Bricasti M1 DAC vs PS Audio Direct Stream DAC

Ricred1,

I loved my DSD and am on record as describing it as a great DAC not just a very good one. I think it is the very best in its price range and better than many more expensive ones. I really enjoyed my DSD and think very highly of it. That said your M1 doesn't have many hours on it only being in day 2 which is very very early in the game.

It will still improve from 150 hours to 200 hours. I personally think its true mono construction and triple linear power supplies needs more time than most to truly ripen. Its industrial build is just that, heavy duty commercial like and this needs more time to loosen and open up than the more consumer focused products made in much higher volume levels.

Brian makes them by hand himself one at a time and it takes him almost a week to hand build it. He doesn't stock them up like a buffet under a heat lamps but makes them fresh to order one at a time. You can still smell the sold aluminum block that was just freshly milled a few days before you received it. Its done onsite in his own in-house CNC milling laths. He owns three of them! Heck Jeff Rolland even out sources his stuff but not Brian. For the different filters to truly become effective these needs a lot of good old burn in.

I think it is still sounding better even at over 200 hours. I think a bit later on you won't be as concerned with being " careful not to exaggerate the differences between the DSD and M1" but rather your emphasis will switch to being careful on how you honestly depict the differences without sounding like your needlessly bad mouthing the DSD. Its hard to describe how much better one is without it being at the other expense but the M1 is so much more money and its a more higher focused unit that it should be better. They are totally different price points. IMO it's going to offer you a lot more than just pulling you into the music but that's the fun part of letting it evolve in front of your ears. Once all burned in nice and good it's going to knock your socks off!! Enjoy my friend I am glad you like it : )

Sabai when going there I would pass em all up and go demo/lightly used Trinity DAC. For an ultra uber DAC like that I would need to sell my Vet which i'm not willing to do :). I love audio but only so much! There is a regular life to live as well...

Sabai

The M1 is so good i'm looking to really get all I can out of it. I feel in my system there is so much more there and I am looking to go after it. I am fixing to upgrade its supporting cast in my system to leverage its strengths.

That is always one of the problems we can run into when we significantly upgrade our source. It shows you what else needs work. Its a slippery slope that most of us have all slipped on but its a fun ride.

I love my current CJ amps and they are great at making not the very best front end still sound great with a rich lush and warm sound. I am looking to improve upon these and get a much more neutral, powerful, resolving, dynamic and transparent amp that still posses that tube dimensional and layered realness sound with humanity and soul to the music. Tough act to pull of without tubes but my thought is this will get the most out of my M1!

I am now thinking the monster Pure Class A amps Steve from Empirical used in his rooms to tout his new top of the line DAC. The Clayton Audio M300 Mono blocks I am hoping may be the answer. If you or any of the guys on here know of these and think they will work well when driven direct like Steve did from my M1 that would great and I would love any feedback. These are huge, heavy, plain looking, run real hot but sound great and offer what above I am hoping to pull off. Thanks guys

I am on the hunt for a BDP right now. I am going to go with the upgraded usb card by sotm like above mentioned because I have a credit with that company coming and get its battery powered linear power supply as well and i think this combo will work great with a bdp. looking for a used one as we write :).

On loan from a local dealer I have a Clayton S-40 Class A 50 watt SS amp. Sounds exactly like a tube amp but better. Never have I heard such a pretty and tube sounding ss amp. Very Very nice... Solid can sound different now a days.

Shsohis

As far as up-sampling with oversampling you seem to know a lot more about that than I do for sure so I will let you be the authority on that. I just know what it says in the manual. At the end of the day for me regardless of what is used is how it sounds and what is the best to my ears IMO how ever we get there...

" I certainly agree that Esoteric has far superior transport than OPPO that shouldn’t be the reason SACD is sounding better "

I can guarantee you that the transport at any level using any up-sampling and/or oversampling or non up-sampling or any medium be it ripped, streamed, downloaded, CD, SACD, any of it the actual transport has a gigantic impact on the sound. Way more than I ever thought. I have learned that mostly from when I started this thread and people brought it to my attention. So I am down digging around that rabbit hole now.

Ricred1

So many great comments and suggestions here. Thanks to all I look forward to responding to each of them when I have a little more time but for now I have to at least tell Ricred1 that you are very welcome and I am glad my comments in any small way may have helped you make a component buying decision that worked well for you. That makes me happy.

That is what this is all about. Helping and looking out for one an other and learning collectively about this great hobby of ours.

The M1 is flat out a killer DAC and then some and of course I am sure there "maybe" a couple better out there but not many and to get better you are going to spend a lot more money for what I am confident to say will not have the performance increase that is commensurate with the added cost but heck better is better and that's that. No excuses. This is the big leagues. The main reason I am happy about the new Berkeley is that it is close enough (approx double the retail price) that it will probably have Brian tweaking away to come up with a free or dirt cheap hardware or software upgrade for his owners that he offer to us for dirt cheap or even free that will close the gap or maybe even surpass it. I love that about Bricasti. They improve this unit and sell more of these rather then offering new ones. It helps us and him!!

Gotta decide on a tube sounding new amp for my Bricasti M1 with driver grip and power but tuby for sure. Thanks for the current suggestions and please keep em coming again I will respond when I have some time :) Thanks !!!

It def will be diminished if you have a lesser preamp that drags it down.

The deal with DACs is that it all matters. Not just DAC chip or how it is implemented but the power supplies, the critical output stage, the filers, volume control (if it has one), quality of the the case, the vibration control, the entire package. A great way to tell the strength of a DAC is how it sounds by itself. It takes more possible synergy problems out of the equation when evaluating it.

Like you in my system I thought the DSD sounds much better with a Pre and with the M1 I prefer without a pre or at least it is good enough to chose the different flavors verse of with or without vs a obvious sound quality jump. That right there kind of says it all. Are there certain DACs that have great synergy matches with certain pre's? I am sure there are but chances are if a DAC sound good enough without a pre that advancement in the output stage matters and it will carry over to the performance with a pre with the caveat of synergy concerns aside...

All this said I agree with your point that prob a big part of the reason the Bricasti has such superior sound quality is because of it's dual mono design; with duel completely isolated channels, each with its own dedicated linear power supplies

because of its outstanding duel mono output stage.

Thanks

Guys, my Bricasti is still get better and better. Man its impressive.

