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review 'db audio labs tranquility dac

Category: Digital

I recently came across a new digital product called the db audio labs tranquility dac that has blown me away and I wanted to let audiophiles know what I consider to be a groundbreaking digital product. Around a year ago I met a guy named Eric Hider, who lived in the same neighborhood of a friend of mine. So, my buddy tells me, “hey, I have a neighbor (Eric) who is into audio just like you!”. So, I went to his house to see if he was a "real audiophile" and discovered that he actually did have a very nice sounding audio system! It wasn’t made up of the mainstream high priced products like I have owned, but his system did get my audiophile “seal of approval”. It was a sound that I could live with myself, and I am a VERY picky audiophile. During that first visit he didn’t have this tranquility dac. Instead he was using some sort of transport / jitter reducing device connected to some sort of modded dac that I don’t know. My visit that day was strictly social though as I just wanted to get together and listen to some music in his place and get to meet another audiophile.

Half a year later Eric contacted me and insisted that I come by to hear something. Of course, he tweaked my interest with his insistence. So, I went to his place and he started by playing some well recorded jazz. Immediately I was impressed with what I was hearing. His system had taken a quantum leap since my last visit! The sound stage was unbelievably large, actually humongous, with spectacular image focus and a tonal balance that was just right! Resolution was what I'm used to hearing in my own personal system and I’ve spent countless years building mine to my own personal tastes. Everything looked the same in his equipment rack so I asked him what was different since my last visit. He then points to a mac computer sitting next to his audio system with a box hooked up to it. A computer for a transport? How could that sound any good? Computers are so noisy. And that little box for DA converter? Now I needed to hear how good it really was. Let's see how it would sound on my home reference system? FYI: My own sound system is in the six-figure category and I've gone through at least 10 times that amount of money over many years. I am not bragging here but actually a little embarrassed that I’ve spent so much money on it. I am just a bit obsessed (who isn’t) with achieving great music playback. Btw, I am still happily married after 15 years of audio purchasing. I just have to make sure I love her more than the hobbie ;-)

So, Eric finally brings this newfangled tranquility dac and a mac computer to my place for a shootout against some other statement digital pieces. I had the esoteric D05/P0 in my system and managed to get ahold of the new berkley alpha dac that everyone is raving about. Believe it or not the tranquility was just a tad bit better than either. It has a sense of more naturalness and better realism across the board. Now these digital pieces are all really great sonically, but I still think the tranquility edges out here as the one I praise the most. And as for what the tranquility costs, it’s the whole reason why I think it’s so groundbreaking! So, I ended up sending the berkley back with a thank you to my friend for allowing the audition it and sold the esoteric and pocketed the money from that sale. Now, what am I to do with all this extra money? I guess I’ll figure something out. Maybe buying a new mac and the tranquility dac for starters? But what do I do with the left over money ;-)

Btw, my primary front end is analog. I have many rare first pressing albums and have always thought no other source is nearly as listenable as my table. It is a very customized solution with the new teres rim motor drive (a really great tweak guys) on a massive walker stand with many unique refinements from many different state of the art turntable designs. I use the wheaton tri-planar arm, a 47 labs myabi cartridge and the asr basis exclusive phono preamp.

So, that’s my take on this new tranquility dac and why I think it is a groundbreaking product.
acollen
trebejo
102 posts
 
Yes, well, there are a gazillion music-computer tools that use firewire, and another gazillion that use usb.

The firewire kind is used by the pros.

The usb kind is used by the folks that shop at radio shack.

The reason, plain and simple, is that firewire piggybacks well while usb does it very poorly; firewire impacts the cpu far less than usb; usb can freeze your computer, firewire can basically never do that.

So why is usb more popular than firewire? Probably because one was promoted by Apple and the other by Microsoft.

I'm simply going to say that of all the serial interfaces, usb is among the most compromised and DEFINITELY not the one you want to use with an instrument that is simultaneously expensive, high-performance and meant to be long lasting.

I don't mean to rain on dbaudiolabs parade, but if there are people out there that are just getting started and wondering what is what, you can do well by simply avoiding usb for anything expensive, high-performance or long-lasting.

IF there was going to be a single input to your dac, it should be coaxial or optical. It should not be firewire for the reasons listed in the post above, although if it were, it might possibly be OK; it should not be usb, at the very least, for the reasons I have given here.

I am under the impression that there are audiophile reasons as well for not relying on usb, such as those in this article,

http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/cambridge_audio_azur_dacmagic_da_converter/index3.html

which basically states, among other things, that you have to think long and hard about how you are going to connect your computer to that USB cable.

A properly designed DAC (and you can certainly find them for hundreds of dollars less than the one being reviewed above) will not force you to do any such thinking about what your computer is doing on the other side of that optical/coax digital input cable; in fact, it might not even require you to turn on a computer at all. :)
hifitime
715 posts
 
A lot of competition for less money.♫
dbaudiolabs
13 posts
 

We understand why some posters could think USB connectivity may not be "audiophile approved". That's why we wrote the VERY thorough technical overview (posted earlier in this thread) for everyone to realize how USB connectivity could actually be a phenomenal sounding choice when it is designed and implemented correctly.

But, there are still some detractors that are skeptical, so here's some more food for thought to ponder and consider - It was recently announced "USB DAC Wins Stereophile's Overall Product of the Year!". Hmm, could Stereophile actually be on to something with their most recent assessments and accolades about USB connected DACs too?

And, from the outset, our inherent mission when we created the Tranquility design was - The true measure of any DAC design and its "inherent technology" comes down to HOW IT SOUNDS as compared the actual master tape!

It is our professional opinion that any given type of DAC solution that has the ability to give audiophiles better space rendition, portray the fragile high frequency harmonic overtones more accurately and subsequently sound more real, should "win the day" as the better DAC. This is how we would like to be "measured" by the audiophile community.
clio09
3,355 posts
 
Steroephile, that's the best you've got to offer as proof USB is better than firewire. You should be able to offer better proof than that, Gordon Rankin and Steve Nugent do.

Personally, I'm trying to make the jump to computer audio. I am intrigued by your DAC, but in reality, how does it differ from the Music Streamer Pro and M2Tech hiface at a fraction of the cost.
dbaudiolabs
13 posts
 

Hi Clio09,

The post about Stereophile's top award to a USB dac was mentioned to demonstrate that we are not alone in our findings about USB's potential and mention the fact that other serious audiophiles have also found that some particular USB connected solutions can sound amazing. BTW: Were you aware that the DAC that Stereophile awarded uses Gordon Rankin's technology?

As far as the "proof" you want, we will stick by our personal mantra ; The superiority of ANY dac design should actually be "measured" by it's end SONIC GREATNESS or lack thereof, period. Anything other sort of analysis-methodology, other than how the product actually sounds, is just conjecture and speculation that holds very little merit for a true music lover. If the DAC design sounds as good or even better than some of the best digital in the world, cost no object designs included, then the "proof" has been met.

Per your question about the Music Streamer Pro and m2Tech hiface, we think that both are great "budget" offerings at their respective price points. Comparatively, the Tranquility DAC was NOT designed as a "budget" offering that was just built with "off the shelf parts" or budget connectors or budget power supplies or with budget level output stages.

In comparison, the Tranquility has MANY proprietary circuit refinements that took years of research and development leading to proprietary optimizations incorporated within. We are proud to say we've found optimizations that no one has ever even considered in any DAC, at any price! Top level passive components, capacitors, custom designed power supplies and regulation, custom discrete output stages along with all of the proprietary optimizations to boot! All of this was done in a quest to create a digital solution that offers a whole new level of sonic greatness.
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