Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Matt, first of all, thank you for this wonderful and very informative thread. I have been following your thread from day one and I must say this is by far the best thread on any audio related forum that I have come across:)
Anyway, I don't know if you have heard about Coincident Speaker Technology. Their speakers, although normally associated with low powered tube gear, can also be driven by powerful transistor amplifiers. The floor standing models have 12'' side firing woofers, so are quite narrow in size and flexible in placement. You can place woofers inwards or outwards, it helps eliminate standing waves and can be of benefit in your room. I currently have Antipodes DS Reference, Lampozator, Coincident pre and power amplifiers driving their second from the top floor stander, Total Victory V roughly in the room of the same size as yours, and have absolutely no issues with booming bass. The speakers just disappear, the sound is neutral, but at the same time is very revealing and detailed, the bass is simply amazing. I know, they are rear ported, but side firing woofers may negate the issue in your room.
Given the caliber of the speakers you are looking at, I think, you should give their top model, Pure Reference Extreme, a try: http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/Pure-Reference-Extreme.htm.
The have separate enclosures for the mids/highs and the woofers, are full range and have simple first order crossovers. Another advantage: having separate enclosures gives additional flexibility for placing them in a room. You can even get stands for mids/high module and place them separately from woofers.

Matt, are you planning to audition Lampizator Golden Gate? I am asking as I plan to upgrade my Lampi L4 and GG is one of my top choices. Other candidates are Bricasti, TotalDac and Rockna. Sadly, MSB Analog is no longer on the list. I have been listening to MSB Analog + Powe Base for the last 3 weeks and comparing it to my Lampi L4. No contest, Lampi is better on all fronts, especially with DSD. It's a pity, I've had really high hopes for MSB. Other MSB models may be better, but they are out of my price range.
I would love to try ODSE, but not sure if I can get one in Moscow, where I am based. Any other recommendations?
Thanks

Matt, it is strange that Lampi people are not willing to give you GG to try given the vast popularity of your thread. I look forward to your impressions of the Lite 7, but I do not think it can compete with the other great DACs you've tried.

Agear, I have not heard the L7 yet. The local dealer just sold his only demo version of the B7. He will receive the GG in a month or 2, and I plan to audition it as soon as it arrives.

Matt, try to get MSB with the new Quad DSD USB input module. I have read the new module is better with all music, not just DSD.

Matt, good luck with the DX. I have been a very happy owner of DS Reference for over an year and it is a great product. One important point, the server shall be on for at least 40 hours before it reaches optimum performance. In fact, Mark Jenkins recommends to keep it on all the time.

Matt, one last point about DX. It has 2 USB ports for audio: one is with 5v on and another one is with 5v off. Some DACs do not need power signal to be fed through USB and in this case you can use the 5v off port, which should sound better. You need to experiment.

Matt, I have never used Antipodes with ITunes, so I wouldn't know. Please, download the user reference guide from the Antipodes site: http://www.antipodesaudio.com/ref_guide.pdf
Page 10 shall explain how to do it.

Matt, any update on the Antipodes? Have you downloaded the manual? Did it help wth the iTunes issue?
Thanks.

Matt,
Please, call me Aziz, which is actually my name :))
I have not made a detailed comparison between my DS Reference and the mac mini. I just put in the DS and was so happy with the sound that It never came up to my mind to try the mini again. Also, at that time I was so fed up with the various usability issues I had with iTunes and Audirvana, I was glad to get rid of the Mac mini and never use again. The DS was so much easier to use. Sound wise, I remember more bass extension and better soundstage. Also, it seemed at the time the DS was more revealing and I simply heard more music with the server.
Aziz

Matt,
Congratulations on your new speakers. Hopefully, they will last a couple of years before you start loosing your sleep again:))

I wish you tried Coincident Pure Reference Extreme, but this is a different audio philosophy: high power transistors vs low power SET tubes etc.