UPGRADE: I added a SOtM SMS-100.

I goes between your DAC and your computer (PC or MAC).

Rather than hooking your USB cable to the computer then to your DAC you hook this between them. One end goes to your DAC on the end your internet router via Ethernet cable. It take all the computer power line noise/crap out of the signal path and its and awesome upgrade.

Huge upgrade and it is only $435.00.

I owned a few weeks back and didn't like it because with JRiver MediaCenter 19 there was not way to use the EQ and DSP options. EQ / DSP are 100% mandatory when using JRiver on computer as source so so I sold it.

I found out the newest version JRiver MediaCenter 20 now lets you use the EQ/DSP feature when using the SOtM SMS-100.

The EQ and DSP features are mandatory when using a computer so if you are not using those reach out to me because you have no idea how much you are missing. Well JRiver MediaCenter 20 has it all. It allows the use via the DLNA and it works outstanding and is a huge upgrade.

For you Bricasti owners or DirestStream owners that use a computer / USB as a source this is a must add and its cheap!

DirectStream owners this sounds much better than the wireless Bridge also. With the DirectStream I owned the bridge used it but when I bought a really good USB cable I liked the USB better, quite a bit better than the Bridge and this is much better than both so wanted to share.

Thanks

04-17-15: Neno

Welcome and thanks for all the great info. A couple of quick things. I don't have a lot of time but on these:

" Simply, M1 and OPPO DSD reproduction sounds too mellow, it doesn't have a bite and live flesh I’ve used to hear from Esoteric DV-50 "

This is not a matter of the M1 not sounding as good or vs the DV-50 but the Oppo as a transport vs the DV-50 transport. If you used a DV-50 as a transport with a consummate (expensive / high quality coax cable) to M1 and compared that sound to the internal DACs in the DV-50 you would get a real feel for the difference in the DACs because the M1 can't be asked to make up for the lack of premium transport that DV-50 offers as compared to the oppo. The transport really matter as I have learned more about int he post. You were exactly right when you said "I’m expecting $1100 player to sound like $7000". The problem there is in the transport and coax not the DAC's in the M1.

Second

"I’m not mistaken all audio regardless of sampling rate is up-sampled to DSD first and then decoded to analog. It’s kind of strange no one is mentioning this that should’ve been natural strength of PS Audio DAC?"

The reason its not being mentioned as a strength is because in the end its about how it sounds. How ever this cat gets skinned in the end if one sounds better it doesn't really matter if one company claims some way of going about it is better if another implementation sound better than that's were the buck stops. Plus the M1 has so many more resources as it cost so much more that they can focus on those critical area of power supply, output stage, filtering, etc.

Also,

" I don’t like up-sampling"

" The fact that M1 doesn’t up-sample or convert but simply get the most out of the native incoming digital format was one of the major reasons I took Bricasti M1 into consideration after reading fantastic review in Stereophile magazine"

Sorry don't mean to bum you out but the M1 think this is working different than you hoped...

M1 D/A Conversion: 24 bit delta sigma 8x oversampling.

From M1 Manual:

Pressing STATUS a second time will take you to a display of the actual output sample rate. In most cases this will be 352.8k as this is 8 x 44.1k of the CD sample rate. If the source is DSD then 2.822 or 5.644 Mhz will be displayed.

Note: The the M1 uses delta sigma 8 x oversampling conversion so it is not recommended to “up-sample” the digital audio that is being sent to the M1. Defeat all up-sampling features in your media player or CD transport. Up-sampling the data before the M1 will yield poor results and always use the original source audio bit and sample rates, so for example if the source is 44.1k then send this data unprocessed to the M1and let the M1 reconstruct the data correctly

Thanks for joining us chatt! Great system also !!!

Neno,

Other than when listening to DSD files in DOP when listening to just PCM the M1 says you should just send the signal unchanged.

So when just listening to PCM if you are sending dsd over pcm dop in MediaCenter 19 you might want to try switching from DSD in drop down to none and sending it regular and untouched and see how it sounds. I like it better myself and thought you might like it. Especially if you don't like the up sample...Do you use any DSP in JRiver? Thanks

04-18-15: Shsohis

Hello,

How are you?

I like to try them but here are the filters: Not sure how it will look when I copy paste but I have been liking Linear 8 or Minimum 1. Going back between these two,

For filters 0-5 this chart is accurate for both Linear Phase and Minimum Phase filters.. The 6 Minimum phase filters have the same characteristics as the linear phase filters of the same number, allowing easy comparison between filter types. As an example, Linear 2 has the same basic frequency response characteristics as Minimum 2 but they are based on a different filter construction techniques and yield different results. Filter types 6-8 are only available as linear phase. For simplicity and as a general guide to their characteristics, the list below lists filter # but in the M1 menu they are called out as Minimum and Linear.
 Filter 0 - 20kHz bandwidth, Stop-band at Nyquist frequency with low ripple and high attenuation
 Filter 1 - Low delay filter with full attenuation at Nyquist Frequency
 Filter 2 –Same as # 1 with a gentler slope and the passband at 19.5kHz
 Filter 3 - Same as # 1 with a gentler slope and the passband at 19kHz
 Filter 4 - Same as # 1 with a gentler slope and the passband at 18.5kHz
 Filter 5 – Same as # 1 with a gentler slope and the passband at 18kHz
 Filter 6 - A halfband type filter with 6dB attenuation at Nyquist frequency
 Filter 7 - Similar to 0 with a slightly gentler slope filter at 19k
 Filter 8 - Steepest slope, highest bandwidth, with low ripple and high attenuation

Guys HOW ABOUT SOME MORE COMPUTER SOURCE SOUND QUALITY HELP"

Really looking to keep my computer via usb for my source as I have a ton of music files that would cost a ton to replace via records or cd's.

I want to get better sound from my source for my DAC.

I tried the SOtM SMS-100 mini server for a while and liked the sound very much but it is super buggy and always dropping out and have to unplug and reboot. Way too much pain to use. They even sent me a second one and it was even worse. Sending them back.

Any other idea's out there that are not crazy expensive. I think there is a huge opportunity here for improvment as I heard great improvement using the SOtM but there has to be something more user friendly to work with my Bricasti. Thanks

Jon2020 & Ricred1

This thing looks great. Can I still use JRiver with it? If so I need to find one. Thanks

Neno

Thanks a ton, when I send back the SOtM mini servers I am asking him for one of these and the battery pack and am going to pay the difference will should only be a couple hundred which is nice.

