Has any one compared the audio mirror Dac to Audio Aero Prima or Ah 4000 tube cd player?
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Audphile - You're not raining on my parade. The similarity is where it begins and ends (I have a Lite DAC and actually took it apart because I am having a custom case made for the Audio Mirror and needed a model to work from). The topic has been beaten to death. You yourself now know how good the Audio Mirror sounds. If after listening to it in your own system you decide it is something you want to keep, but still want to get the very best out of it, then you will want to send it to TRL for their modifications ($550). I'm not knocking RAM, but from what I see they are doing to the DAC they are not addressing areas of improvement that will get the most out of the Audio Mirror. Read my review here on Audiogon and if you have any questions email me. |
Audphile1 - negotiate with him. 5 days is a joke. I personally like Vlad but a marketing genius he is not. I would be interested in your observations, considering you will be comparing the new non-os D2 to an upsampling DAC2. BTW - I have not heard the D2 and don't know what if any improvement there are in the upgrades. |
Clio I don't want to rain on your parade here, but...... there is striking similarity between Audio Mirror dac and the $135.00(including shipping) Hong-Kong DIY kit DAC-AH. If you open your dac up, you will see that the only thing different from Audio Mirror is the absence of Audience auricaps capacitors in the DIY dac. Also, there is a cosmetic difference where Vlad plates the cover gold and the DIY dac is simply black. He also has some cones as feet and the DIY does not. But, the most improtant thing is, I listened to my friends stereo with this Audio Mirror dac and I'll be honest - THIS THING SOUNDS GOOD!!!! Here is a link to some pics of that DIY dac: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93233&page=1&pp=20 http://eshop.diyclub.biz/index.php?cPath=23_135 And, the other interesting thing is that referenceaudiomods states that the Audio Mirror and DAC-AH sound the same aftere their mods.....hmmmmm..... |
Audphile you're correct. I did try other DACs, including the Bel Canto DAC1 (which lead me to seek out an audition of the DAC2 figuring Bel Canto couldn't make another lemon like the DAC1), in my system and compared them to the Audio Mirror, but after hearing the Bel Canto DAC2 in the show room I knew it wasn't worth my time to hear it in my system. Like the DAC1 it was not to my liking. Now that I have had my Audio Mirror modded by TRL I don't think there are that many other DACs that can touch it. I have had 3 people come by my house with their equipment to hear for themselves and compare. Each one was amazed and one bought my spare Audio Mirror on the spot. I imagine you must own a Bel Canto DAC2. If so, you should by a D1 and compare for yourself and report back to us. I'm sure Vlad will give you a trial. If not you will have no problem selling it here. They get snapped up real quick. |
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Dennis, The TRL mod is a leap of faith in some respects. They do not list their mods as they are somewhat proprietary (they also do not publish schematics for the amps they build). All I can say is my Alesis ML9600 modded by them is an amazing transport for the D1. I do know for instance that they disabled the error correction circuitry and dampened the chassis. Other than that Paul was mum (except to say their work with Intel on a non-audio related project contributed to the mods), but having dealt with him on more than one occasion I know that he is incredibly trustworthy and the TRL house sound is to my liking. So, with that I'm going to take $550 and send it along with the D1 and see what Paul Weitzel and his team can do with it. I know one thing for sure and that is I'm going to request that the digital input be moved from under the IEC. My Flavor 4 PC pushes down on it. I don't know what Vlad was thinking there, but I'll give him that considering what a bargain this DAC is and the sound it produces. Then on to comparing the two... |
Islandflyfisher, Consider talking to TRL about modding your Marantz (check out the SA14 thread here on Audiogon and contact Jes45 who has a modded SA14). Based on what I have read for their standard fee of $550 they could make your Marantz really sing. Perhaps their mods will also improve the digital stage so it makes for a better transport. I am having them modify one of my D1s. Also, I bought a CDP/CDR/HD where they modded the digital stage and I use it as a transport for my D1. The sound is fantastic. This transport replaced a 17k CEC unit in the previous onwers system. Just a few thoughts... |
I have over 200 hours on my D1. Prior to the Audio Mirror, I felt that Redbook performance on my Marantz SA14 was very good. SACD was better in my opinion but not by a significant margin. My prior CDP player was a Cal Delta transport and Cal Alpha Tube DAC. I thought the Marantz was superior in every way to the Cal setup. The improvement with the Audio Mirror when added to my system using the Marantz as a transport is significant once the D1 was broken in. SACD is not superior to Redbook through the D1. In fact, I think I may prefer the sound of Redbook through the D1 than the Marantz SA14Â’s SACD. SACD now almost seems a bit too laid back. The Audio Mirror D1 produces a real bottom end. Its bass presentation is not just weighted but also has definition as I can hear and feel defined bass that I really never heard before through the Marantz. A detailed treble that I thought was only possible on my best vinyl recording is now present on good CDÂ’s. The mid range was a bit rough and harsh until the DAC was fully broken in at 100 hours plus. Once broken in, music through this DAC never sounds harsh in any way. If this DAC has a weakness in my opinion it is a minor one and could be inherent to my system but some recordings may seem a tiny bit fat or maybe a little too warm. I think IÂ’m going to try some tweaking with difference isolation devices on my amps and transport. The soundstage is now approximately 25% larger with all instruments having greater detail and pin point imaging. Even during very complex musical passages, all instrument and vocals are distinct and well defined. The end result is that this is the best $500 IÂ’ve ever invested in my audio system. IÂ’m thinking of possible replacing my SA14 with a true stand alone transport so see if I can squeeze a bit more realism out of my ThielÂ’s. |
