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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
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Hi Matt, what electronics were driving the Joseph Audio Pearls? Guido
wisnon
700 posts
 
Matt, I dont think you are being limited at all. You clearly state that the real problem is nodal issues with the base resulting from the geometry of the room and the config of the speaker bass ports. many of the speakers you say have delicious mids and highs, BUT the bass is consistently and issue with anything but sealed, down or front ported.

So yeah, you can improve your source, but that wont change the laws of speaker physics. No matter what the upstream is, you STILL have to find a livable speaker solution, so keep concentrating on that.

This should be particularly reassuring to you, as I threw more speaker options than most at you. LoL
agear
1,362 posts
 
This speaker thing is a bitch. Dacs are easy breezy. Matt, I wonder how much of what you're hearing at these demoes is due to poor setup? Speaker setup is a science, and I know I have mangled it repeatedly.

When will you be hearing the Ras?
wisnon
700 posts
 
First off, sorry for all the typos. I wrote BASE instead of BASS. LoL

My Bad.

GearD, I think Matt is more in the mode of ISIS than Ra, due to the visceral impact of the 15inch woofer.

If absolute MR/HF quality was not the issue, I would tell him to get a pair of FUN Silver Phantoms and call it a day! Heheheh

The Bass there is "WRONG", ie air pushing rather than vibration propagation, BUT they hit hard and are soo much fun. True plug and play with a dose of artificial intelligence as the units talk to each other and automatically adjusts their configutration to the new optimal. Imagine a club with 32 of these suckers hung on the wall and playing in Tandem! Ultimate in cool.

You know I was snobby against the Phantoms till I heard them but I must say I enjoyed the experience. Ultimate nervosa liberation. The only thing close would be the Goldmund Logos tower, but that is $60K a pair and goes down to about 40db while the SPs go down to about 30 in practical terms. The Logos will likely be more refined in mids up, but the price to improvement ratio is not very encouraging.
agear
1,362 posts
 
As was stated earlier in the thread, the Ras are simply a frame of reference Norman.
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