Agear, winson, thanks for the heads up on the Auralic Aries. Interesting unit, and not a bad price at all. And turns out my dealer sells them (thought he had Aurender, not Auralic!).
Back to topic.
I made a PC change to the D5000 and the sound is even better than before. More relaxed, more resolved, but still that wonderful body and texture that makes the music so involving. The D5000 definitely seems sensitive to PCs and think I found one that works very well with it.
allen |
09-14-14: Socfan12
Agear, winson, thanks for the heads up on the Auralic Aries. Interesting unit, and not a bad price at all. And turns out my dealer sells them (thought he had Aurender, not Auralic!).
Back to topic.
I made a PC change to the D5000 and the sound is even better than before. More relaxed, more resolved, but still that wonderful body and texture that makes the music so involving. The D5000 definitely seems sensitive to PCs and think I found one that works very well with it.
Allen, you will find that despite the magic dac du jour in place, you still have to do your due diligence upstream. Most dacs are not impervious to the chosen transport. The engineering is not quite there. The Aries is very good for the money and appears to be be competitive with CAPS or modded Minis. A true, audio-grade non-DIY is still best IMO. I have read good things about the Antipodes. Lampizator is also working on a new streamer which I am considering.... |
Hi,
I recently bought a Allnic DAC. I really like it especially with when playing DSD from Jriver. Has anyone tried linking an external word clock with the internal word clock of the Allnic DAC?
John |
Agear, totally agree with you. As I said above, I'm embrassed by my modified Sonos media player driving the Allnic. :-( Auralic does sound like a reasonably priced alternative so I am looking into that.
John, congrats on picking up the unit! Did it replace a DAC you were previously using? I haven't pulled the trigger on mine yet, but there is almost no doubt I will...:-) |
Socfan12 - They accidentally sent me a black D5000 unit which was replaced with a silver. I put 100 hours on it and it is perfect condition. They plan to re-sell the unit as an open box item. Talk to your local dealer or if you have not had contact with someone, call David directly.
I can vouch that the unit is in perfect condition. It can be had at a great price.
I will post my review and impression when I am able to sit down and give it meaningful time.
I have owned the following dacs and here are my rankings:
1. D5000
2. Empirical Audio Overdrive SE fully loaded with all upgrades.
3. Museatex Bidat
4. Very distant 4th is EMM DAC2x.
Unfortunately a Debussey dCS stack was sold locally before I could a to b it.
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Hey ketcham,
Thanks for the letting me know! But, like you, I am planning on other Allnic gear and I'm talking to my dealer on a bundled deal. But thanks for letting me know!
allen |
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Bye bye CH.;-) It's wonderful gear, winson, but it's a lot of money for me to tie up in a DAC when I want an analog rig, too. Tough choice, but the Allnic softened the blow.:-)
My system us going through a serious upheaval, winson. When the dust settles, I'll post the the system on AS.;-)
Ketcham, just noticed you ranked Emm Labs fourth. Wow! What didn't you like about it? |
Understod Soc…
Tube Dacs rule! LoL |
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To say what I did not like about the EMM will come across as harsh as it sets a high bar for comparison. However, to me it sounds very detailed but sterile. The John Wright modded Museatex bidat best EMM where it was musical and engaging but limited to 20/48 and required a USB to SPDIF converter. The EMM took a lot of play to get it to sing, which I am stating 6 hrs a day for far beyond six months. The new firmware upgrade is a great improvement but not in the same league as the empirical audio overdrive SE fully loaded options--a dac that can be purchased for half the list price of EMM. Empirical had better detail, sense of realism and holography. Empirical does not perform upsampling nor does it have dsd. That said, red book playback on the overdrive will best dsd on EMM and do so by a wide margin. There was a recent thread on Audiogon regarding red book playback dac comparison. This is worth a read. The overdrive was favored above the rest.