Just a note to those with the Audio Mirror D1 DAC. I recently purchased a Monarchy Audio DIP Classic for testing/use with the D1. The difference was quite pleasant and very noticeable. A new smoothness emerged without effecting treble extension. The soundstage widened around 10-15% compared to it before. The depth was also increased in addition to dynamics. For those people using this DAC, I would highly recommend this addition. Dennis |
Just received my D1 today and let it play for eight hours before I sat down for good listen. IÂ’ve got a smile on my face. First impression of build quality seems very good. As someone mentioned earlier, itÂ’s ashamed that the digital in RCA was not of the same quality as the output RCAÂ’s. I guess for this price, itÂ’s hard to really complain. I contemplated modifying my Marantz SA14 or adding a DAC and I think I made the right decision. I guess I can still have the mod done at a later date. IÂ’ve been very happy with my CDP which IÂ’ve had in my system for going on three years but after reading all the threads of incredible performance upgrades with the flurry of recent inexpensive DACÂ’s and mods, I caught a bit of the upgrade bug. I always felt the Marantz had very good redbook performance with decent bass, and a smooth midrange but I always felt that I was missing some upper frequency range. The Audio Mirror D1 does what itÂ’s supposed to do with redbook playback. It brings bass to another level and now I have the highs I always felt that I was missing. I hoping that with a few days of break-in, the mids will warm up a bit. If things donÂ’t improve, IÂ’d still be extremely happy with my $500 investment. |
Clio, I've had the Flavor 4 for a while now on other players and transports, it is not being returned :>) I use Ridge Street for my ICs and speaker cable so when the time came for a digital cable, I went with them. I like 'em, they work well in my system and Robert is a true gentleman and craftsman. Same said for Chris @ VH Audio. |
Clio09 - I'll be using a Ridge Steet Audio Poiema!! Digital Master. Vlad is going to put a BNC on for me instead of the RCA. For a powercord, I have a couple of choices: Signal Cable HC Digital, TG Audio SLVR or a VH Audio Flavor 4. Transports I'll try out will be a Levinson No.37 and a McCormack Digital Drive SST-1. Should be interesting... |
Tom, What are you using as an output from your computer HD to the D1? I just bought a Red Wine Audio USB Select based on the M-Transit. I'm having Vinnie modify it so it doesn't have an analog stage or analog outputs. Just the USB and a BNC/RCA digital coaxial cable to feed the DAC or my Alesis ML9600. Also, what type or computer and are you using an external HD or server? Is Foobar good to use as well? Thanks |
Respecting this DAC so much, I've two. One is using a Sony DVP s7700 as transport and another using a computer harddrive. The later is much the superior. I've had these DACs for about two months. I have only grown in appreciation. Lots of detail passes through, yet if the recording is poor, it still can sound musical. The best bass I've ever heard and the best treble. Maybe the midrange is bettered by a Nixon Tube DAC, but not by much. ~Tom |
Robm321, You don't want to know what I'm doing next with htis set up. B18c96specr has the right idea. HD storage and computer based playback are on the way. Have laptop will transport. I will be freeing up about 100 sq. ft. of space once I load every digital music file I have onto the server. Check out the USB DI/Os at www.redwineaudio.com (Vinnie Rossi) and Empirical Audio (Steve Nugent). I prefer to bypass the USB DI/O DACs in favor of the Audio Mirror. |
Jman66: I am running a Sony DVP-S7000 as a transport. It's an older unit, but it is build extremely well and has low jitter. Recently I have been using the Slim Devices Squeezebox2 (wireless) with it's coaxial digital output into the Audio Mirror DAC. My music is stored on my computer (ripped with EAC to FLAC) then broadcast to the Squeezebox2 to my home system. Quite frankly, I cannot believe the difference. It is absolutely stunning! I cannot recommend it more highly. Computer based music servers/transports are the way of the future. Cheers, Dennis |
I am using a TRL modified Alesis ML9600. It is actually a CDP, CD-R, and HD storage system used in professional recording (2 channel). It has a lot of mixing and editing features. I use the digital stage only as this is where the mods were done. So for me it is a transport. Base cost is $900, then $550 for the mods. It rivals a lot of units that are much higher priced. The other thing I am using the Alesis for is to transfer music files (WAV or lossless, no compressed garbage) from my computer to the ML9600 HD. In this process I can record in a variety of modes: 16 or 24 bit, then 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96. Lastly, I can burn CDRs. The mods allow me to burn CDRs that result in much lower BLER than usual for CDs. In fact, I have taken store bought CDs, uploaded them to the ML9600, then re-burned them and they sound much better sonically than the store bought verisons. I think all you need a decent transport. One that has a stable platform. Before I got the Alesis I looked at a CEC TL51 ($1190 new) and a Northstar ($1500 used), as well as other CDPs like the Jolida JD-100 and Cary 308T that I could use as tube CDPs or digital transports based on my mood. I think you can get by with a decent transport (whether a stand alone or part of a CDP doesn't matter) in the $800 - $1200 (new or used) range and get great results. |