OK, so I assume putting the USB card in my computer is pretty easy like adding anything into a computer? Unplug and Open up the PC and then slip it in the slot and and then re-close up computer than download the driver and I should be good right?

Also, what about the Battery Supply. I hope I can just plug that in after I do everything above? Will tha battery pack work ok with my Bricasti?

So did you find this made a nice upgrade in SQ?

Thanks for the help!

The Bricasti is a totally different animal...

I think the way the PSA Directstream is set up for all these changes via downloaded software updates is very cool and it is brilliant from a consumer marketing standpoint.

Once things get a bit stale or something else comes out or just for the heck of it they can just come up with a catchy name and offer up a new update via the their resident mad scientist. Ted gets his Field-‐Programmable Gate Array code writing hat on and bamm everything changes. Very cool...

Bircasti takes a very different approach. Being grounded in pro audio they have a different take on it. A lot of their approach to their M1 DAC came from their development of their world beating recording studio M7 Reverb Unit. It is universally accepted as the worlds very best reverb. With designing the reverb they did a ton of digital phase filter work with passband slopes, stopbands, passband ripple, stopband attenuation, delay and all the other fun stuff that allows the worlds best recording studios to use their M7 Reverb in a recording studio room the size of 12x15 and make it authentically sound like it was from a gigantic 16th century auditorium.

All that work was then focused on a consumer based DAC product built around 14 outstanding proprietary Linear Phase and Minimum Phase Digital Filer technology. They farmed some of this great filter design out to their former co-worker buds from Levinson and Lexicon down in CT.

The M1 features a robust menu of 14 different propriety Linear Phase and Minimum Phase Filers. These are killer and allow you customize the sound to your specific individual system. They had earlier on just offered the Linear Phase filters which were great but when they released their Minimum Phase Filers as an update it was a total game changer. They are awesome and really give the owner of a highly resolving system great versatility to custom tailor the sound.

For myself at first it was nice but when I finally settled on my filter preference and that seemed to be that. I was happy. Well then I changed out a lot of other equipment in my system. When doing so all of a sudden these other filters sounded very different and it was great.

I have recently gone through an exorbitant amount of system changes in my system that is not the norm for me. I have new speakers, new speaker cables, a new amp, new digital cables and a new transport so the changes I have made have been substantial.

With each change each filer offered something different. Having this DAC has been a god send. In a very resolving system these are not subtle differences either. They really change and tailor the sound. The stage moves, the runs higher, the bottom tightens, etc etc. Great stuff really. The more I have gotten used to the DAC and my new equipment the more I have come to appreciate this DACs genuine versatility.

They are both great DACs and both approach things quite different and I enjoyed them both but as far as digital goes you will need to prey this Bricasti out of my dead hands. It is amazing! I am glad to hear the PS Audio guys have a great new update that has improved their DACs as well...

Ya that helps a ton thanks.

Jesus the US distributor for SOtM / Sonore thinks for a non computer expert like myself. I know a bit and can change out PCIe cards and stuff but nothing crazy.

He said he thinks the Sonore Sonic Orbitor with the SOtM USB card you recommended option built in will be perfect.

I can keep everything I am familiar with and it will let me keep my PC and and my JRiver and take advantage of my really good Tellurium Q Black Graphite USB cable I have invested in and don't I need to touch or change or really do anything other than plug it into my system. He said it is very stable and he said it sounds fantastic and it with my credit coming it will only be like $500.00 extra.

It sounds great but I am not real familiar like you def seem to be so your feedback will be really appreciated.

For this post if it goes great with my Bricasti or the folks with PS Audio DirectStream the folks on here might the like the idea of a all in unit under a $1000 that makes either of these great DACS much much better. They say the better the DAC the more improvement that can be heard and these are both great DACS. Would love any thoughts on this. Thanks

I tried this Audiophilleo 2 and really liked it so I upped the ante and got their pure power battery pack that pulls all of the computer power away and uses nice clean battery power and wholly smokes its soooo much better than a regular one. It doesn't do the double dsd and maxes out at 192 but its 1/2 the price than the 1. Its $1,000 for the 1 and $500ish for the 2 and all the options the extra options (volume control and color lcd and other stuff I don't need or care for and double the price for double dsd didn't seem make sense as the sound is identical but the pure power battery pack is a different story. It is excellent!! Highly recommended. Much better imo than the SOtm SMS-100 sound wise as well and is trouble free operation. Much better...

Hey Jon

Good idea. I am going to have to try this! I have wanted to try this type of vibration control mod.

Hey guys:

I just pulled the trigger on new speakers and amps to take full advantage of my Bricasti. I was struggling to find the right amps for my speakers to the point of then getting into swapping speakers so I just went hole hog and made a "HUGE CHANGE"! With my Bricasti and its great volume control / output stage it made my BAT and ARC preamps pretty much obsolete. I prefer the Bricasti M1 with no pre and not by a small amount. That said my preamps, speakers and amps are now gone.

I have gone in an entirely different direction and I am super excited and nervous at the same time.

My new speakers and amps should be here next week. For the first time I am purchasing amps that were specifically designed and made for my speakers by the same designer from the same company. Something new for me ! I have my digital front end nailed down pretty good with my Bricasti M1 DAC and I didn't want to get back onto the amp-merry-go-round so I thought this was a great choice for me. I love the dynamics, bass, grip and precise control of Solid Stage but I love the sound of tubes. I really fell for what a good solid state amp can do but missed tubes. That said I have decided to take the plunge and purchased new speakers and a new amp from a real small boutique company in India that I hope can offer some of the best of both worlds:

Rethm Saadhana Speakers (2015):

The speakers are single / driver / high efficiency / wide banders with a self powered built in bass module.

Here is the info:
Rethm Saadhana Speakers (2015):
103db, 18hz-20khz, 8ohm
Minimum amplification power: 2 wpc
Full Range - Horn loaded labyrinth:(7" – 4") length
Full range driver: Custom designed 7 inch paper cone w/whizzer w/ Custom designed Self driven bass modules: 3 Bass Drivers per enclosure
3 x 6.5 inch paper cone
Sealed Isobaric chamber:
Bass labyrinth:( 4' – 8" )
w/ one monobloc per enclosure
FET amplifier
Max. output: 210 wpc @ 4 ohms
Dimensions: H x D x W : 3'-5" )x( 2'-4 ½" )x( 8.5" )
Weight per enclosure: 88 lbs

Here is the matching amp that comes in 2 boxes. 1 - box holds all the tubes and the other holds the power supply tethered by a cable. They look like mono blocks but are attached by the cable and it is an integrated, stereo amp.

