need suggestions - transport for EVS Millenium Dac

thanks for all the input

Sean, I am currently using the Z cable that Ric sells with the milleniums but was looking to upgrade (Acoustic Zen, Cardas, Straight Wire)

NOTE - Ric posted a news release on his sight yesterday and is now NO LONGER making the MILLENIUM II. He will only be doing onboard mods to players. I was hoping for balanced outputs for my dac so that I could go into an ARC LS5 without cheater plugs, oh well.

so tell me more about the teac

I may hold off for an affordable DVD/DVD-A/Cd that actually outputs 24/96 from DVDA. Ric told me none of the current ones do that.

Sean

thanks for the heads up on the teac/wadia piece
that's awful nice giving me the nod on that one

I may snag it if it's still available
I sent a note into the owner already, thanks

I can't believe Ric has discontinued his Milleniums,
but then being the tweek he is, he felt more comfortable doing full unit mods. I'll keep my dac and it will be the center of my digital playback system for years

sean,

wasn't it you who had a slight hum in your evs and had ric look at it? I still can't get rid of my slight hum, I loosened nut holding the power supply and still get a subtle hum.

I'm curious what coax cable you are using
or would I be better sending my unit back and going to balanced inputs (I have the option)

thanks

Tom

Hey Tom,
I tried pairing several transports with my Bel Canto Dac, and found that a DVD player, while good, was not nearly as good in my system as a dedicated redbook transport. I settled on a used Proceed CDD, which is a little out of the price range you mention, but also tried and liked the Theta Pearl quite a bit, which is in your range if you can find a lightly used model. Also, the Pioneer 525 I used sounded distinctly better through coax (Acoustic Zen Photon, with which I am very happy) than through any of several Toslink cables in 1 or 2 meters. Hope this helps.

C.

Tom, i also liked the Pearl with the Mill II. It is also a decent cosmetic match if things of that nature matter to you or your "better half".

In terms of having a hum, yes, that was me. I ended up sending that DAC back to Ric as an outright return because of it. After trying a few other dac's, i ended up buying another Millennium II. This one is slightly different in that it i can run it directly courtesy of his built in attenuators with their own output jacks or run it into the preamp via the standard line level outputs. I've never run it direct though, as i have other sources in that system and can't spare the versatility of a preamp.

As it is, I think that there is some kind of "problem" between the preamp that i'm running and the Mill II, but it still sounds better than all of the other combo's that i tried. If i can find something that reduces or removes the hum, i'll let you know.

As to the Teac, is it still available or gone ? As mentioned in the original ad, it uses a mechanism that is highly respected and the basis for machines that cost THOUSANDS of dollars. As such, it would make for a great transport at a reasonable price. Sean
>

Sean

I jumped on that transport! thanks for the tip!

I used to sell Wadia's moonlighting in my friend's shop, so I am well aware of their sonic characteristics. Didn't think I'd ever be able to afford one.

The person with the teac had a few standing offers for $50 less so I took his initial price and ran with it. Now just need to settle up, thanks.

I'll let you know how I make out

My EVS's hum is not that noticeable, but I still wish it wasn't there. I have not tried grounding it yet.

I also have the attenuators although I always use the dac straight into the preamp. I can toggle switch on the back of my Audio Research D200 amp between balanced and single ended input, so I could set it up that way, but I don't. One day though this may make it to my bedroom system then I wouldn't need a preamp.

I am a bit miffed that Ric is no longer making the millenium, but then again he seems to want to work strictly on straight mods. I auditioned the Millenium against an Audio Research Dac 3 and a Sonic Frontiers CDP1 and the Millenium was so much more revealing.

I asked Ric a number of times if he would produce a balanced output version of his dac, but he isn't interested. Anyone know of someone who might be able to do this? I am purchasing an Audio Research LS 5, which is all balanced inputs, so it looks like I'll be buying a lot of single ended to balanced cheater plugs.

I have been interested in the low end toshiba DVD/CD/DVD-A machines (4700, 5700) which can be purchased for $270-$400, but not sure if they truly output a DVD-A 24/96 signal.

Sean, what coax cable are you using from transport to dac?

thanks

Tom