Unfortunately the d5000 was not to market yet during this comparison. Again, I have not had time to give a formal write up yet. I will say both the d5000 and overdrive are excellent dacs. Let me re-emphasize: they both have left an impression, and for different reasons. Because of these dacs, I am motivated to invest in other aspects of my system. I encourage anyone to trail both and hear for yourself in your system with your ears. D5000 is favored in my system for reasons i will state soon. Having heard what they offer I believe they both will best some more expensive dacs and at the price they are offered is a great value. |
Ketcham, understood.
I look forward to your thoughts on the D5000. |
Ketcham, you need a system page. What do you use as a transport? |
I will try to make one today...no idea how.
Music Server(s):
Acousense GISO GB>CAPS ZUMA (W2012 R2 Standard Server, Audio Phil OS), 3M AB5100S >JCAT USB + Paul Pang Red SATA Cable + Jriver
Music Server Operating System:
Windows 2012R2 (Highly recommended)
Preferred Digital Interface(s):
USB
Digital to Analog Converter(s):
Allnic D5000 DHT; Empirical Audio Overdrive2 DAC with full Paul Hynes upgrades. (8 Hynes Regulators for analog + Digital D/A Digital Hynes regulators + CUTF caps)
Preamplifier:
Allnic L5000 Linestage with KRON DHT tubes, Empirical Audio Final Drive Transformers
Amplifier(s):
Allnic A6000 Monoblock + Emission Labs - EML 300B-XLS
Loudspeakers:
Ambiance (Australia) Reference 1600
Interconnects:
High Fidelity Ultimate Reference 1.5 meter x2 (arriving today)
Moray James Balanced XLR
Vertere Pulse-R USB 1.5 meter
Ethernet Audioquest Cinnamon (Synology to Router, Router to GISO)
Ethernet Audioquest Vodka from GISO to Zuma
Loudspeaker Cables:
Audience AU24se with Jumpers
Power Cables:
Moray James
Remote Control Apps:
Jremote
Miscellaneous:
VH Audio Plasmatron 6A Thyratron Tubes
Audience aR12 TSSD passive power conditioner + AU24se power cable.
Synology 1812+ 32 TB Enterprise HD, 3 GB RAM.
Dream System:
Paul Hynes custom twin linear ATX power supply -- still in production (UGH) Christmas, 2014? - 3 years later.
High Fidelity Ultimate Reference Speaker Cable
Steve Nugent's New Overdrive SX Dac |
After a somewhat long delay, I wish to report my thoughts on the D5000. Since this is a DHT tube dac, I was not able to burn the dac in 24/7 and rapidly achieve what I believe close to its optimal sounding potential. Instead this dac was burned in over longer time period of normal use. Surprisingly this dac sounds wonderful new and although the sound did improve over the next 300 hours, the improvement heard with the SABRE chip was not as pronounced when compared to other dacs. By my experience, I believe you will hear 90% of the dac potential after 40 hours when the tubes have had time to settle. For a short period of time I had two D5000's in my possession. The DHT tubes have a silicone ring positioned midway and I was able to A-to-B the dac with and without these rings. While I prefer not having these rings on either my L5000 DHT linestage (preamp) or the A6000 300b monoblock amps, they do give sonic improvement with a larger, deeper sound stage and better inner detail, particularly clearer attack transient and subsequent decay mostly noted in higher pitched percussion.
The USB interface is implemented through custom hardware by Waversa Systems and is UAC2 standard compliant. Because of this compliance, the XMOS Windows driver links the D5000 to my custom CAPS server without issue. After a multiple USB cable trial, I found galvanic isolated interface greatly reduces the sonic differences between cables. Although there remains a difference between extremes comparing a USB 2.0 generic USB printer cable to my preferred Vertere Pulse-R 1.5 meter USB cable, the difference is muted demonstrating subtle differences. The Pulse-R removes a slight course texturing or hash bringing the overall soundstage into focus.
Waversa's custom internal processor will perform either upsampling or conversion to DSD in real time. When upsample is selected, repeat pressing of the button will progressively increase upsampling from 44/48 to eventually 352/384 then revert to 44/48. Therefore, the user may inadvertently select a lower sampling rate than native and down sample that particular track. The user selection of a specific sampling rate was intentional as some tracks may sound better upsampled but the sweet spot may not be DXD. I tend to prefer upsample to DXD over conversion to 128 DSD for reasons difficult to qualify. Maybe this simply has to do with the sonic signatures of PCM vs DSD.