Rethm Gaanam Integrated amp.
They don't list all the specs per say but here some info if your interested. It interested me enough to order these brand new speakers and amps and we have all chatted a lot so I wanted to share in the event your interested.

This is a pretty unique amp that was again voiced and designed specifically to match the speakers perfectly.

Here is the designer talking about designing the amp.

The criteria we started with were the following:

1. It had to be between 10 and 20 wpc.
2. It had to be Single Ended pure class A.

We use a unique circuit for the power amp section whereby the ONLY tubes are the output tubes. No gain stage tubes, no buffer tubes, no driver tubes. The preamp section provides more than adequate gain, and instead of driver tubes, we have small, custom designed "driver transformers". This enabled us to get a beautiful sound that had all the warmth and dimensionality that makes valves so unique, while enabling a clarity and dynamic that is not often found in traditional valve amplifiers. To enhance control, we decided on a solid state buffer in this amplifier. We also have zero feedback.

After much experimenting with several valve types, we settled on a single-ended configuration using the 6C33C valve. It produces 16 wpc. The 6C33C valve is, on technical spec's itself, an amazing valve. It has an extremely high Trans-conductance value ( in excess of 30 mA/V -- as compared to the 12.5 of a KT 120 ) which facilitates much better current flow. And, it has an amazingly low Internal Resistance ( 130 ohms -- as compared to 3000 ohms on a KT 120 ) which is almost comparable to solid-state devices! This enables a much higher speed of signal voltage transfer. It also has very low anode voltages ( 120 v -- as compared to most valves that go from a few hundred volts to in excess of 1000 v in the case of the 845 valve ) -- which makes it a much safer device.

The preamp section uses two 6922 valves, one per channel, and uses an extremely simple circuit. The power supply is choke regulated, and here again, we have zero feedback.

We also get all our transformers (the output transformers, driver transformers, power transformer and choke) cryogenically treated as we see a substantial improvement in performance with greater transparency, detail retrieval and delicacy to the reproduction.

Wish me luck guys. I took the plunge and took a chance that I can get that Tube and SS flavor and overall take my rig to the next level.

Any advice or feedback or anything is always really appreciated. I know this is the Bricasti thread but we have talked a lot about other amps and speakers matching to the Bricasti and that kind of stuff so I wanted to update and share :)

Sbank

Thanks for the advice! Any idea where to get a pick noise download? That's a good idea!

I love it I caught a rash when I stated I liked my Bricasti better than the new Lampi.

Sabai

I have not heard the Yale yet. I'm sure its great as everyone seems to love it. I would def like to hear it sometime soon.

I am sure its a great sounding DAC. All their stuff at its price point is good stuff and they have the best name no doubt. Its funny though I have not heard much about anyone modding a Bricasti though? I think Brian did most of that himself...

Ricevs

I am sure you could make the Bricasti sound more toward your liking but " making it way, way better" I am not buying it.

There is a lot more going on at this level of product than just throwing some top shelf parts at it. I guarantee that!

Tweak the sound to work better with your speakers in your system sure but it is a very accurate DAC, well executed that sounds very good. Now I do believe many products can be improved with modding. I have seen it and done it and appreciate it and I don't doubt the Bricasti or any audio product can be improved with modding. Brian makes one of the best pro Reverbs on the planet for pro studios and he offers inexpensive upgrades frequently but he offers genuine, accurate, universal upgrades that sound and measure excellent. I can tell you that many people on this site spend more on power cables than on a Bricasti DAC and resale is not stopping these folks that I am sure of.

Regardless of what one guy said I will take the sound of the wonderful MSB Analog DAC 1,000 out of 1,000 times over any modded schiit DAC regardless...

Sorry but that company doesn't even beat out the better 2k to $3k DACs out there never mind the fabulous MSB Analog DAC... I get it your trying to get their name out there that's fine but let that DAC beat out the others in its price range first then talk about mods...I would find a deal on a nice and clean, used DirectStream for not that much more than one of these Schiits and it will Blow its Doors off!!!!

If I have learned anything on this thread, and I have learned a lot its that the Transport is so very important to how the DAC performs.

I have seen the performance of my Bricasti improve with every transport change / upgrade / tweak I have made.

I really had no idea of the true significance the transport's role plays with supporting the DAC until I started this thread and all you guys opened my eyes to it and educated me and gave me great idea's.

Take any two DAC's and the transport many times is the difference between them when heard in different systems.

That said the Bricasti with a nice Transport solution in a digital system that is nice and revealing is where its at for me.

I have learned a lot form this thread and I want to give back and offer some advice and show some of the things I have done that have worked great for me.

Here is some of the transport changes and improvements I have made that I am very happy with. These changes now has my system and my Bricasti performing at a very high level and I thought you guys may want read this. I certainly can highly recommend them...

I started with a computer as a transport and was using JRiver and added JPlay and then after I added the great USB Cable the Tellurium Q Black Diamond and that was a nice bump in SQ.

I then went with the SOtM SMS-100 Ethernet to USB unit and that was a nice bump in SQ.

I then went to a Audiophilleo AP2 and that was another nice bump in SQ.

Then I added the Audiophilleo Pure Power Battery pack to go with the AP2 that was a huge bump in SQ. HUGE... It actually blew my mind. It made my Bricasti so much better it was really an eye opener for me.

I was then running my Audiophilleo AP2 w/Pure Power Battery connected directly to the BNC input on my Bricasti because one of the benefits of the AP2 is there is no need for an extra Coax digital cable as it can connected directly to the DAC with no cable needed. My friend told me no way, not to do that. That a decent coax cable with be a nice improvement. Even though it can connect direct to the DAC a BNC to BNC digital coax cable will offer nice improvement because that will help attenuate the noise from the BNC Connectors. Sure enough he was right and here was another real nice bump in SQ. I went with the very reasonably priced Black Cat Silverstar 75 BNC to BNC digital coax cable and it is excellent in this application and offered definite SQ improvement and more than I would have ever thought.

