Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

09-27-15: Mattnshilp
The point about impedance mismatches is a very interesting one and makes me think that the Allnic D5000 may have a similar issue.

Matt, no, I doubt that the relatively low input impedance of your Burmester preamp had anything to do with your impressions of the D-5000's sonics. In contrast to the capacitively coupled outputs of the Aesthetix DAC, which can be expected to cause a large rise in output impedance in the bottom octave or two, the Allnic has transformer coupled outputs. And consistent with that it is described in its manual as having an output impedance that is a "constant" (as a function of frequency) 150 ohms.

That kind of output characteristic shouldn't result in any issues driving the input impedance of your preamp, or, for that matter, driving longish cables.

Of course transformers can have issues of their own, but given the apparent quality of this unit, and the statements made in the manual about Allnic's expertise in designing and manufacturing their own transformers, I suspect that the reason(s) for your less than glowing impressions of it are related to something else.

Best regards,
-- Al

Those were my impressions of the Allnic too, it sounded thin and not colorful like a tube dac could. My Lamp Big6 just killed it, just like it did everything else. Congrats on finding the speaker, that's probably the biggest step.

No time for listening. Sigh. Been so busy trying to get everything done before RMAF. Leaving very early Friday morning.

Anyone else going???

Hi Matt,
I have been following your thread for quite some time. If you're going to RMAF, you might try listening to the Vapor Audio Room, if your speaker search is not completely over.

Mas

Hi Mas.

Do you know if they are showing the Joule? That's the one I need to hear for my size room.