I am quite surprised by your Antipodes findings, but it is good to know that a modified mini can outperform a specialist music server. My mini was an old stock unit, so my results were quite different. Also, I would choose the Antipodes just for its usability features alone, as I said, I hate iTunes and had some unfortunate experiences with it.

I will also look at different server options after the DAC upgrade and would be very much interested about your experience with the Aurender models. Which model are you going to look at? W20 is probably a great product, but in my view is way overpriced.

Another interesting choice is the new Lampizator DSD Komputer: http://lampizator.eu/Fikus/KOMPUTER_-_MUSIC_SERVER.html. This a completely different approach to the Antipodes: a high specs Windows 2012 R2 Server machine with Swiss Audiophile Optimizer and JRiver as the user interface. It can convert PCM to DSD on the fly which is a great attraction to all Lampizator DAC owners including myself, even with my DAC DSD is superior to PCM.

The EMM Labs DAC2X must be a great DAC to outperform ODSE. It is on my DAC list to try and compare to Lampi GG. Does it support DSD?

Thanks,
Aziz

Hi Matt,

I am very curious about an outcome of your Aurender vs Antipodes battle.
Just recently I've had a chance to compare Lampizator Superkomputer to DX Gen 2.  In the end, Antipodes won, but not by a large margin, mainly due its lower noise floor and ease of use.
I had been listening to the Superkomputer for several weeks before my Antipodes arrived.  When I first switched it on after the Lampizator, it sounded really awful.  On the third day it became listenable and after 5 days it's sound was comparable to the Lampizator.  And only after 7 days of almost uninterrupted playback it surpassed the Superkomputer.
Also, make sure, that you use Roon as apparently it sounds better than any other playback engine.  
And, for critical listening in Roon it is important to disable all the background tasks it performs or wait for them to finish. Below is an extract from the Roon knowledge base on how to do it.

"Here's a bunch of ideas. Some are things to control for. Some are other troubleshooting techniques.

(1) In settings -> services, look "Syncing library now" + wait for it to finish:

(2) In settings -> storage, look for "Scanning now..." + wait for it to finish:

(3) In settings -> setup, disable both analysis settings.

(4) The spinner in the upper right covers importing and metadata lookups. Wait for that to finish, too."

And one last thing, when you switch between Aurender and Antipodes, you need to keep the Antipodes powered on at all times.  Otherwise, the capacitors inside it are discharged and it affects the sound.  What I did, I had another plugged in power cord near my rack and used it to keep the Antipodes powered on even when I was listening to the Lampizator. 

Good luck and happy listening!

Aziz

Is it already July 19th? :))

Matt, do you know if the Da Vinchi DAC needs a powered USB connection?

Matt, my experience is different. Out of the several dacs I've heard in my system only Lampizator models did not need USB power MSB, Bricasti, Hegel, all required a powered USB connection. 

If Davinci does not require a powered USB connection, and N10 do not give you a choice to switch the power off, then, to have an absolutely fair comparison, you need an unpowered USB cable like Sablon to put N10 on equal terms with the Antipodes:)) 

Hi Matt,

I know, you are not fond of tubes, but look at this:
http://www.audioshark.org/lampizator-186/say-hello-new-lampizator-pacific-dac-12912.html
And it has an ethernet input, which is Roon ready!

If you at RMAF this week, please go to the Lampizator room and share your impressions if possible.

Cheers,
Aziz

Not sure about the US price, Matt.  In Europe it starts from 22K Euro for a single-ended DAC without volume control.

Hi Matt  
You are spot on about current Lampi built. I have just received a brand new GG2 and the laser engraving on the rear side is a work of art:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1l93tbz6vp4ds6r/AAAYyVb1pHKh10EPQP34kLlJa?dl=0

Looking forward to your impressions about Big 7 and Pacific. 
Also, very curious about new Antipodes CX + EX combo. Maybe you will have an opportunity to audition them as well. 

Cheers,
Aziz