The next step was to take it to another level. I now went with the versatile, evolving and ever improving Auralic Aries w/ dual Femto clocks and streamed via Ethernet from the files that are on my computer. So I ran my great Tellurium Q Black Diamond USB Cable from the USB out on the Auarelic Aries to my Audiophilleo AP2 w/Pure Power Battery. Then from my AP2 w/PP I ran my Black Cat Silverstar 75 Digital cable from the BNC out of the AP2 to my BNC in on my Bricasti. The combo of this Aries, TQ USB Cable, AP2 w/PP, BC-SS75 Coax to Bricasti has been very impressive and this transport solution is great and has made my Bricasti much better.

Oh but there is more. I bought a desktop HD computer monitor replacement power supply. The power supplies on computer monitor screens have very good filtration so as to not affect the pixel quality. I used this to power my FIO's internet modem and wireless router. This was another bump in SQ.

I realized streaming via Ethernet was not the way to go with the Auralic Aries after some reading. Too noisy even with the PS upgrade for modem/router. The Aeries has a USB out to connect to an external hard drive but there are 2 problems with this. 1.) if you use a self powered External Hard Drive the power of the hard drive will corrupt the usb bus and degrade SQ. Better solution but still not great is get an external hard drive powered by the 5V from the USB cable of the Aeries. Even though this is a better solution it is still not the ideal solution because the power from the Aeries liner power supply is not as clean as we would like it to be and that affects the sound from the External Hard Drive. Here is where a creative solution comes in that works great.

I ordered a custom made USB cable that splits the cable in two. One leg is for the 5V power and the other is for the Data that carries the delicate music file. I run the data files from the Solid State External Hard Drive and the power leg to unit that is made to re-charge cell phones via 5V cell phones. This will run the hard drive for hours and even when its plugged in and recharging its still super quiet.

I have clean battery power on both ends book ending the Auralic Aries. The Auralic Aries being wireless and offering many streaming options and being plastic for the wireless can by a little noisy and that is where AP2 w/pp takes up the slack and cleans that up nice. There maybe better streamers or servers out there but doubtful for this money. This is a genuine / high tech / high performing solution that works outstanding and pushed my DAC to a level that I didn't think was possible. The thing reflects clearly every little change or update I have made and hopefully it can help you too.

I just wanted to share this with you guys as it is our DAC thread and it has improved my digital performance 10 fold and if it can help you in one way or another than my taking the time to share all this was worth while. Just trying to help my other fellow digital comrades and as always comments, criticism and feedback are not only welcome they are solicited.

07-18-15: Coli

Hello,

Interesting input and thanks for sharing. I switched from the DirectStream to Bricasti but I loved my DirectStream and I had to spend to a lot more money to better it. I had owned the Ayre QB-9 before it and really liked that DAC but found the DirectStream was a big improvement. I must say now I bet if I had a better transport when I owned the DirectStream I bet I would have better appreciated it. The transport changes the DAC soooo much.

Do you like the DAC 2 better than the DirectStream??

07-20-15: Coli

Thanks for the response. Yes I agree the DirectStream or any DAC will yield much better results with an improved - cleaner incoming signal. I found the same with the Bricasti that every little change upgrade before it or after shows nicely.

If you could find a nice and clean used Bricasti I couldn't recommend it any higher to you as a former Directstream owner I love mine.

I never heard of the Mutec before but that seems pretty awesome. Have you tried any others that you could compare it to?

I am really really enjoying my new addition of the Auralic Aries w/ duel Femto clocks and their linear power supply in concert with the Audiophilleo AP2 reclocker with Pure Power battery pack but that Mutec looks cool and was wondering how it would compare to my solution or others out there??

My solution was a total game changer for me and I bet an even much less expensive DAC would sound much - much better. The combo is about $2500 which considering how much it improved the sound and what a comparable server would cost its a great option. It vastly improved a $9,000 DAC so me it was a great buy indeed.

How much is the Mutec?

Thanks

Hey Ricred1

No I don't regret it at all. I actually appreciate my investment in my Bricasti M1 even more now as it keeps improving as I improve the equipment around it.

Speaking of improving the equipment around my Bricasti M1 I have gone on a system re-fit and improved the transport that I listed above but I also upgraded my Speakers, Amps and Speaker Cables.

For speakers I went with a 103db high efficiency pair that is a unique design the Rethm Saadhana V3 Speakers (2015). It blends a single, full range driver design that connects direct to the amplifier via speaker cable (which I also upgraded) because there is no crossover just a direct connection. This makes them image like nothing I have ever heard and they sound so natural and resolving yet relaxed and can be driven by just a couple high quality, clean watts. This crossoverless single driver has its bass augmented by built in bass modules. These modules are in the bottom of the speakers and are made up of 3x 6.5 inch high efficiency paper drivers and are driven by their own built in 205 Watt FET amps per speakers.

Before these speakers I traded my Ascendo's and a bunch of other gear I had and got a great deal and bought a new pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Evoltion's. I did not like these that much even though they have great write ups. I traded the Sonus Fabers for these Rethm Saadhana V3 Speakers and I couldn't be any happier. They are MUCH better than the Sonus Faber Guarneri Evoltion IMO.

I also have a 3.5 Watt amp being built right now: a

Triode Labs 2A3S-FFX Custom build with these options:

- Upgraded Hashimoto trannies
- Mundorf Silver in Oil Coupling Caps for 2A3
- Mundorf EVO Oil Coupling Caps for Input Stage
- Mundorf MLytic Power Supply E Cap
- Furutech Rhodium IEC
- Cardas Rhodium RCA
- Cardas Copper Binding Posts 0-4-8-16
- Audio Consulting Silver Input Wires
- NOS Premium tubes

I chose to upgrade my speaker cables also because with no crossover they are the only thing that connects the amp to the voice coil in the speaker. This direct connection seem to make quality speaker cable important. I went with:

HiDiamond D8 3m Speaker cables w/Furutech Rhodium Plated Locking Banana FT-212(R).

Can't wait to get this amp im my system. I wanted to list my recent changes to speak to your question if I regretted my Bricasti purchase and what it has done is make all my other improvements better. What good speakers and good amps need is the best source you can give them. I know there are better than the Bricasti but for the money and with a solid transport it performs at a very high level. Especially now that I am surrounding it with performance comparable equipment.

