Just when I thought digital could not match analog


I recently had an experience that forced me to re-think a long held belief about audio sources. The experience was a recent comparison between the new dB Audio Labs Tranquility USB DAC (fed by a Mac Mini computer) to my reference analog rig (VPI Super Scoutmaster). In the past, every time I compared digital to analog, it was clearly evident which was which. The analog always sounded much more real, fluid and involving. No matter what strengths the digital had, it was never even in the same ballpark as analog. I have even found that inexpensive analog rigs have these particular advantages over digital. This has now changed. The dB Audio labs DAC is in the same ballpark as analog! In fact, it was difficult to tell the Tranquility DAC from the Super Scoutmaster. It felt like comparing two analog rigs, and my analog rig is no slouch costing approximately $7K. After more listening, I found that the analog is slightly more fluid and the digital is slightly more dynamic. Which do I prefer, hard call… But, this is the first time I have EVER found a digital source that is even comparable to analog! I will be adding a Tranquility DAC to my system and finally be able to enjoy digital as much as analog.
sdfish
No offense, but this appears to be shilling. Sdfish's first post on Audiogon (after signing up this month) is a rave about a new product with little publicity. I was actually very curious about this Dac a few weeks ago, but the return policy is not that great. My suggestion is that db Audio Labs extend the trial period to 30 days, and not charge a restocking fee. If the product is truly worth $1000, then there should be no hesitation in doing so.
In fact, it was difficult to tell the Tranquility DAC from the Super Scoutmaster.

That statement shoots your credibility with me. I don't care how good either setup is, or the listener's preference, the difference is apparent. If you have $7k invested in analog and can't hear the difference, you've wasted $7k.