NON OS DACS

Nodaker,

I have 2 D1's and sent one off to TRL to be modified. The early results after about 50 hours of burn in time are amazing. I can't wait until it completely burns in (500 hours). If you have $550 to spend I highly suggest the upgrade. Otherwise the stock unit is as you say, a keeper.

Thanks guys ..I wanted to confirm .What I've seen a few other folks say about the non OS Dacs. " Less is more" This is the concept I have followed for nearly a year now. The simpler the components seem to get in the system,the better it sounds in my system.Meaning minimum parts count and short signal paths. I seek the sound of unamplified instruments. Which too my ears sounds more natural than listening to instruments through equalizers and amplifiers.

Not looking for amplified rock concert type sound. I've come to the conclusion.Most audiophiles fall to one side or the other.This seems to take them towards a system that gives a sound of amplified instruments or one of unamplified instruments.IMO the unamplified instruments sound more intimate and natural .

are there any true balanced non os dac's ???

I own the Audio Mirror as well, and my opinion based on my experience is similar to Clio09's. I'm pretty surprised that a $500 DAC can sound this big, bold and musical. The only upsampling DAC I've owned that has similar attributes is the Kora Hermes tube DAC.

I'm a committed zero sampling fan. I like the Audio Note DACs, but also have a Wavelength Audio zero sampling DAC in a headphone system which is just as nice. They sound very natural. Smooth, dynamic and certainly all-day listenable! The upsamplers I've had sounded more digital, more artificial. Some are nice, but the zero samplers can't be beat, IMO.