The duel Femto clocks are built into the Auralic Aries and I think the Aries and your Bryston are both transports and not sure if they could work together. I can say the Tidal streaming that the Aries offers is amazing. Its basically the NETFIX for audiophiles except rather than movies it has hi-res loss-less audio files. Great stuff...

Coli,

With respect... I can see how you or anyone can like something better than something else regardless of what other people think but this is much too good of a DAC and certainly has a universal level competence that is far above your experience with the product.

It is just too well engineered and too robust a product to match the results you have had.

I am inclined to think you had a defective unit with reverse polarity on one of the inputs or outputs or some kind ground issue or something that made it perform much below its well documented abilities???

Even if you had the worst match with cables or other equipment it should at worst still be decent.

It's to bad because to mention any Emotiva digital product as performing better than a Directstream is really telling.

You had to have had a defective unit.

Emotiva has some decent amps with pretty good build quality and especially at their impressive price points.

Myself in that budget I would prefer an old beat up but good working Krell, ARC, CJ, Threashhold or something but some people like the warranty and don't want to deal with CAP replacement so I get it. Their digital is another story. None of it could even come even remotely close to a non-defective / proper working Directstream so I am sure it must have been defective?

Myself , I would tend to think even a defective Direststream if it could spit out any signal I would take that over Emotiva digital! You should have sent that Directstream back to Colorado. It would have been worth it...

I hadn't known of any other posts on CA so that's interesting?

Not sure this is the same person but I can say first hand from my experience that I have owned the DirectStream and I was fortunate or unfortunate (depending on perspective..lol) to have heard it in my system when I was on a system - speaker-go-round and heard it with a half dozen different pairs of good speakers.

Combined with the different speakers was also different cables, in different rooms, with different amps and preamps. All sounded different as the speaker has an awful lot of impact on the sound of a system but with all the different combo's (not all were the best synergy matches either) the Directstream was always fantastic and that wasn't even with a first rate transport but with a computer as the source which I now know is not an ideal source. You guys taught me that here on this thread.

Its just too good a piece to not be defective and perform like that. I also considered there could be some ax grinding going here as well but I always like to give the benefit of doubt but it wasn't adding up either way...

That Yale sounds awesome!!

I liked the Pikes Peak but its seems I'm in the minority on that ones though. Maybe because I was running it in an all tube system?

What about the Yale do you guys think makes it a lot better than Pikes Peak? I'm kinda curious? Thanks

Calling all PS Audio DirectStream & Bricasti M1 Owners as well as our other fellow Agon comrades.

I just popped in a great little add/mod I wanted share with you guys! It is absolutely killer !!!

I use my system obviously for music but I also have it hooked up to my 60" Panny GT50 Plasma which I love in 2-channel for TV and movies and the like. I'm a 2-Channel guy even for TV.

Anyways my audio rig also powers my TV via my cable box. I listen to TV through my rig and it sounds fine but nothing special and I don't ever bother listening to video's or concerts or any of the music channels or any of that because the sound is just not good enough. It's OK not even really but that's about it.

That has all changed !!!

It only cost me $399.00 and now my cable box is pretty close to a legit Hi-Fi source. It sounds fantastic and music video and music channels are now genuine Hi-Fi.

I bough this unit and wasn't expecting an earth shattering / Game changing piece.

I mean my Bricasti is a pretty good DAC and I wasn't sure a $399 unit would make that much of a difference but it sure as heck did !!

The Wyred 4 Sound Remedy:

I hooked it between my Cable box and my Bricasti and this new combo is a down right game changer.

It is very close to sounding like Hi-Res JRvier over a PC. Not as good as a media server or transport but very good indeed.

I had to share with you guys because this is so dang good!!!

I was hoping it would make my TV watching experience better but didn't think I would be getting another legit Hi-Fi Source and even better that source happened to have video connected to it as in my TV. Whats better than that!

Best $399 I have ever spent. I shall chase it now with a better power supply and improved cables because this little bugger flat out rocks !!!

Hey Ricred1,

Nice to hear from you. Super simple set up that took me all of 2 minutes tops for set up.

First, I picked up a couple reasonably priced decent digital cables to use with it.

(2) DH Labs D-75 Digital S/PDIF Cables that both are 1-Meter long. I paid $75 for both of them. Decent deal. Then

- I plug the wall wart into the wall.

- I placed the W4S between my cable box and Bricasti.

- I plug (1) DH Labs D-75 into my Cable Box RCA out to my W4S RCA in.

- I plug other (1) DH Labs D-75 from W4S RCA out to my Bricasti RCA in.

Then hit the little on button and that's on the side and it's good to go.

It also has tosi-link and BNC hook ups if needed.

This thing makes my TV sound amazing. I can't get over it. The other night I only used my TV as my source and listened music on the TV all night and loved it. Never would have even considered doing that before. Very happy with this little killer unit.

Just for the heck of it I ran a $5 tosi-link of the back of my PC that has a cheap little tosi-link out sound card its a best buy HP PC. I ran that cheap cable out of a cheap sound card into this W4S and into my Bricasti. It sounded excellent. Better I think or very close to when I used my $1000 plus USB cable to my Bricasti through the very well thought of and much more expensive Audiphilleo AP2 w/Pure Power Battery pack and although they are not side by side as I traded away my AP2 I swear that cheap tosi-link direct off my cheap pc sound card out was sounding better or very close to when I used the AP2 w/PP with my expensive USB cable and the solid Black Cat Silverstar75 BNC cable.

I guess it very well could be synergy with my Bricasti and the W4S Remedy that is making it sound so great or this is a flat out an over achieving / giant killer unit.

It just sounds so good I wasn't prepared for it.

Just trying help out my fellow members with a cheap mod/tweak I have stumbled across that has worked great for me.

I think maybe because it was designed to work well with more modest equipment it is now showing it can really shine with the better stuff as well. I guess it just goes to show in digital if it can reduce jitter it will sound better. The cleaner the power the better it sounds.

I think this little unit has already earned itself the right to a better aftermarket linear power supply. It takes 9V but will work with 12V per W4S.

It's funny when I started this thread I listed my entire system in the beginning of this thread - you can see it - it is not that old of a thread - when I was just chatting to you guys about my new fun little W4S Remedy I noticed that my system that I have listed in the beginning of this thread is now entirely different.

