Audio Alchemy DTi Pro 32 - Any Good?

While I know nothing about the EAD dac I can tell you that I have a AA pro32 & 3.0 dac with audio magic I2S cable. This is a killer combination. I have had these for quite some time. You can now find these very reasonable on the used market. If you decide to buy I would highly recommend powering up with a Monolithic power supply rather than the audio alchemy power supply. This combo runs much cooler & sounds better with the Monolithic.

Bill Jr.

Make SURE you give AA gear room enough to keep cool in your rack. I failed to do so, and I paid the price. That stuff runs hotter than Sophia Loren, baby!

a Genesis lens is much better than the AA unit.

Mejames beat me to the answer. I had both years ago.

AS an add-on; the Meridian 518 will better the Genisis Lense at about the same price on the used market price. I also had one of those.

The DTI-PRO 32 is an excellent addition to your existing system. I would not hesitate recommending it, especially with your existing equipment. I also recommend the upgraded power supply. I have the AA Power Station 2 which powers up to three AA devices and it was a nice upgrade. The unit can run warm and it will need good ventilation. Mine sits atop my DAC and I have never had issues with the unit. It can pass HDCD signals and can increase word length to 24 bit. I use 20-bit as a match for my 20 bit DAC. Adding the DTI to the set-up elevated the detail, depth and stage of just about every CD I have. I have not compared this to the Genesis or the new Perpetual Tech gear but I bought my DTI 32 about 3 years ago for around $400 and it was a steal (then). It was some of the best money I've spent in my system and I would consider it a bargain at twice that amount (originally listed around $1400). I have heard many of the latest/greatest 24 bit DAC's and I am very comfortable with the performance of my digital front-end and have yet to feel the need to upgrade. In fact, when/if I do upgrade, it will probably be to SACD - which is the only format (with the test disc)that sounds better than what I currently have. As a side, I just bought the new Rolling Stones "Hot Rocks" on a hybrid CD/SACD and it is awesome on the CD layer without the SACD capability! Good luck and go for it! Tony

I have the unit below the DtiPro 32(Dti V2.1)and like Treyhoss matched with the DDE V3 and the power station 2.
These units might be old but they really are very good.
I borrowed a friends MSB 24/96 with upsampling and it didn't beat my set-up.
Remarkably like Treyhoss it is making my Stones London Years SACD/CD disc sound pretty amazing....

I'm using a DTI II AND a Genesis Lens with excellent results.

Thanks all for the feedback.

I guess based on your input I'm going to try and find a Pro 32 on ebay/audiogon and give it a whirl.

Thanks again for the solid advice.

Rooze

You are gone be suprised what DTI PRO 32 dus in your digital system !!!! Great component

I've owned all this stuff. The Pro Drive is a very good unit and can probably be used successfully with any DAC. The DTI Pro 32 and DDE v.3 are a pain, basically junk. They sound pretty good WHEN they are working and connected with IsqS. But I would forget about the AA stuff and think about some better quality equipment to hook up to your current drive. When I had all this AA stuff, I hooked up the Pro Drive to a variety of high end DACs and it always sounded pretty good. The DTI Pro 32 was great in concept but fell far short in execution. If you can find a good quality used DAC I think you will be happier. You'll also save a lot of time that you would have used trying to figure out why your AA wasn't working or won't lock on. Maybe a little harsh but I'm speaking from experience. Good luck!

Thanks Rja,

I take your point about AA reliability. I bought a new V3.0 Dac years ago and was back and forth to my dealer with problems, until I finally exchanged it for a Monarchy 18B.
I did finally buy the DTI Pro 32 and it actually powered up and locked fine, and has worked well for the 3 months that I've owned it. It has made a definate improvement to my system, more air, clarity, stage depth etc.

However, I'm still looking for ways of getting more out of digital, hopefully so I can drop the analog bug which is biting again.

Do you have any ideas on what would make a significant improvement on my EAD 7000III, with or without the DTI Pro?

I've thought about a Thete GenV, but figured it's from the same era as my EAD, so there are probably better options out there.
Would appreciate input from anyone passing through.

Carl

I have owned a 3.0 since new in 95 or so and it absolutely rocks. Having heard so much over the years about the DTI Pro a few months ago I decided to finally try it. Well, after 4 days of tweaking, coaxing, and cajoling, it only worked one time, and afterward not again. Last theory I was on was that the I2 cable was the wrong one for this combo. Give me a break.

