Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Thanks Neoshah!

100% agrees! Footers are EVERYRHING dependent. Rack, gear, location under gear, etc. I’m trying to be as methodical as I can be. You guys know that I try to do things as scientifically and reproducibly as I can. That’s why I renamed my YouTube channel The Audiophile OCD. LOL.

I think that I can give a general feel for the footers and Racks that should be used as a guide. I have found CLEAR advantages to some footers over others. So there are definitely better footers out there. I’m trying to identify those and then chose the best for my gear and my rack (or new rack). And report, as usual, along the way.

I look forward to the Mojo. I’ll try it in both my home and office systems. They are very different.

I agree on placement of footers. I was told to try and place at least one under the transformer if the can work.  Made sense to me, but in most cases we just place them next to the feet on the cabinet.  Also, I recommend only using three unless you can adjust the height.  That's the only way to make sure you get a solid connection between the foot and the rack/platform typically.  

You can go crazy on cords, cable, feet and cable elevators etc...., but be careful how much you spend and make sure that it's worth it.  All too often we start to spend an extra 500 on feet, plus 700 on a powe cord and for that 1200 alone, you may have been able to get much better sound, just purchasing a better component.  

In Matt's case and others on this board, you guys are already maxing out a lot of your budget on the components and want to spend this extra to get the last bit of goodness.  That said, for many, you can just spend an extra few thousand on your source and get even better sound with the ability to later on do the accessory upgrades.  That's still where I"m kind of at.  

I have only one specialty cord that will go on my The Memory Player and then I'll have to see if I keep the Ayre AX5/20 or upgrade (if it is one and I'm told it's a no brainer) to the new VAndesteen mono blocks (to be released in a few months). Silly for me to start getting new cables before I know which components I'm going to be using.

So many of you are here to figure out which DAC to get etc... Not all of use can afford or want to afford the DaVinci that Matt went with.  Honestly, I would't purchase anything new from them for all the reasons and problems mentioned in this thread as well as others.  Plenty of great options for most budgets have been discussed here from Empirical Audio to Ayre to Brinkman to Lampizator to the lower priced gear too.  It's funny, but I'd also love to hear The Memory Player mini as a server with their own stand alone DAC as I be it's a killer for the money.  Heck the mini server maxes out at 3500 or so I think and they may even be willing to move a bit on that (I have no clue, but it never hurts to ask for help).  That has all their software goodies and even their defragmenting hard drive which is amazing for the price.  That's the Aurender X100 territory as well as some of the new ones coming in.  

Interesting.....

In a methodical and calculated plan to try moving my equipment to the front of my room I have started to test some of the issues I anticipate. The first being that I never ran a third dedicated outlet in the front of my room between the two dedicated 20 amp lines I ran for my amps. I’m a dope but it is what it is. I have 3 choices: 1) run both amps off of one outlet/circuit and the other outlet/circuit goes to the conditioner feeding the preamp/DAC/Server, 2) run the amps off of their current dedicated lines but plug the conditioner for the preamp/DAC/Server into one of the two same outlets, 3) run another circuit/outlet for the preamp/DAC/Server.

Tried 1 and it dramatically compromised performance. My amps suck MASSIVE current; and the two monoblocks aren’t good at sharing one 20 amp circuits goodies. It’s like two adults sucking a shake from the same straw - the straw will just collapse under the overwhelming vacuum and neither will get any milkshake.

2 is not an option as it would do essentially the same thing considering that the DAC, server AND preamp will draw enough current to affect whatever amp is sharing the outlet. Not even trying.

So so now I need to run another line. Sigh.....

BUT it was an awesome lesson. We will repeat the same test next week with Merrill’s new statement class D amps. They are crazy efficient and crazy good! I am super curious to see if they are immune to current sharing unlike most, if not all, class A/AB amps.

The difference through a single circuit was not subtle! Dynamics were stifled, the soundstage partially collapsed, and the whole system sounded softer! So anyone considering running some dedicated 20 amp lines for your amp or amps should definitely go for it. It’s probably the biggest, cheapest upgrade you can do!! Improve accuracy, dynamics and staging. Spend the little extra and get the best outlets you can afford; they do matter. I have Furutech GTX-D NCF outlets.