Romulus CD player--

Hi, well it seems Jack has come out with a very Brand new model signature Romulas player!, go ahead, read about this player, True DSD digital, No rubber feet, New after market Isolation footers that substantialy lower the noise floor, etc.. Basically, A whole new player, Thou I just Bought a new cd player, The player is ultimatly going to be used on a second system that I will be Building around the Tara Labs model- The one interconnects and speaker cables, I believe this new Romulas signature will go on my main system, you guys excuse my ignorance here, question, does true DSD allow for super audio play back?, or does it only mean a much better digital signal that is not PCM?

I also forgot to add that the older Romulas and Pandora units are available at the factory for the signature up-grade!, that is cool, also, The new Romulas signature just won the absolute sound editors choice product of the year for 2014, mmmm, must be very good, cheers.

His name is Jim White not Jack. His DSD circuit is a separate circuit than the PCM which is really the best way to do it. Other dacs upsample the PCM signal to DSD.

I am not that sold on DSD yet, but I did upgrade my Romulus to the
Signature level on my own on the analog board. I put in the same parts
they do to upgrade it to the Signature level. The DSD ability is all my unit is
lacking compared to the Signature.

I am not going to use the USB input so DSD is not something I really cared
about.

The unit sounds amazing. I have not shared this as yet, but I do prefer it
over my tricked out computer based rig with the Lampizator and Empirical
Audio stuff. I did not think this would be the case, but as it turned out I
prefer the sound of the Romulus. More musical and refined. Less up front
or forced sounding is the best way for me to describe the differences.
Larger stage and much improved bass.

I just want to listen to the music more than the sound with the Romulus.

I still need to tube roll to see what is possible, but I love the unit.

Should I ever decide to play music from a computer again, I will look to
upgrade to the DSD board. Right now I want to run from computers:-)

This recent article from Absolute Sound does a pretty good job
summarizing where DSD is at. Not sure it is the magic bullet just yet?

"Conclusions
So where do things currently stand for DSD file playback?

First, although the situation is improving, there still aren’t a lot of music files
in the DSD format available for purchase, and most of the ones available
are classical. That makes sense; most existing DSD files were recorded to
serve as masters for SACDs, and most SACDs were classical. But that’s
about to change now that Sony Music, Universal, and Warner are opening
their vaults; with HDtracks and Acoustic Sounds offering DSD downloads, I
expect a much wider variety of music to be marketed, which should
increase interest in downloading DSD albums. Several of my audio buddies
have expressed increased interested in DSD now that more non-classical
material is available.

Second, although lots of hardware is available that will play DSD files,
we’re still on the leading edge of development, and as several of my recent
struggles to use DACs and servers with DSD capability have shown me, it’s
still not a plug-and-play operation. A good dealer who can help you set up
your equipment is worth his weight in gold.

Third, by far the most common format for DSD recordings is the DFF file.
DSF files may hold more metadata, but DFF files are probably a safer way
to go if you have an option when purchasing.

Fourth, many DSD files available for purchase are priced at a premium
level. I hope/expect their prices will go down at least to the level of high-
resolution PCM downloads, but who knows? SACD prices never went
down to the level of CDs; if they had, the medium might have succeeded.

Fifth, DSD is not a magic bullet. It does not guarantee that a recording will
sound good. Many factors in the recording environment affect the sound
quality: microphones, the acoustics of the recording venue, the performer’s
ability, cables, and doubtless other things all contribute to the quality of a
recording. To my ears, a really good DSD recording can sound quite
special, but not all DSD recordings are really good.

Sixth, downloading music files may require customers to perform some
computer operations to create folders on their server’s music-storage
drives, extract files from a compressed zip file, and transfer them to the
new folders. While those are not difficult tasks, they may be beyond some
customers’ abilities. Several advanced audiophile friends told me they
wouldn’t be able to perform the operations necessary to handle
downloaded files. This isn’t just a DSD problem; it exists for all computer-
audio downloads.

For now, as with any new development, if you’re willing to pay premium
prices and go to a little (or maybe not so little) trouble to set up your
hardware, DSD music files provide some of the best sound available. This
should be no surprise; it always costs more to be on the leading edge of
technology."

Grannyring wrote "I just want to listen to the music more than the sound with the Romulus". That essentially says it all. The litmus test for me has been this, do components cause you to get lost in the music or do they have you analyzing the sound.IMO the best audio components draw your attention to the emotional and communicative power of music. The more hifi like components lead towards a focus on a check list of sound parameters. Well anyway, that's been my experience .
Charles,