Accustic Arts

dev:

i have and love the AA Drive 1 and DAC 1 MkIV.

to answer a few of your questions, i have been using VH Audio Flavor 4s with them, and i was pleased with the results. incremental reduction in noise floor over stock PCs. i am sure there are better PCs out there, but these were are very strong price/value.

then i introduced Isoclean transformer and 80A powerline. both using super focus PCs. the improvement was nothing short of astonishing. the additional details brought out by the reduced noise was incredible. i have a low tolerance for audio snake oil, but there was no denying how big a difference the isoclean stuff made.

the combination of the accustic arts equipment using isoclean power conditioning has really has taken me to the point of contentment with my digital front-end. the only move i would make at this point is to a HDD front-end using a USB DAC, but it will take a lot to bring it up to the level of the AA gear.

dev: go back and re-read the last paragraph of my post. sound out the words if you are not strong reader. you'll see where i said that my next move would be to a USB DAC, which is what i have done.

This thread seems to be begging to be hijacked ...

Tbg: I recently purchased a Wavelength Cosecant USB DAC. I reached the conclusion, as many around here have, that it no longer makes sense to continue investing in CDPs or CD transports given the decline in this media. I experimented a bit before i settled on this b/c i didn't want to take a step back just for the convenience of a HDD front end. I am happy to report that I blown away by the Cosecant -- and that is even before i convert from a PC to a Mac. It is every bit as resolving as my AA Drive and DAC and, in some respects, it may be more so. Add to that the convenience of having all of my digital music at myfingertips, and i find the Cosecant nothing short of revolutionary.

Dev: Some free, unsolicited advice: if you are going to start a thread, you likely will get better results if you do not harass those who offer you a response. We're not responding to you under oath pursuant to a subpoena; we're voluntarily offering an opinion that you can either take or leave. Questioning the motives of those who do you the favor of responding to your thread is not productive.

Dev and TBG:

Any chance you guys could use complete sentences and observe basic rules of grammer? It would make your joust much more entertaining. Thanks.