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Post by lobalwarming on Aug 19, 2019 22:43:11 GMT
No one has answered your question in over 2 weeks. Either because they're not sure which $20,000 DAC to suggest or we're lazy.
It's my experience that an external DAC will perform better than a PC onboard sound or the DAC in a bluray/DVD player or home cinema processor. That said, most TV sources, even bluray movies tend to have over-compressed and over-processed sound that by the time it gets into our systems 90% of the goodness has been smushed and sucked out. ;-)
However, for critical musical listening from non-compressed well recorded sources, then an external DAC can be a good addition to the chain.
In the under $100 range, the Schiit Modi 3 is a good option. Has coax, optical and USB inputs. There's many others in that price range, but I don't spend time there anymore. Not that I'm going to the $20K DAC party, but the sonic drinks in the R2R $500-$1200 pool are pretty tasty. ;-)
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Apr 12, 2019 23:24:43 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 12, 2019 23:24:43 GMT
Platinum? Sadly, while it looks more upmarket it's not as good a conductor as gold. Or even Toscanini.
I'm not recommending the Amazon cables, unless your needs are very basic. But they are cheaper than Monoprice. However, for casual listening, a knackered set of Blue Jeans cables are quite comfy. ;-)
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Apr 12, 2019 21:37:26 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 12, 2019 21:37:26 GMT
Oops. Missed the word ‘optical’! No worries. I missed an entire page. And probably several key points as well. Especially the question about lawnmowers with coaxial S/PDIF inputs ;-)
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Apr 12, 2019 21:35:03 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 12, 2019 21:35:03 GMT
That's a good price on the Velocity cable, Rabbit. A little too good. While it appears to have gold-plated connectors, a man of Mr. T's taste for gimmickry, likely won't bite on it. Unless you can confirm that each individual strand of copper in the wire is gold plated from the oxygen-deprived 24 karat remnants of Edison's 1897 gold watch, renown by 19th century audiophiles for its legendary golden ticks that was the tock of the time. Personally, I prefer the 'high-purity' and low cost of these pedestrian Amazon basic cables: www.amazon.ca/dp/B01D5H8TS4/ ;-)
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Apr 11, 2019 1:44:51 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 11, 2019 1:44:51 GMT
Yes, on audio boards you always want to be careful what you ask for. ;-)
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Apr 10, 2019 22:26:01 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 10, 2019 22:26:01 GMT
And if you want to impress us with more CC debt, Amazon has a 3.5mm glass optical cable for just $600CDN. That's getting close to transferring in style all those delicate bits to your sub $100 DAC.
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Apr 10, 2019 22:18:56 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 10, 2019 22:18:56 GMT
More than the DAC? That's perfect. Probably get several in various lengths, then skip the cheap opamp rolling and move right to spending thousands on cable rolling. Don't under-spend on DAC to Amp cables either. Ask Frans, but the best sounding electrons expect to be skin-effected in gold or silver.
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Apr 10, 2019 20:08:46 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Apr 10, 2019 20:08:46 GMT
Good glass cables (like good vintage thermionic glass) are all indecently priced. Among the best are the Lifatec - just $99USD for 20" cable. $72 for B-stock tho. Or these closeout glass cables are a better value at $22USD for 3ft. Now...about that 3.5mm adapter... have you heard about USB? ;-)
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Mar 30, 2019 1:07:35 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Mar 30, 2019 1:07:35 GMT
Oh...shameless gimmickry. Would you like to buy a set of SACD 'purifiers'? Removes unwanted impurities through the applied mojoroonia in a special blend of bit perfect BS. $1400/pair. My BS gimmicks don't come cheap. ;-)
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Mar 29, 2019 23:39:15 GMT
Post by lobalwarming on Mar 29, 2019 23:39:15 GMT
Pretty sure, Mr. T likes the Adult Contemporary Format. Nothing as crass as the Top 40 Format. If you're not in rush, you might want to see how the new Schiit 'USB Solved Forever' usb hardware works - their own USB chip design. Supposed to be released this year. And supposedly better, more stable than SPDIF. Will be interesting to see what sort of Schiit show develops. For $99USD now, the Modi 3 would be my choice over the others in that price range. The stupid high sampling/pretend deep bit rates are marketing fakery, not features. None of those alleged 32bit units are better than a real 16-20 bit unit. 32bits can be marginally useful for mixing and editing - but 32bits is not a consumer requirement. Unless you're into one-time listening to jet takeoffs. 32bits = 192dB dynamic range. That's a feature? No, it's a safety violation. Read some Dan Lavry papers on ADC/DACs. Silly high sampling rates hurt more than help. "The optimal sample rate should be largely based on the required signal bandwidth. Audio industry salesman have been promoting faster than optimal rates. The promotion of such ideas is based on the fallacy that faster rates yield more accuracy and/or more detail. Whether motivated by profit or ignorance, the promoters, leading the industry in the wrong direction, are stating the opposite of what is true." - Dan Lavry Besides, in your chosen Adult Contemporary format, it's all low bitrate mp3s.
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Post by lobalwarming on Mar 29, 2019 3:29:26 GMT
Hi Mr Trev!
Heard you were going on the road to record DACs in their native environment (BestBuy), so thought you still wanted closed cans. But that was so 2016. Next time I'll notice the posting date, ignore it and post something inane anyways. ;-)
A proper DAC? For $200 or under or $2,000 or over?
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Post by lobalwarming on Mar 28, 2019 20:45:17 GMT
Mr T: My closed minded under $200 choices would be: Senn HD380 - Used in the studio for tracking quite a bit. Very punchy in-your-face bass. Lots of lobal space. Suffers from closed cup mids as most closed phone do. Seems like it's EOL tho. Senn HD569 - possibly a better sounding 598C replacement - not as much rip-your-face off bass as the 380s, but more comfy and cheaper. If you have a local Long & McQuade, might be able to demo the 380s. As well as the AT M50x aural congestion generator. HD569 at Amazon.ca for $129CDN and BestBuy (for too much altho some BB stores might have demo units).
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Post by lobalwarming on Dec 31, 2018 21:42:11 GMT
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Post by lobalwarming on Dec 23, 2018 22:08:43 GMT
Have a great week, Frans! (Adjusted for inflation)
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Post by lobalwarming on Nov 26, 2018 23:40:43 GMT
I'll 4th that. Jeremy is super helpful and his beautifully-made G1217 amps are a bargain treasure chest for (pricey or cheap) tube rolling.
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