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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
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hello fuzzbutt17,
Good points you've made. I wasn't indicting DSD as a whole as I haven't the extensive exposure to do so. Elizabeth's "black hole" comment was on the mark IMO at least in regard to SACDs I've heard, nothing more. 
Charles 
Post removed 
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
mitch21,597 posts04-15-2018 6:29pm
One of my complaints about SACD is they all seem to have no ’room’ played in. The music all seems to ’magically’ float out of a black hole. Stripped of any ambience.
Interestingly, this is in the ballpark of describing my issue with the Class D amplification I have owned.  

Not all Class D should be described in this way, in fact quite the opposite in some cases.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
elizabeth
One of my complaints about SACD is they all seem to have no ’room’ played in. The music all seems to ’magically’ float out of a black hole.

mitch2
Interestingly, this is in the ballpark of describing my issue with the Class D amplification I have owned.

charles1dad
This goes against the grain but it is what I consistently hear. Interesting that you’ve had similar findings. The "inky black" (black hole as you put it) background devoid of any sense of ambience (room) presence always struck me as artificial and un-natural.


These to me are the results of stripping of the harmonic structure of the music and leaving nothing but a dead black hole/silence, "there is not much decay left to see or hear back into".

This is what Delta Sigma/Mash did when it was first released back in 1990 and still does now to Redbook PCM conversion, it gives a facsimile of the real thing, where R2R Multibit is bit perfect.

And it’s also what Class-D does to amplification. This maybe helped with future technology, with 3, 4 or 5 times higher switching frequency, so the output filters can do their job properly and get rid of all the switching noise completely without coming near the upper harmonics of the audio band.

Cheers George
neoshah
33 posts
 
since we are all at it, what are your observations on MQA ?
any good? or just some more marketing hype?
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