The only thing that hasn't changed is my IC's, my USB Cable, some tweaks and computer software.

I have done some serious box swapping and horse trading... lol - kind of scary when looking at it written down like that...lol. Well after noticing that I thought I would share a BEFORE and AFTER with you guys.

I wish I got to hear the Yale back when I had the Directstream in my system.

BEFORE: 2/10/2015

Ascendo C-8 Renaissance Speakers (Germany) Monitor
Purist Audio Design Corvus Praesto Revision 2.5m Bi-Wire Speaker cable
Cardas Clear Interconnect 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Audio Research REFERENCE 1 w/Rhodium IEC/NOS Tubes Tube preamp
Decware ZSTAGE External Triode Output StageTelefunken ECC801S
PS Audio Direct Stream DSD DAC w/ Bridge DA converter
Tellurium Q BLACK DIAMOND Reference USB Cable
PS Audio PerfectWave PowerBase Vibration Cancelation/AC Condtioner
Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono's 140 Watts Tung-Sol KT120's amps
PS Audio PowerPlant Premier AC Regenerator
BMI Shark Pure Jeweler Grade Platinum AC Power Cable
Sablon Audio Petite Corona 2.0M AC Power Cable
Mad Scientist PC-NEO with Power Purifier AC Power Cable
JPS Labs The Power AC+ 2M AC Power Cable
Synergistic Research Labs Tesla Series SE T1 AC Power Cable
Synergistic Research Labs Tesla Series T1 AC Power Cable
PS Audio Noise Harvester (5) Converts noise to light
OYAIDE RI Beryllium Power Outlets (2)
Hubbell Outlet 5362/5262 Deep Cryo Process
Blue Circle Audio The Yalu Balula Industrial Surge/Spike Protection
JPLAY v5.2 hi-end audio player turns PC into a digital transport.
JRiver Media Center 19 Music Software

AFTER: 8/20/2015

Rethm Saadhana V3 Speakers (India) 2015 (New) Speaker
HiDiamond D8 Speaker Cables 3M (Italy) 2015 (New) Speaker cable
Furutech FT-212 Ethereal Rhodium SC Banana's (8) 2015 (New)
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1M RCA 2015 (New) Interconnect
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1M RCA 2015 (New) Interconnect
Bricasti M1 USB / DSD 64/128 DAC/PRE 2015 (New) DA converter
Auralic Aries Extreme w/Duel Femto Clocks 2015 (New) Transport
Tellurium Q BLACK DIAMOND Reference USB Cable 2015 (New)
Rethm Gaanam SET Valve Amplifier 2015 (New) Tube amp
Triode Labs 2A3S-FFX DHT SET Mclaren SLR Orange 2015 (New) Tube amp
NOS Tubes: CBS JAN 5692 Mullard GZ34/GZ32 2A3C Triodes
Decware ZSTAGE External Triode Output Stage ECC801S 2013
HiDiamond HDX2 Network Distributer / Conditioner 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 2.0M (HDX2) 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 2.0M (Saadhana Amp) 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 2.0M (Saadhana Amp) 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 1.5M (2A3SE-FFX Amp) 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 1.5M (Triode Output Stage) 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 1.0M (Auralic Aries) 2015 (New)
HiDiamond P3.5 AC Power Cable 1.0M (Bricasti M1 DAC) 2015 (New)
Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker for Cable Box 2015 (New)
MIT Terminator-3 Silver Digital S/PDIF RCA Cable 1M
DH Labs Silver Sonic D-75 Digital S/PDIF RCA Cable 1M
DH Labs Silver Sonic D-75 Digital S/PDIF RCA Cable 1M
Salamander Amplifier Stands (2) Synergy System AV Furniture Stand
PS Audio Noise Harvesters (5) Converts noise to light
OYAIDE RI Beryllium Power Outlets (2)
Audio Isolation Vibration Footers Cork & Rubber (5 Sets)
Blue Circle Audio The Yalu Balula Industrial Surge Protection (2)
JPLAY v5.2 Hi-End Audio Player Digital Transport.
Fidelizer Pro Version 6.1
JRiver Media Center 21 Music Software w/JRemote
Synergistic Research Labs Signature NO 2 Jumpers (Spare) Speaker cable

Sabai,

I agree I really do wish I heard it with Yale. The thing with me was how clueless I was to the gigantic role the transport plays. Granted I love my Bricasti and am happy as can be but I heard a DS on a different with system with their own matching PSA transport and it was awesome. The rest of his system is for sure decent but much more modest than my own and I loved it. I am now fully convinced - hands down by the most important means of getting information - ie; my own ears that the source (Transport & DAC) is by far the most important part in the chain and I think the transport and DAC are equally important - which is crazy I never would have guessed that.

Moreover, I think a great transport and decent DAC will vastly outperform a great DAC and a decent transport. I don't think that makes the transport more important but it might be and I never would have thought this and only new after I got my Bricasti !!

Sabai

I couldn't agree with you more... Synergy is so the key... It's not always that easy to find but we all sure chase it and rightfully so. Just takes some time, effort, resources and luck as well I'm afraid but I am sure that PS Audio Duo is a killer, no brainier match up. Takes all the guess work out of it for all you PS Audio guys. I wish Bricasti made such a great matching transport like that.

I am trying to get the most out of my current transport/DAC combo myself. Each time I have improved the transport my Bricasti just keeps getting better and better.

I am kinda psyched as I just purchased an upgraded aftermarket (LPS) Linear Power Supply for my Auralic Aries Extreme. It was made / designed specifically for the Aries Femto version from a European company called SBooster. Its called the SBooster BOTW P&P ECO 15V - 16V. I also purchased the added SBooster Ultra upgrade as well which is another filter add that is on cable that attaches it to the Aries that re-cleans the power one last time before hitting the transport. I have read some real positive feedback about it on some German threads via Google translate that its a fantastic upgrade and really improves the Aries so I am looking forward to it. It should be here and the next few days.

What are you guys (PS Audio & Bricasti) Using for Transports. I am curious I like mine but want to hear about some others from you guys??

Musicmann1

I wanted to get back to you on your question about the after market Linear Power Supply I bought for my Auralic Aries Extreme w/ duel femto clocks that I use to feed my Bricasti M1 DAC.

