Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Mattnshilp...sorry to hear you are not bringing in the Accustic Arts Dac. I have heard great things about it and was thinking about either getting that one or the Luxman. I own the Luxman cdp which I use as a DAC but it has some limitations in terms of high res capability and only has SPDIF input, no USB.

I have heard great things about the AA.
The shipping fees were a bit tough to swallow with such good gear in my list already.
Sorry.

Matt,

I'm glad you are digging the Big Six, like Charles said the Lamp DACs are music makers, they present the music in a natural way that many DACs just can't do. I'm sure the Empirical, Berkeley, Auralic, and many other DACs might measure better as far as noise and all that, but can they get you emotionally connected to the music. Musical preferences rule the day, so what gets me immersed in the music might not be another person's cup of tea. But if you already like the sound then you will learn to really love it.

Take it slow and roll in the tubes, hopefully you will hear positive improvement like I did when rolling glass in the Big Six.

Since you are running a Mac Mini like Grannyring, the OffRamp might be the missing link, but in my experience and some of my crazy friends, we preferred using the USB input straight into the server (but mine is PC based) rather than going through the Sonicweld Diverter. So in some cases the BSB might be good enough or even preferred. The convereter gave the sound more focus and slightly better PRaT, but you lost quite a bit of the magic 3D spaciousness of the Lamp DAC. Just my experience, so I thought I should share.

Will be cool to follow your DAC shootout, lots of big names in that mix. Enjoy the DAC my friend, I miss it already!

Mattnshilp - I would be game in sending you an Off-Ramp5 and Dynamo power supply to use with the Lampi to compare with the Overdrive DAC alone. Its about $2.5K worth of stuff, so I would need another refundable deposit, but at least the Lampi would have a running chance. This is what Grannyring is proposing.

"just when I though it could not possibly sound any better"
-my wife

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I have to tell you other converters may not make a huge difference, but the OR5 and Dynamo will take the Lampi to another level with a computer....any computer.

I would not believe it if not for my recent experience. I had an Apple 2009 mini with Mojo Audio power supply, large SSD drive, all the software mods, and the improvement was the single biggest audio upgrade I had ever made.

Perhaps your L6 will not have the same result, but you must try it because if history repeats itself here, you will wear an even bigger smile.

Have fun.