Preamps built Into DACs

Steve,

I have no doubt your system is ultra resolving.

Can you tell me what it is, out of curiosity?

Thanks.

The chief designer at Bel Canto send me a one pager explaining the merits of digital volume control, and how unless you have very high sensitivity speakers (horns) and needs very high attenuation, there is absolutely no loss in a digital VC. If their VC was analog he would not be passing out such information.

Steve, you may have better ears than me (very possible), but I doubt your system is more resolving. I use your offramp 5 with monolith, the EMM labs DAC2X (used in professional studios) and the same speakers the guy that does HD remastering for HD tracks uses in his studio.

Mapman - sure, my system comprises:

2009 Mac Mini with SSD and 8Gbytes DRAM (better than newer versions IME). Amarra rev 4318 used for playback - 3 EQs are used in Amarra to flatten the speakers and room. Tuned with calibrated mic Earthworks M30 and iTunes Audiotools. Music Files are all .wav format uncompressed.

16-foot Polestar USB cable

Short-Block USB cable filter

Empirical Audio Overdrive SE DAC - used for volume control and D/A

Empirical balanced "bare-wire" silver cables

Empirical Audio Final Drive transformer buffer for galvanic isolation and achieving true-balanced signals (2 chassis). Also switches in the Home Theater

More Empirical balanced "bare-wire" silver cables

Empirical Audio modded Parasound JC-1 monoblocks - power cables are top of line silver Tekline.com

Empirical Audio Clarity7 speaker cables

Custom 4-foot ribbon speakers with 10" bass-box underneath. Custom crossover with Jensen Capacitors air-core inductors, V-Cap Teflons, non-polar Black Gates and low-inductance planar resistors. All wired with silver-plated copper wire in multiple twisted-pairs.

I also have a Sonos connected with cheap S/PDIF cable to an Empirical Audio Synchro-Mesh reclocker that feeds the S/PDIF input on the Overdrive DAC for more casual listening.

I dont sell the cables anymore BTW.

Steve N.

Ed - I'm sure your system is resolving. You may have one of the few.

Maybe we should exchange some tracks and find out how resolving.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio