Thx,
Yes, it requires adding an I2S interface which makes it a NOS DAC. You can always use a Northstar 192 DAC, which already has I2S in, but in order for the I2S to sound great, it needs some mods as well IMO......
NUS (as in non-upsampling)? :-)))IIRC, the DAC-1 uses some kind of sigma-delta or low-bit DAC, which simply can't work with any audio PCM data without some form of internal oversampling...
Which DAC chip does the DAC-1 use?
I imagine you've listened to the Benchmark in two implementations:a. your turbo modded Dac 1 with favorite spdif transport (usb or traditional); versus
b. an i2s feed (either Northstar or usb-i2s) into the i2s modified Dac 1 in NOS mode
how would you characterize the differences, and which do you prefer?
Rio - here are my preferences:1) definitely the I2S from the computer to the NOS DAC-1 - more resolution and detail, more airy. Best cymbols and bells I have heard from ANY DAC. Upsampling to 24/96 is great.
2) Northstar Transport driving I2S to NOS DAC-1 - more jitter, but upsamples to 24/192 in the transport. Close to the USB driven I2S, but not quite as detailed or airy. Superclock in the Transport helps.
3) Any low-jitter modded transport driving the modded DAC-1 with S/PDIF - Uses the 24/192 asynchronous upsampler "AD1896" in the DAC-1. Not as good, more fuzzy on top and less bass tightness, but still beats most $10K+ DAC's. Superclock in the DAC-1 for the upsampler chip helps.
These ratings are all published on my audiocircle.com forum.
but you mention in #1 above to "24/96 is great". Sorry, please explain
24/96 is upsampled data using SRC (Secret Rabbit Code) on the PC. IT does the upsampling on the fly. Best upsampling code that I have heard.
Really consider going the computer route..Build your own, or get a pre-made one. More convenience and potentially better sound than an optical reader.
I've read a number of your posts on going the computer route and am curious what a ballpark dollar figure would be for a nice system if one were to start from scratch. Not including speakers and cables etc..
JH,This is a difficult question, as there are many many answers and it is hard to know which ones are the best. However, IMHO, the convenience and streaming off a hard disk is well worth the pursuit.
For an entry level but very nice DIY affair starting from scratch, I would say about $870 for a system with a 7inch touch screen, 200gb, and good dac. It could be about $100 cheaper if you were just wanting to send spdif to a dac. Ripping and playback programs would be freeware. About $1400 with a killer card.
For a more upscale DIY, I spent about $2700 3 years ago, and have a fanless pc, fancy wireless monitor, and 3 onboard dacs for tri-amping, and a backup harddrive. For normal stereo, subtract about $300 and with hard drive prices being where they are, you save another $100-$150.
YOu could go even better, and get something like the DAWs at www.endpcnoise.com, although you could just get the PC they use for their DAWS and put in better cards like RME or Lynx.
For other non DIY, the linked Zero one transport comes to mind, or you could get a Mac mini and somthing like Wavelengths USB Brick for around $2500 or so depending on control options, or a MAc and Empirical's off ramp and your favorite Dac. Or VRS audio's revolation.
Cambridge has a more affordable piece, and olive make thier symphonys.
Other options too like a squeeze box.
The main thing is that what ever one does, trying to make it act like anything but a box that plays music (ie surfing the web and playing games on it), make these prices go up significantly, as the hardware needs to be much faster.
First of all, thanks for taking time to respond. When the time comes I'll take you up on sending an email. At the moment I'm in the middle of two projects (finishing my basement and stands for 2.7 maggies) that need to be completed before I take on another. In the meanwhile I've started putting funds away for a pc - thus the question. I just needed some type of target price wise.
SInce you have real speakers, you really want to go the upscale route, or get a better card with the entry level one.ALso, you may want to think of tri-amping (for the 2.7s if that is what you will be using), besides the amps, it would only add say $300-400 more but it could really improve your system if you only listen to digital. While it COULD support Vinyl, I don't want to commit heresay by suggesting running a turntable into a computer, even though he Lynx's Analog ins are pretty good.
Also, $200 of those DIY totals include windoze. If you have an extra copy, that will save you some dough.
I have had some friends ask about this, and well lets just say they are computer challenged, so I am working on a bulletproof assortment of ripping, content management, and playback programs that are easy to use, but give audiophile quality....so things will only be better after your projects.
Vinyl will not be an issue. My lp collection had a mysterious decline in numbers some time back. Haven't had the desire or funds to reload. Sad to say vinyl is behind me now.I will be using the 2.7s and do plan to triamp at some point. I'll just be biamping at first till I getting the amps I want.
The Zero One units look nice. However, I wonder how the new Mercury one-box unit can sell for significantly less ($2380) then the Ti48 transport ($2980), let alone the Ti48 + Ar38 Dac ($1980)? After all, the Mercury appears to be a combination of the two separate units.Gerry
One less powersupply, less development (the hard work was done on the seperate pieces) cheaper parts, etc.
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