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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
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Honestly he lost me again when he said something about Schitt beimg an expensive discrete.....::::

BTW ct, Have to correct you here as well, I didn’t say that read again.
  
Expensive was in reference to "discrete" R2R dacs
  
And "chip" versions which if you know are cheaper, which Schiit Yaggy uses, and the best bang for buck you can get, for converting PCM Redbook.

Cheers George
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

maybe one day they'll be able to make full 24bit again like the PCM1704 as cheap as the the DS from ESS and others, and we'll get back to proper conversion of PCM again, instead of a facsimile of it....

This is exactly the chip I used in my Spoiler TubeDAC.  Sounded really lifelike, but the Overdrive SE and SX using D-S left it in the dust for weight, detail and dynamics.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hello Steve N, 
George frequently to support his point says R2R is "bit perfect" whereas delta sigma is merely a "facsimile". As a listener I don’t hear R2R superiority. As a builder/designer is this claim true and if so is it an audible or meaningful distinction in your experience?
Charles
gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
charles1dad - Hello Steve N, George frequently to support his point says R2R is "bit perfect" whereas delta sigma is merely a "facsimile". As a listener I don’t hear R2R superiority. As a builder/designer is this claim true and if so is it an audible or meaningful distinction in your experience?
@charles1dad
With do respect, I would just like to point out that not only does George make the claim as stated in your quote, but so too do many DAC manufacturers.
sadono
97 posts
 
@fuzzbutt17

Victims of marketing.

A few years ago at RMAF we held a contest (with some pretty cool prizes) to determine if people could guess the resolution of of five songs.

We had a 25 song playlist printed on a single page with columns for song names and check boxes to the right for "16/44.1" and "24/96" and "24/192." We literally passed out a dozen clip boards and had a pile of sharpened pencils at the info table when you enter.

Each Attendee had to stay for five songs and mark a check next to what resolution they thought each song was. We had a few hundred Attendees enter the contest.

How many songs out of five do you think the average person got right?

NONE.

We had about a dozen prizes and had trouble finding enough people that got ONE out of five guesses correct. We had to give one of the prizes to a person that crossed out and wrote over but their crossed out guess was right (seriously).

Not one person could even get two right.

BTW, more than half of the songs we used were nothing more than well recorded 16-bit 44.1KHz Reed Book CD rips.

What does that tell you?

This is a faulty test, IMO, as most people do not have experience with 24 bit music that is dithered down and converted to Redbook CD. If you do not know what to listen for, this is a difficult test. There would likely be many more correct answers if you played each song at 16/44.1, and then a 24 bit version, in random order. If you disagree, please feel free to hold this contest at your next show.

I agree that current technology does a great job with Redbook CDs. However, there is no replacement for 24bit masters, IMHO.
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