Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

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).

Steve and Matt, thanks for the answers. That's what I thought. I feel that if a designer is designing cost no object products that they should put the best on or into them, however in cases like tubes or cords, maybe they should do what Steve just did and say in my system and to me, I used XYZ cord and only heard a small difference. You can try it, but if you use what I ship it with, then you will get well over 99% of what it's capable of. I get it that folks have to tinker, but I know a lot of guys who own very very high end systems, because they know how much they love music AND they know there are great stores out there to help them. They are not audiophiles and have no desire to roll tubes or play with cables or cords. I just bought a whole new system at Audio Connections. Johns on here and Matt goes there on occasion. I ended up going with him because I just wanted a system that sounded right together. He knew the cords, cables and limits of my speakers and we went from there.

The biggest take away from what I just posted is that in this thread so many of the posts are about changing what Matt is doing to 'get the most' out of something. What is the most? It's what Matt deems it to be since it's his deal. He has laid down the parameters and they seem fair considering what this is. You can chose to agree or disagree with his ear, however I find it interesting that folks keep telling him that he didn't use a product properly etc.... I know it never stops and I understand your posts and all, but at some point in time there comes a moment that you have to say I'll make my decisions based on what's sold and what I have. This thread says a lot more than just what high end DAC Matt likes. Some of you play in this league. Most of us on here probably don't. I personally would love to have any of the DAC's he's trying out. IF I were to spend that type of coin on any of these, I can promise you that I'd audition them all in my rig, like Matt is doing in his. I really hope that what he posts doesn't hurt any of the manufacturers as you are all small. There are no larger high end manufacturers anymore. You all need the business and I hope you all get it. EVen if I didn't like your products (I'm sure I'd love them), I'd still want you to be successful so the competition is still out there to keep this hobby/business strong. Thanks again to all of you and Steve, thanks for answering your questions. I know it won't happen, but it would be neat to see you use your expertise and make a more affordable DAC (I know the higher end the better the sales right now). Hope I haven't hijacked.

I actually have a more affordable DAC in my plans, that supports DSD (and native) for the masses that must have this. Its probably a year off. Too many other things on my plate right now.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Thank you Steve. It's always good to hear when a designer puts out a great performing product at a lower cost. For your products, did you ever try using linear power supplies from such companies as Lambda or HP and were they ugh more affective than the wal wart supplies? Was there something lacking that motivated you to design your own external PS as an option?

I have never bought anything from Steve, but I have spoken with him on several occasions and he is nothing but professional and generous with his time. There are a fair amount of dysfunctional audio companies out there, and his is not one of them...

On another note, I have had several people go back to CDPs from computer audio claiming improved SQ. I wonder what the Esoteric plastic spinner would be like into the Aeris versus your Mini?