Higher End DACs

@david_ten 

yes, the T+A SDV 3100 really looks a great unit...cutting edge capable.

to be clear, you find some similarities between DCA and T+A house sound?  How would you generalize?

@mikelavigne 

mike, thanks so much for the detailed breakdown.  As I understand it, if one does not need to stream home-based/NAS files, one can forego something like the Extreme? Further, if digital is really going to be streaming, there is a network module that can be used in the MSB lineup to forego a separate streamer?

If you 'had to do it all over again from scratch' would you pursue CD/SACD at all or simply stream digitally?

I am also a lover of classic rock (being a guitar player, myself) and so the IDEA of vinyl is immensely attractive to me...however, I suspect its a huge rabbit hole in and of itself...and maybe the better thing to do is prioritize the digital setup and address the vinyl when and if I still feel as needed.

Any thoughts on the synergy (I suspect its not ideal but is it still imminently feasible and still capable of squeezing the added benefit out of something like MSB) to build off my existing Mcintosh/B&W system?

@ufguy73

if i was starting over i would not mess around with silver discs (CD’s or SACD’s) at all; if i had some i would rip them to files. it would be files and streaming only. think about it this way; silver discs are now 30 years old as a format. it’s a mature format and optimized. playing files is now about 10 years old and it’s now just getting mature and it’s surpassing the best transport performance and it will keep getting better as discs stay the same. there is no economic pressure to make disc playing better. it’s all on file and streaming performance. follow the money and you will find truth.

i’m not a techie, so i hesitate to try and explain what you can’t do with digital. there are any number of one box solutions (dac/server+ file storage/streaming) at various price points. but those are not options at the higher level of digital. how high do you want to go in performance?

files can reside inside the server, or in a NAS, or in a laptop, or your phone, or not at all and just stream.

as far as the other questions about high level source investment (digital and/or vinyl) and whether your current system can fully optimize them that is a wide open question beyond this thread. i’d maybe need to get educated on your gear exactly. email me and we can exchange phone numbers and we can talk about it. B&W and McIntosh are certainly high end brands and that is not likely a limitation on the face of it. the questions become about where the biggest bang for your buck is in overall performance, and how far do you intend to go in the foreseeable future. these type situations get very complicated. i would not want to shoot from the hip.

mplav@comcast.net

to be clear, you find some similarities between DCA and T+A house sound? How would you generalize?

@ufguy73 I do not find similarities (between dCS and T+A)...IF I define "similarities" by sound signature.

dCS clearly makes wonderful and high performing components. I know many audiophiles love what dCS does and how it goes about doing it and are ecstatic with dCS in their systems.

To my ears, let me repeat: to my ears and preferences... they come across as too clean, too pristine and lack that elusive emotional connection and involvement. Something major is missing for me.

Whether this was due to the other parts of the systems I listened to, I can’t say with certainty. However, how I experience their ’sound’ hasn’t changed across multiple systems. The only way I can tease this out is to have one or more of their units in my own system and to optimize it’s performance per my needs and preferences.

The T+A SDV 3100 HV simply checks all of the boxes I need it to check for my personal sound quality and sound performance metrics and needs.

You need to find out which house sound does the same for you. Is it dCS or MSB or CH Precision or T+A or another manufacturer. How these components ’play’ within your system (specifically your other current components) will also be a major factor.

P.S. I second @audiotroy ’s point about the SDV’s pre-amplification stage. It is excellent!!!

DCS I’ve heard lately would not be called uninvolving. They just do great digital. Obviously opinions vary. I found the Rossini to be extremely involving and quite the opposite of sterile. That’s an old hit that’s been around a long time. Same for ML as dark and Krell as bright. Bias never goes away in audio.