Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

yes they do belong elsewhere, however you can't have it both ways. It's a forum on the internet and folks will post their feelings on things. If folks buy based on what they read.....sorry, that's just MY pet peeve I guess. I didn't love reading the debate either, but why can someone get hammered for posting what he did and then someone else can bash PS Audio by saying they got bashed, when in fact, that's not at all what Matt posted. They are all trying to make an honest living. Matt and others need to be free to post their thoughts, good or bad. Dealers who chose, should be able to defend themselves if they feel they want to, but on this thread or not, it's going to be out in the public and we should make our decisions based on what is best for us.

This thread has been and is awesome. I'm not playing in this league, but I've gotten to hear a few of these DAC;s in my travels. I've heard many others in these price ranges also. They all seem to have plusses and minus's to my ear. They all seem very system dependent. As much as any other product. One thing that has been brought up by all is a basic cable. Question for said designers, why don't you just get the best cable for your product and ship with it? I know a few speaker manufacturers who use a specific companies cable internally or in their crossovers (external). For a power cord, I would think that you could just build that into it. One reason I love Ayre products is that they build some sort of circuit to clean the AC. I have heard a few of their components with various cords and they just dont' make a huge difference to me nor have they to the people I've listened with.

Does the power cord make a big difference with the DAC's you like Matt or was it just the PS fans who said theirs needs a better power cord? Thanks.

One thing that has been brought up by all is a basic cable. Question for said designers, why don't you just get the best cable for your product and ship with it?

What's best? What's best for some but not others. Same reason why MOST companies don't use rare NOS tube for stock. They know end users will roll what's BEST to their ears.

I cannot speak for other DACs, but due to extensive use of Hynes regulator technology, I found that putting an expensive power cord on the Overdrive SE only helped a tiny bit. I still use one, just because I have it. I really don't believe its necessary though.

Maybe Matt tried more than one cable on it?

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I intentionally ran every DAC with the same everything to keep all variables out of the equation except the DAC itself. Same rack, same power cables, same interconnects, same ancillary equipment, same ears, same obsessive compulsive mentality. I listed all the equipment at the very start of the thread. All top tier cables, rack, accessories, etc.

I used my Shunyata ZiTron Alpha Digital power cable. I found that anything I put Shunyata ZiTron PC's on sounds its best. I believe it is because what Shunyata does better then most is filter out noise caused by and affected by other equipment in my system. My power from the wall is very clean and very consistent. I live in a pretty suburban/rural area with few on my grid.

Obviously there will be those that feel a piece I tried is better suited to another PC or interconnects; and it very well may be. But I tried to use the best, most musical and resolving cables and accessories I could afford to get the very best from my gear and my shoutout. The power cord and interconnects (added up) connected to the DS cost about 1/2 to 2/3 of the DAC itself. I do not feel I gave any of the equipment an unfair advantage or disadvantage with the cables or accessories I used. I also don't think I would have gotten dramatically different results with other cables or power cords; sorry.

Sorry for the persistent double posts.

I admit that if I had the time, money and even more patience and persistence then I already gave this, then I should have spent time with each individual unit fine tuning, tweaking, tube and cable rolling, accessory rotating and generally squeezing the absolute best I can out of each. I know that many reviewers will do that with a review.

I don't have a closet full of power cords of different manufacturers, a big cardboard box filled with tubes, a drawer filled with isolation footers/dampers, or the patience to go through them and get that last little bit of performance. At least, not in the brief time it takes to evaluate a piece of gear.

And more importantly, I wasn't just reviewing one unit. I was "reviewing" 4 (5 if you include my original Perfect Wave 2).

To those who asked, Alex IS providing me with the cables (PC, USB) that he believes make his DSD-S DAC sound the best; I think that's fantastic. I will compare his to mine, just because I'm curious. I will report is all.

And if John lends me a particular PC, interconnect or tube because he believes it will improve the performance of the Romulus then I will happily use them (and compare them to my cables as well).