Good point, Onhwy61. Thanks for adding that, and yes, that is absolutely something that was brought up many times as a point of comparison.
The issue baffles me, quite frankly. I've heard too many USB DAC's that do not fit the harsh critical descriptions of those reviewers (MHDT Havana, Wavelength, Empirical, heck, even the Benchmark DAC 1 which I did not like at all would not fit in the realms of their criticism by my ears). I did get to read the threads that Restock points to and I'd recommend others check those out as well. I think that the TAS article does the potential of the interface some injustice. That's not to say that SPDIF and Firewire can sound better, but I don't think the margins necessarily are as dramatic as they are made out to be in that issue and in those reviews. That said, I have not listened to any of those components that they reviewed (again, a very small sampling, with champions of the interface omitted). The one single firewire component that was included was a pro-audio solution. If I were to conduct such a review I would be sure to have the participation of Wavelength, Empirical, Ayre, and Red Wine Audio, among others. Also omitted were the two favorite affordable pro-audio solutions; Benchmark and Apogee. Other affordable USB DAC's from the far east with a great reputation among audiophiles go without mention. MHDT and April Music, among others there. I'd also like to see a comparison to my own favorite front end, the Modwright Transporter, which would add the network interface into the picture. That, in turn, would add a whole other group of worthy competitors into the mix. But I digress, as the intent of the issue is to examine USB. In that regard I find Gordon Rankin's refusal to participate very telling of something not being right.
