Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

@tbg yup dealers are closing and dying off. The whole audio hobby is changing when it comes to being able to hear gear.

I ran the same comparison again. I prefer the ODSE to the Berkeley with my Burmester preamp. With the Rowland pre-amp I think I like the Berk better, but it's close. There was a bigger difference in how much better the Emm was over the ODSE then the Berkely Ref. I just felt the ODSE gave a more realistic representation of what was recorded. Though I preferred piano on the Berk Ref a tad more tonally, the actual sound of the piano was more real on the ODSE.

The Aurender is clearly superior to my Mac Mini. That's great to see. It was sort of bothering me that I couldn't find something better. But the N10 really needed tons of hours on it to get there. And I'll bet there's more to get as it hits 1000 hours. I'm near 520 now I think. The Double Bass on the N10 gives texture and tone as if the sound is emanating from the instrument, with resonance and palpability. Drums hit with a sense of natural impact and resonate properly. And vocals and piano are just right. I just need to get me ears on the YFS server to compare the two and I will be buying myself a new music server.

Finally, the HF Ultra Ref Helix uber power cord.... That heavy magnet in the middle is a PiTa. I would imagine a wire tie to the rack column would be the best solution. Plugged in and brand new, it gives more volume at the same setting and immediately helped define images in space a tad better. The base flattened out a bit, which I have found with many new out of box power cords. Midrange mellowed a touch as well. Practically useless first impressions. Needs time. I want to call HF and ask if the top tier needs to be implemented for the lower current front end gear, or if that giant magnet is best suited for the high current amp draw. Not sure if I'll get an honest answer.....

Matt, speak to Rick (the owner/developer) at High Fidelity Cables directly, even if you need to call back a few times. He will give you an honest answer. He is that type of guy. Also, he is a wealth of information.

PS it is a shame you could not make it to the NY Audio Show this past weekend as Rick was there and holding talks about his cables.

Not in a rush. I'm playing with my neighbors HF PC's and just came up with the question Monday morning. I'll let them burn in for a few days. I'll call and ask, but I have been told "off thread" that even for front end and preamp that the helix makes a difference. It's just a massive cost to swallow for power cords...... Considering I already have good PC's, I think that will be amongst my last upgrades. I'm playing with speaker wire and interconnect right now.

I did just order a Plasmatron from VH Audio. I've heard so many good things about it and the call of the siren Plasmatron was too great to fight. Also installing the Encironmental Potentials EP-2050 Surge and AC Waveform Correction module and four EP-2750 ground filters into my circuit breaker box when I find time this week or next. I'll report those findings. By the way, Chris VenHaus of VH is a great audio guy and provides terrific product and service. I got the Plasmatron, the EP stuff and four new cooked Furutech GTX-D rhodium outlets. I got some replacement fuses from him previously. Always great communication and solid product.

The outlets you just bought take every bit of 500 hrs to burn in, and boy are they nasty,going up and down, really bad experience, best to stick them on a refrigerator, or equivalent for these hrs, the outcome after burn in makes you scratch your head in bewilderment at the performance they achieve.