I really wanted it to work but the frustration it caused reminded me of why I got out of separates, tweaks and HEA in the first place. That said, the 3.0 alone as is is a magnificently detailed, rythmic and musical piece. It works even with cheap older DVD players as well as newer and better stuff. At current prices, it is highway robbery.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I used to sell this stuff and had remembered a couple of complaints about the reliability of some of the AA stuff (esp. the transports!) so was a little concerned about buying Audio Alchemy gear myself. I can honestly say I have been the owner of several Alchemy products in the last nine years, the original DTI+, DTI-PRO and Pro32, powered digital cables and power supplies (PS2) I have never had a quality issue with any of these units. So maybe I should be playing craps in Vegas but I would bet that you'd be all right buying AA gear.

BTW: I still use the Pro32, cables and power supply in my main system. No probs after all these years.

Hi!
Has anyone mentioned that Audio Alchemy isn't around anymore? (They are out of business aren't they?) If something goes wrong, is there any support for repairs? As far as technology goes, it's getting "dated" rather quickly, and although it was good for its time, I'm wondering if it can really stand-up to the newer technology as far as D/A conversion goes. You can probably get it cheap, but you'd probably be better-off saving your money and getting something newer if you really want better performance.

Hi.
Yes, AA is out of business but there is support for AA gear from Dusty Vawter at Channel Island Audio. I think he was one of AA's engineers back when they were still in operation. As far as performance, AA gear is "dated". I can honestly tell you that my DTI-PRO32 and DAC combo are still superior to the 24/192 internal DAC in my Sony ES. I feel it is also superior to most DACs I have heard in the last few years - at comparable price points of course. Newer doesn't always mean better, even with a technology that has developed as rapidly as digital audio. I remember the DTI-PRO32 being in the reference system at Stereophile for several years in a row (approx 1995-1998). It was good enough then and for the $300 you can buy it for today, it is a steal! 1/5 of its original price! Considering its performance and the fact it can be serviced to this day, I would not hesitate purchasing the DTI-PRO32. Now if your budget allows you to drop a few $K on a digital front-end, you will find better but not without confirming the "law of diminishing returns". IMO - Tony

For what reason is the AA talked about, Audiogon has them listed as OOB?????

This might be a very late reply to a (possibly) already dead conversation thread, but I'm writing this to provide info for those who (these days) might be interested in trying out Audio Alechemy DTI stuff, since there is no real info on them anymore.

Little about me:

I've been doing this a LONG time (starting mid 80's) and have always had a facination for DACs.

Through the years Ive managed to collect quite a few DACs and I presently own maybe around 60 high-end unit, some quite expensive back in the day.

I also own many new units and strangely, even the new DACs with SuperDuper anti-jitter subsystems, buffers, u-processors and what not still benefit from the lowly AA DTI Pro's! (for 16/44 playback).

I (personal opinion) believe DTI Pro's are still very relevant upgrades into any systems using external DACs for 16/44 listening.

I have owned (and still do) many DTI's, DTI Pros, and DTI Pro 32's units and still use many of them in my systems (3 in main system, one in bedroom, 2 at work).

I agree with earlier comments:

To get their best, you'll need the Monolith PSU's which is a much more elaborate effort than anything else by Audio Alchemy.

The circuit design + components used in the DTI Pro / DTI Pro 32 are far superior to Hardware used in lower High End to mid High End equipment, even today.

 

Problems:

They ran quite hot. So jamming them up into a tiny little rack wont work for very long.

However, using Monolith PSU's lowers the disipation quite dramatically and make'em sound absolutely incredible at the same time.

I was lucky enough to find a pair of DTI PRo 32's on the net from a gentlman engineer who had done some very extensive work on them to make'em more reliable: upgrading caps, regulators, resistors, better components etc.

Needless to say, I absolutely love them and cannot imagine a single day without them in my system.

They've been working for the past 10 years constantly without any issues.

In my present reference system I use:

- Squeezebox Touch & Aurrender as network transports

- Pioneer PDS 95 used a CD Transport

 - AA DTI Pro v2 and DTI Pro 32 + 2 Monolith PSU's

- Forsell Air Reference mk2 DAC (that's right: the legendary DAC from Sweden)

- A pair of 25 W / Ch Audion Silver Night 300B monoblocks upgraded with Lundahl transformers & Duelunds caps and silk+ silver cables.

- All cabling = Transparent Cables including power cables

- External PS filtering units (Transparent Cables)

- Speakers: Dynaudio Consequence

 

Good luck!