What would you buy Sub $350 Firewire/USB DAC

My wife couldn't bear to make me wait. I've received my unit in black and am breaking it in now.

Details:

Speakers: B&W DM 610s
Amplifier: Musical Fidelity B1
Sound files: .flac
Software: JRiver Media Player / ASIO4All

Upon opening the box, I had three thoughts:

1) The unit seems reasonably well built. The case and controls feel solid
2) It comes with a wall wart--I wonder if this results in less interference by having the power supply away from the unit or if that was a cost-cutting measure
3) I don't believe that I've ever seen such a cheap USB cable in my life.

So, I connected the unit with a better USB cable, and played the Dead Can Dance Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove. I was floored by the imaging and sound stage. The latter exceeded the dimensions of my listening room. Next, I played the Chemical Brothers Setting Sun. With both of these excerpts, I was very impressed with tight controlled bass.

Before listening to more demanding music, I created a play list of very eclectic music and let the DAC run for about 36 hours. I played a number of excerpts (William Grant Still's Afro-American Symphony, Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, CPE Bach's Symphonia, & etc.) and was disappointed in the somewhat harsh nature of the highs. The bass continued to be extraordinarily well behaved, and the mids were quite warm.

I let the unit play for another 30 hours or so, and while the highs still seem a touch harsh, they seem to be mellowing somewhat. I am hoping that trend will continue.

I'll keep you posted,

Prof - is it sounding any better?

Update:

After an extended burn-in period, I'm very pleased. The sound stage and imaging continues to be wonderful beyond expectations for a product of this price. The control of the bass--both the punchiness and clarity of detail--still amazes me. The mid range has become even more mellow bringing to mind the image of caramel. The high end has tamed considerably and is quite good.

In short, I love how responsive and musical this product is. The only weakness might be that the high end might be smidgen forward for some listeners, but otherwise, I find this to be a very musical and accurate piece of equipment and well worth the money.

MP

I'll bet you can tame that forward high end by running the DAC from an isolation transformer. Even a cheap one.

Dear Tobias--

Would you please elaborate for the ill-informed?

Thank you!

MP