Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hello Steve,
Where can I learn more about your  Interchange Ethernet renderer you keep mentioning here?  After they finish the Gen3 upgrade to my Antipodes DX I plan to try using it as a server on my network with Roon.  I will need a renderer to accept the Ethernet signal from my network (or directly from the DX which has two Ethernet connections) and then feed USB to my Pavane Level 3 DAC.  It will need to work with Roon.  I am looking at options but while some of the top offerings from SOtM and Sonore have their fans, nothing seems to jump out in the current reviews as a clear winner, based on musicality and overall performance.  Of course, one option will be Antipodes' own EX (once it is released) but I know your stuff is very well-regarded and so I would like to learn more about your Interchange.  I tried your website but the Interchange is not shown.  BTW congrats on the excellent review Plaskin just gave your new SX. 

To augment my comment below about nothing jumping out as a "clear winner" with regards to renderers/endpoints, it seems the dCS Network Bridge would certainly be one to try.

One of my complaints about SACD is they all seem to have no ’room’ played in. The music all seems to ’magically’ float out of a black hole. Stripped of any ambience.

Interestingly, this is in the ballpark of describing my issue with the Class D amplification I have owned.   

@toetapaudio 

Not all Class D should be described in this way

My comments were limited to "the Class D amplification I have owned"  or specifically, a pair of monos using Ncore NC1200 modules and matching SMPS.

Good points Matt.  The option for now seems to be running Ethernet from the music server into an endpoint that can output USB to the DAC.  I will try this in a couple of weeks when I get my DX back after the Gen3 upgrade.  Endpoint will be the SOtM trio.  I would like to try the DJM Electronics GigaFOILv4 fiber optic isolation filter on the Ethernet line but it does not seem to be available for purchase yet....their website says it is "currently undergoing regulatory review."  

@abedirov 
I see your DX sitting there and I will be happy to have mine back from Antipodes today in its new Gen3 form (with the V4X electronics). I am going to set it up this weekend running a short CAT 7 wire from the DX to the latest SOtM ultra triad that will serve as the endpoint (or renderer) then a very short USB from the SOtM tx-USBultra Signal Regenerator into my Pavane Level 3 DAC. That set-up should be sort of like running the CX + EX combo except with the SOtM stuff as the endpoint instead of the EX.  
I still want to try Metrum's Ambre as a ROON endpoint but them not seeming to have ROON certification yet plus no support for Squeezelite/Squeezebox led me to try the SOtM gear first. Metrum keeps upgrading however and now has MQA and I2S modules that are user-installable into my DAC so trying the Ambre as a ROON endpoint with I2S directly into the Pavane is an attractive option. Once they have it all sorted out, I will probably pick up the Ambre and the two modules and compare that set-up with what I will have this weekend using the SOtM gear.

@david_ten  

Any recommendations for an upper tier DAC with a very well implemented volume control?

I can second the Metrum Adagio that was already recommended by @bill_k.  I owned the Adagio as well as Metrum's Pavane at the same time and after several weeks of side-by-side comparisons, I chose to keep the Pavane and have it upgraded by Metrum to their Level 3, which means the interior build is at the same level as the Adagio, but without the volume control. 

The sound of the Adagio is very close to my upgraded Pavane but I already owned a preamp that I like very much and I liked the sound through my preamp just a little bit better than through the Adagio alone.  This was probably due to some minor coloration, possibly caused by components in the preamp including AN tantalum resistors in the volume control, Jupiter copper foil caps, Lundahl transformers, or other circuitry.  The Adagio had slightly better resolution and both sounded super clean with good staging, tone, bass, and plenty of drive.  If I didn't already own that preamp, I would have kept the Adagio and been perfectly happy.  There is probably "better" in some way but for a simple solution that gets you off the merry-go-round the Adagio should certainly be on your list.

FWIW, Steve Nugent's well-regarded Empirical Audio DACs also adjust volume by changing the reference voltage.  I think there may be at least one more that does that but I cannot remember the name.

@geoffalter ​​-

@georgehifi still has a system page but hasn't posted here since November of 2021.  That said, 10 years after it was first posted, this thread is still valid given the relatively low percentage of content available beyond Redbook CD, and how $15-20K is still a price range that should afford a pretty good DAC to convert Redbook CD files.

I would be interested in reading updates to this thread from end users who own some of the more recent DAC offerings that do well with Redbook CDs, regardless of the price range.