Any opinions on the AMR Digital Processor 777 Dac?

Just tried going direct to the amps (no preamp). I like this better. All the detail / dynamics / soundstage and tonality and better focus. Plus the volume level is more than adequate. Just seems cleaner w/o the usual "thinness" that typically occurs when going DAC direct to amps. Bass is fabulous. I didn't realize how good this DAC truly is until trying this setup. Best DAC I have ever owned (and I have owned a bunch). A true bargain at full $5k price.

I also tried DAC direct, and still prefer a high-end analog preamp, which adds density, weight and scale. I admit the volume control inside the DP-777 is very good, and some Asian audio forum says it's as good as US$3000 preamps, but not beyond. AMR is smart enough to implement an analog volume instead of digital, which I always find disappointing even at the level of Wadia/Weiss/Accuphase. Impedance matching is another thing, if the output impedance of the DP-777 and the input impedance of your power amp matches (>20x difference), and your cable has low capacitance, then you have a better chance to do without a preamp.

Ok, I now have right at 500 hours on the preamp section and I will say that the built in preamp sounds exactly the same as Pure Music used as the volume control which is to say world class. I preferred Pure Music as the attenuator over the Allnic 3000 (the unit with the optional larger output transformers)and the Bat Rex (yes these were in my home in my system). I would say that you would have to shop carefully and spend about right around $7K to equal or beat it. Obviously the Allnic and the Bat cost more that $7k which is why I said you would have to shop carefully.

Neither of those units could compete with PM on transparency or dynamics and as I stated the AMR and PM are indistinguishable. The guys at AMR do their homework and it does take 500 hours before the linestage is run in. In all fairness, the MFA Copper Classic has routinely been compared to active preamps that cost $10K and up so that was not a fair comparison (one reviewer stated that you would need to spend $80K on an active t obeat the Classic but that was some years ago and things move on :). I will say that the linestage is good to the point that if one has not dropped serious money on a pre...I would fully run it in and then audition a preamp if you still think you are missing something. I agree with Jeffga., best dac I have ever heard...and like him I have heard and owned a BUNCH.

I would say the built in linestage is better than most active preamps I have listened to recently with the exception of the Concert Fidelity ($20k) and the ARC Ref 40 ($24K)... that's good company :) YMMV

Yingtonggao: That is weird, if it was an apple computer I would know the issue but in Windows I think it should perform the necessary sampling frequency change automatically with no third party software. I would say look in the audio setup to see if you somehow have it set to always send the datastream out at 96khz. Sorry if that is not much help.

One other thing you can try is to hit the AMR button on your remote control to put the unit back in factory default settings just in case something got changed.

I solved the problem by going to QuickTime player, and change the output to 16/44.1. Under Windows OS, iTunes is just a file manager for QuickTime, which actually plays the music. Now my DP-777 (USB) now recognizes 16/44.1 and decodes accordingly using its classic DAC; the sound is... better, but still not there. I was told iTunes convert 16 bit to 24 and back down to 16... don't really know where the myth is.

Other than the USB quibbles I also have problem with DP-777's bass, compared to my previous Dodson 218 DAC the DP-777's bass is both weak and veiled. I hope a full burn-in solves the problem (now 100+ hours) but from the reviews I read even after 500+ hours the bass is still not a strength of the DP-777.