To wrap up, I ended up buying Aqua La Voce. Together with Empirical Audio's coax cable and Synchro-mesh re-clocker, this has brought major improvement to my system-- a very worthwhile upgrade. It's very possible the Empirical gear would've corrected whatever synergy issues I'd experienced with the COSD2 and Metrum Adagio in my system, but it's kind of a moot point, as my budget simply wouldn't have allowed it.No matter-- I'm extremely happy with how things have turned out.
Still looking for a DAC I can demo at home. . .
I'm looking to spend up to $4500 on a DAC. Must be able to demo at home! Yes-- I know-- this eliminates many possibilities but I don't actually enjoy buying/selling gear, so buying gear on A'gon to try, and then having to re-sell it, holds 0 appeal for me. I think of myself as a music lover rather than an audiophile. Perhaps, for those of you reading this, other, less flattering adjectives come to mind ;o), but nevertheless, the search goes on. I have: Wells Majestic integrated, Silverline SR 17.5 Monitors. I plan to keep my Jolida JD100 cdp as a transport. Emotional involvement, "musicality" (lots of arguments about what that means, I know) are more important to me than hyper detail. Borrowing John Darko's analogy, I'm more interested in "tasting cake" than knowing whether the butter is organic, the eggs are laid by Rhode Island Red hens or Sea Turtles, the flour is winter or spring wheat, etc. Sea Turtles? OK- I'm starting to experience the particular flavor of insanity that comes from spending far too much time reading threads and reviews. I've held off trying Schiit Yggy due to conflicting reports re: whether its resolution is too "digital/analytical" sounding. PS Audio Directstream JR. has its fans and critics. Anything else in this price range I can demo at home ???
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- 29 posts total
- 29 posts total