Comparson Of 24/92 vs Non Upsampling DAC's

Rick- you have a fantastic transport there- add the Audio Note 3.1x Balanced dac, and I think you'll be very, very, happy. I owned the same 3.1 balanced dac, and the ONLY reason for letting it go was to go to the new Meitner/Emm Labs setup. The Audio Note just sounds so natural- there's a reason you so rarely see them on the used market. Good luck with the decision.

They can both sound good, but when direct comparisons are done, the inner detail and vocal smoothness are usually superior on the upsampler due to the very high frequency filtering and the interpolation (if the implementation is done right). The Audionotes use the natural roll-off of the transformers (low-order) to achieve a more natural sound, which works well, but this also limits their high-frequency extension. Harpsichord, for instance, sounds very natural on an upsampler, but not as natural on the Audionote.

Its a matter of taste. The upsamplers can cause a bit of unnaturaleness (maybe not as smooth), but the non-upsamplers have other shortcomings.

I have the Audio Note 2.1x balanced DAC. You can see my review of it here on Audiogon. I prefer the zero sampling DACs to upsampling, at least in the experience I have with the digital components I've tried here at home. I've ordered a Wavelength Audio Cosine DAC to see how it compares too. It's also zero sampling with tube output like the AN, but in a smaller case. After having the AN DAC in my system I've lost any desire to upgrade, unless it's to a better AN DAC. It's just darn good, and through a quality headphone setup this becomes even clearer. Instruments sound very natural and it's smooth and dynamic.

I'm currently using it with an Electrocompaniet EMC-1 as transport, but will be receiving an Accustic Arts Drive 1 in a few days. As long as your Audiomecca has a digital out it should work fine with any DAC.