Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Paul - I don't disagree that the mini is a weak link, but it has never caused a shout before. and I have had a LOT of speakers grace my room.

Why now with the Consequence Ultimates?

-Is it that it has a lower sensitivity (84db) and demands more power to drive it and thus highlights my systems inadequacies?

-Are the CU's just not burned in yet as Guido suggests?

-Are the CU so accurate that they are revealing something upstream that was previously not discernible?

-Do the CU have such low distortion that I'm just playing them way louder then anything else in my room thus far and I'm overdriving my room?

-Are the quasi-horn loaded/ring radiated drivers just not plying nicely in my smallish room? Am I sitting to close to them?

I know not the answers to these questions. I feel that the CU is teetering on the edge of nirvana and I just need to know what to adjust to get it there....

But your suggestion is spot on. I was initially going to compare the ODSE and D5000 using my familiar Mac Mini source but I'll try the DX first in a brief head to head to see if the shout is still there. Could it be that easy??? I hope so!!!

Hi Matt, believe it or not, I had completely forgotten that Muzik in your room were overloading the bass... Perhaps I'm starting to misfold proteins in the brain *grins!*

Regardless of speakers brand and model, both Kevin Wolff of Vienna Acoustics North America (VANA) and Rod Tomson of Soundings in Denver assert that almost any room can achieve excellent sound if speakers placement is performed by a professional with the VA/Sumiko method.... Variously called Master, Masterset, or Master Set. The process is unfortunately not documented particularly well in the wild, but is sold as a service by some Sumiko and VA dealers like Soundings... It certainly worked fantastically in my own loft to eliminate some residual shoutiness and mid lower bass overload... On the other hand, my loft is essentially 16 x 30 ft or so, and is far from approximating a square. Furthermore, the great success in my loft cannot imply that a generalization is a safe bet.

On a different track, is it possible that your now more reflecting floor might be a contributing factor to the Dynaudio shoutiness?

G.

I do agree with Paul that your source needs to be upgraded given the caliber of your system, but its not the source of the current problem. Guido's suggestion is a good one: put a dense piece of carpeting at the first reflection point on the floor. I am not sure that's the fix either, but time will tell...

Another potential issue is the the Esotar tweeter is notorious for being uber revealing and pointy under the wrong conditions....

IME, the more resolute the speakers are, the more flaws are revealed.

Taking your complaint, it goes along with my experience with my own speakers (the Joseph's you didn't care for at the store). When music went from a soft to loud sound, or a hot vocal, the speakers poured it all out and revealed I had an issue. That issue was SHOUT.. So in my case, it was that the speakers did not compress under the stress, they allowed the system to tell the truth. I also thought the speakers were to blame, when in fact, they were telling me something needed attention.

I went to the Totaldac Server, and all my problems were solved. I actually got more dynamic range now, that maintains composure instead of farting out, because the server does not fall on its @$$ when the demand is there, like my hotrod Mac Mini did. My system never shouts at me now.

Not saying this is absolute and what you are experiencing, but this did fix my issue.

Hope you get there. Sounds like the Dyn's are everything else you want.