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Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hi All.

Putting together a reference level system.
My Source is predominantly standard 16/44 played from a MacMini using iTunes and Amarra. Some of my music is purchased from iTunes and the rest is ripped from standard CD's.
For my tastes in music, my high def catalogues are still limited; so Redbook 16/44 will be my primary source for quite some time.

I'm not spending DCS or MSB money. But $15-20k retail is not out of the question.

Upsampling vs non-upsampling?
USB input vs SPDIF?

All opinions welcome.

And I know I need to hear them, but getting these ultra $$$ DAC's into your house for an audition ain't easy.

Looking for musical, emotional, engaging, accurate , with great dimension. Not looking for analytical and sterile.
mattnshilp
paul79
173 posts
 
Ya, I hear ya. Hard for me to believe when I started all this, but tuning is necessary to get the best results. I to was of the mind frame that with the packet correction and retry, the digital source would not matter. Not so!!

I will say that I could never get a computer or a Mac to sound like what I have going here. The transparency and focus is really unbelievable.
agear
1,362 posts
 
11-06-14: Paul79
Ya, I hear ya. Hard for me to believe when I started all this, but tuning is necessary to get the best results. I to was of the mind frame that with the packet correction and retry, the digital source would not matter. Not so!!

I will say that I could never get a computer or a Mac to sound like what I have going here. The transparency and focus is really unbelievable.

I agree with that Paul. Do you use the Totaldac as well or just the server? What does the rest of your system consist of?
aplhifi
515 posts
 
Though many will take this as an advertisement (no worries), I personally don't think that an all-linear powered computer with Windows Server 2012/R2 and Audiophile Optimizer, all running in Core mode can be outperformed with another computer audio solution. But things really come to place when using the computer to load an SD card that plays the audio files from the SDT-M digital transport. SD card directly to output and with linear power. IMO, this is the only solution that comes close to a regular digital transport that cannot be outperformed by any computer audio solution, regardless of technology and cost. Reasons are obvious.

Best wishes,
Alex Peychev
APL Hi-Fi
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
Audioengr, have you considered caching on the client/DAC side after the interface that receives the data? Now the client should be agnostic how the data was sent?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
knghifi - Isn't the storage of the data in a buffer after de-packetization in the device sufficient?

What purpose does it serve to store the data in another memory buffer?

I do reclock the data to reduce jitter.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
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