The SBooster BOTW P&P ECO Linear Power Supply with the Optional SBooster Ultra Filer is an Amazing ad to my Auralic Aries Extreme Transport. Man it took probably close to 400 hours or so for it to break in so that was a pain in the neck and I wasn't sure what was up for a while but it settled down and opened up finally and was well worth the wait. Highly Recommended...

Transport - Guys I keep hearing over and over how a good dedicated disc spinner transport is better than the Network based transports. Can anyone recommend a really good CD transport for my Bricasti that is not crazy money? Would love to know what you guys think and are using? Thanks

Wisnon,

What is this you wrote?? It sounds awesome - can you explain a bit more for someone that would like to try or know more but isn't sure what it is :) - I am fixing to play around with those pesky black disc's a bit as I am picking a used matching - killer phono / cart combo (still no t-table yet though..lol). I know I got it backwards me think...

Would love to know more of what your post was about below :)



wisnon11-24-2015 5:12amFSmithJack,

I have tasted the audio elixir of the gods.

PC server with win12 AudioOptimizer in core mode, using JRiver to upconvert PCM/DSD to DSD256 feeding properly setup Bughead Emperor as the playback engine....WOW.

Reel to reel quality. Spinners begone! Bughead is magic.

Sundarum78 

Nice system, you really can't go wrong with any of the DACs you listed as they all will provide a nice improvement. With the Direct Stream and Bricasti I think it comes down to money. They are both great and I have owned both. I personally think the Bricasti is a better DAC but it also cost thousands more and the Direct Stream is not far behind as I really like that DAC. These are 2 of the better options out there so your in good company if you have the extra money I would go with the Bricasti but that's just me both are awesome. Both have recent upgrades and I have not heard either with the upgrades so maybe some people that have heard them can help and add some recent info to help you decide. Good luck with your choice!

hgeifman - When I started this thread I was hoping to start a thread for people to talk about both these great DACS, the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC and the Bricasti M1 DAC. I have owned them both and think they are both amazing. When I read your post I called into Bricasti to work toward setting up getting my DAC upgraded to the SE so thank you for sharing. I have slowly been building a second system that is getting better and better and been looking for a deal on maybe a Direct Stream Jr.

hgeifman or anyone who has heard the Bricasti M1 SE upgrade can you tell me a little about it? Does it make a nice difference?

How about anyone out there on the Direct Stream JR - is it close to the original? Would love some feedback on both the M1 SE upgrade and the DS Jr.

Thanks 


 

My DAC is at Bricasti with Joe and Brian getting the SE upgrade as we speak. It was dropped it off yesterday - one of the nice things about living near the manufacture.

Guys I read on another site about one of the features to the newest version of the M1 software. I will paraphrase some of the writing I read on another site:  

"the software version is 1.32, first press Status on the front panel several times until you see either SyncWide or SyncFine, and then rotate the knob to change from one to the other" " Once the display shows one of those modes you can toggle the choice from your listening chair to listen for the differences. The SE upgrade by itself is something, but the SyncFine setting is even better -- bigger soundstage, everything more distinct and 3D. Spooky. It will be interesting to get customers' reactions when they hear the comparisons between those modes and between the SE and the standard version."

What do you guys think - has anyone tried this or heard this? It sounds awesome and would love some feedback or more info about this. The guy said at the time he was the first one who had it and this was back in March so I wanted to share and get any feedback on it if possible because it sounds awesome!

Guys anything on the Bricasti M1 SE upgrade and/or software version is 1.32 that features SyncWide or SyncFine that they say has a phat impact!

Next week is a "Huge" week for my audio hobby. Will be getting my M1 back with SE upgrade and my freshly minted VPI Prime turntable that Harry is mounting my Haniwa Cart on. Harry just sent me the the tracking numbers last night - Going to have a lot time in front of my full range, crossover-less drivers next week for sure :) I'm Psyched !!!! 

Mysticriver - that sounds like a serious rig you got there - what do you use for speakers and a transport to feed your Direct Stream? 

Guys - can  anyone speak to the new Bricasti M1 SE upgrade out there and PS Audio's new upgrade? I know PS Audio has excellent software upgrades much more frequently than Bricasti offers upgrades and wanted to see what you guys think? I've heard the latest PS Audio upgrade is killer and was wondering if the M1SE upgrade is on par or close or better or not as good? Pretty impressive how PS Audio continually evolves their DAC with Teds evolution friendly platform! 

Mysticriver awesome info I am reading it now. When I owned DS I found the transport mattered but the one you have is a solid - good one. I would like to try that 103 with the upgrade board. Can I just buy that board and put it in or does it need a pro to put it in? Thx 

This looks awesome - OK so to summarize so I buy the Oppo BDP-103  and this board the Vanity 103HD DoP board and install it myself then just use it as a cd transport?

Any cable recommended with this combo to connect this to my Bricasti M1SE?

Can it play other stuff like stream files or anything like that?

I stream files and with my digital stuff I have listed below and I still use JRiver 21 because I think it sound better than the Auralic DS Lightning App but I have nothing to spin CD's on and what I have is decent / competent but I can't help but think there are some better options out there and I would like to try some discs. What do you think?
Thanks 

Auralic Aries w/ Duel Femto Clocks Stereophile CLASS A (Japan) SBooster BOTW Linear Pwr. Supply ( for Auralic Aries ) (Netherlands)

• HiDiamond P3 AC Power Cable 1.0M (Auralic Aries) (Italy) 
• 
  
• • SBooster Ultra Split Filter (For Auralic Aries) (Netherlands)
  • HiDiamond HDX2 Network Distributer / Conditioner (Italy) 
  • OYAIDE RI Beryllium Power Outlets (Australia) 
  
  

Hulk, how do you like the SE upgrade now. I found it gets much better. The new Caps need a while to burn in as well as the new wiring. I am curious as to your thoughts and/or anyone else about the SE upgrade after a couple months of good old burn in. I love mine. I found it gets much better over time... I have switched tons of gear over the past few years, tons, a couple full rig remakes and just couldn't get a rig to stick but man this DAC and my currant incredible speakers (Rethm Saadhana V3) and my amp, a DHT Triode SET amp the (Triode Labs  2A3SE-FFX DHT SET) are just so much better than anything I have ever owned and better anything else I have heard since anywhere else. I am looking to upgrade my preamp though :). Always something :)