Listening to the D5000 right out of the box while playing red book files without any upsampling I noticed the smoothness and fluidity of the music with a natural quality that immediately reminded me with great fondness listening to my older brother's studio reel-to-reel decades ago. Both upsampling to DXD and conversion to DSD options improve openness and transparency.
Unlike the EMM which produced a precise, neutral clinical sound, the D5000 is both involving with improved timing and pace creating a natural liveliness across all frequencies and viscerally engaging triggered through a deeper intricately layered larger soundstage where the speakers disappear into the music often creating phantom imagines that become palpable.
Empirical Audio Overdrive SE (ODSE) is my current reference dac. This unit is fully loaded with all available options offered by Empirical. Like the ODSE, the D5000 naturally envelops me in the music. While they both are excellent dacs, they truly are a different flavor. The D5000 provides more stage presence, as if you were at a nice outdoor venue sitting in a lawn chair somewhere in front of the soundboard. Empirical has more delicacy, revealing the fingertip-friction sounds on an instrumental string, better voice articulation and over all inner detail creating an ambience of a small studio session. I remain to find a dac that re-creates this level of timbre with such realism that naturally differentiates the uniqueness of each individual instrument when simultaneously playing the same note.
My sound system has naturally evolved into an all Allnic system over the years, consisting now of 26 vacuum tubes in total when I add the D5000 into the system. Because of this, I wonder if the DHT output stage of the D5000 would provide sonic benefit in a solid state system that perhaps otherwise becomes lost it an all DHT sound system. The solid state output stage of the ODSE is well designed and includes Paul Hynes voltage regulators that provide greater inner detail. What the ODSE offers pairs very well with Allnic gear.
To me the D5000 is sonically better than the EMM DAC2x and different than the Empirical Audio ODSE. In today’s market there are many excellent dacs and I realize the sonic qualities I have come to appreciate are not linked to market price. Dacs if this quality are like wine, each with their own strengths and sound characteristics. Despite the poor bench test demonstrated by John Atkinson’s review in Stereophile published in December, 2014 which most certainly has to do with the DHT tube characteristics, the D5000 is very musical, organic and engaging. I recommend anyone interested to audition this dac. Sunil at Care Audio (Care-Audio.com) is offering an in-home demo program. He will send any Allnic model to your home anywhere in the lower 48. This requires a 50% deposit which is 100% refundable. Experience dictates dealers offer some discount off list price, especially with a multi-unit purchase.
I am certain other Allnic Dealers too will offer an in-home demo arrangement, which I believe is wonderful since I am unable to get any local audiophile dealer interested in letting me trial gear in my personal system without full purchase and return restock fee. When Sanjay Patel at Ciamara had no issue sending me any gear I desire and offered a great price on any piece I am interested in, he was my go to person since Ciamara deals with many quality manufacturers. Unfortunately Ciamara does not deal with Allnic, but they have gone virtual and national and if they carry gear you are interested in, they will treat you well. |
Excellent and detailed review as usual. Wine is indeed a good analogy when referring to upper tier dacs. Most digital (tubed or not) still falls somewhat short (IMO) when it comes to recreating the dynamic elasticity and ease of good analog (tape or vinyl). At a recent AE show in Hong Kong an almost 7 figure system was demoed that included the new Trinity dac (50-60K) which is considered the current best of the best. When they switched to vinyl, many muttered in the audience that the music had arrived. Many people still feel/hear this discrepancy and thus digital struggles onwards. I still wonder what is still missing? Is it at the transport level? Grounding? Conditioning and other "noise" interventions? I don't know.
Good for Sunil for offering an in-home demo. A lot of dac manufacturers don't have the balls to do that. Have you talked to him about the Scaena mainframe server? That is on my radar. My gut is that the transport is more important than we think and needs all the neurotic attention that people give a turntable platter.
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