Jay’s Audio CDT3-MK3 wins over Aurender W20SE

I’m listening to SACD in DSD right now from the W20SE’s 4 TB hard drive and it is comparable to the upsampled Jay’s MK3 using the Mscaler. They are both extraordinary, it will take weeks for the MK3 to burn in, 400 hour burn in time they say….  

This is not ordinary streaming, this is Qobuz 24 bit - 192khz uncompressed streaming with a $22,000 Aurender W20SE and a 1 million tap Chord Mscaler upsampler. This technology should be compared to CDs to see where we are at in HiFi to the potential of ultra high end streaming + upsampling to the best of the best CD transports. It is a fair and good test for many in digital hifi.

@dinov 

I used a SACD ripping service. The guy that I used is no longer doing it though. You can probably find someone fairly close to you if you google it.  

@bigkidz @lordmelton 

Upgrading the DAC is a great suggestion, and the only reason I do not is because the 15 volt Chord Hugo TT2 has a DC input that will run perfectly on 12.8 volt LIFEPO4 batteries. I’m in a stage of my HiFi journey that I cannot be without LIFEPO4 batteries on my DAC, nor my Mscaler because it still astonishes my senses. When that wonderlust wears off hopefully the Chord Dave 2 will be released. 

@bigkidz 

I’m interested in your opinion. What is your ultimate recommendation for reference quality DAC. I will have a listen.

@ricred1

If you have a Chord DAC the single biggest improvement is implementing Audiowise products, they are breathtaking, and will elevate your system to levels you cannot imagine. Their flagship product is the Galvanic Optical Isolation unit called the OPTO-DX, make sure to get premium cables!

So after another week of critical listening I can tell you there is no digital format in existence that can compete with the CDT3-MK3 except Audiowise’s PGGB. I have 2 TB of SACD’s ripped in DSD on the W20SE’s 4TB hard drive and they sound like garbage compared to PGGB format. But the Jay’s flagship is still better imho, but only by a small margin.