Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Label me confused guys….

I started this thread and have listed (over and over again) the exact system layout, source, cables, equipment and intention. I repeatedly stated that my ONLY source for digital is my Core Audio modified Mac Mini running Amarra feeding a USB cable to my DAC. I have no need for spinning discs as my source is exceptional and provides me with the quality I desire and convenience I enjoy. Anyone who thought I was using a transport didn't read the thread from the beginning. I have been honest, open and sincere in my method and my equipment from the beginning.

As I have said many times, my ONLY intention was to find the best DAC for me. I'm not writing a review for a magazine nor trying to impress anyone with my skillful ear or elocution. I have neither the skillful ear nor the mastery of verse to publish or to consider a career in the review industry.

What I am doing is verbalizing my own opinions and findings as I go along this journey to help me better focus and understand my own thoughts. I also sincerely enjoy the additional feedback and suggestions I have been getting along the way.

"All dacs sound incredibly better with a quality Digital cable, and then running quality balanced analog interconnects from the dac to the pre-amp or direct to amplifier!"

I am using a top quality USB digital cable and top tier balanced interconnects as I have listed previously.

And to suggest that my USB cable is making things bright after I have listened to several of the words best DAC's and never once noted lasting brightness (other then what exists before burn in is complete) has no logic whatsoever. And, I mentioned the brightness just to give initial impressions and woefully regret saying it as everyone seamed to have grabbed onto that statement as if the trap door is open the the hangman's noose has clamped down tight. It was a fleeting notion during a single song that I am positive will be gone after a week of burn in.

I have no intention of trying each unit with both a USB and then a SPDIF input as I have no need to do that. I only need to audition the equipment with the source I use. Steve's Off Ramp 5 USB conversion is well respected and certainly has something to do with the fact that the ODSE sounds as good as it does for my needs. And the Aeris would unquestionably sound better if I ran an Off Ramp 5 as my USB to SPDIF conversion. We have gone down this conversation multiple times on this thread. I am not willing to spend the several thousand dollars for the Off Ramp 5 fully modified plus the cost of high quality SPDIF cables to improve upon a DAC. It stands on it's own, USB input and all.

Keep in mind that I spend hours and hours listening and then hours writing my impressions. Its time I truly don't have; but I do it because its enjoyable and helps me to solidify my decisions. For me to double my time by trying it all via USB and then SPDIF is beyond the time I have and beyond the scope of my needs.

I don't use a transport, and therefore am obligated to use my USB output from my one and only digital source, my Mac Mini.

I would love to see Steve modify a Mac Mini to have an SPDIF output straight off of the motherboard. But I know nothing of the tech involved to do that and would think that if it were possible, he would have done it already.

My attitude is simple. if its not from Empirical Audio then the USB input is probably not its best input and I will have to make due with the quality of USB input the DAC in the rack has. I am not going to add an OFf Ramp 5 to an already expensive DAC. Maybe the Aeris, the Big 6 or the Direct Stream would sound way better if I used them with a transport or with my Mac Mini running through an Off Ramp 5; I'm not willing to invest that additional amount when I can get the totally outrageous performance I am getting out of my ODSE.

I will tell you that the DSD-S is getting pretty damn good. I have to give it the time it needs yet, I am waiting until Wed. But the tiny second of brightness I noted is, I think, gone (with the same USB cable I have been using all along).

I hope that clears up any confusion.

Steve,

Dont understate your Off Ramp 5 tech. Even the guys at Rowland admit that their DAC sounds better using a USB source converted externally to SPDIF then using their internal USB converter. They demo the Aeris at shows running SPDIF across the room (due to USB's limited length of run) from a computer outputting USB converted through an Audiophilleo2 USB to SPDIF converter.

Would it "Crush" the ODSE if run with an Off Ramp 5? I don't think so. Would it be better then your ODSE, who knows? I think it would improve it beyond the performance I heard using its internal USB input, which is a complement to you either way...

But all of this has been said before, and acknowledged. In fact, more then one participant has added that the Big 6 would sound significantly better if I ran it with an Off Ramp5.

As I said before, feel free to do what you think would sound best and report it here. I'd love to hear the results.

Matt,
My apologies. It has been a while, and you did reveal your source and purpose from the beginning. As you said, this is a search for your personal best, and what you discover may be a benefit to all of us, but you are not in the professional reviewers chair, and it is not your job to try a given DAC in every possible configuration.
Thanks for sharing all of your efforts.

Roxy54, I really don't understand what you are saying, "I am also surprised that a transport was not being used at least as an alternative if not primary, since many don't use them any more." Should this not be either that a transport is being used or that transports are still being used by many?

I also used to greatly favor the SPDif over the USB, even asynchronous. Of course I thought Firewire was better yet, but now I am less offended by USB, especially with much better clocks.

Matt, I could not have said it better myself.... You never asserted that you were going on a quest to discover the "best" digital front end.... You stated very clearly from the very beginning that you were trying to identify the DAC component that you prefered for your own system, cabling, and musical/sonic preference... I do not understand what is so difficult about this concept folks!

Just one minor correction... The Rowland team uses Aeris with SPDIF input because they prefer its sound/music than from USB wires of the same length and brand.... The ability of running longer lengths of wiring using SPDIF 75 Ohm coax without degradation is purely icing on the audible cake.

All... Whether Empirical on SPDIF would be preferable to Aeris in a prticular system and for a particular end user, or perhaps the opposite, Is something I will not venture to guess.... I have no direct experience with OD, and any such "beliefs" have no valid foundation without live experience in a controlled environment... But all of this remains a moot point, as Matt's front end feeds a USB protocol into the DAC, and will not change in the foreseeable future.

Besides, there is a new fascinating contender in Matt's grand quest... Alex's APL DSD... Let us see how Matt likes it once it stabilizes completely.... Matt, I am very much looking forward to your well thought findings... Alex, what do you expect to be the complete break-in time for your lovely DAC?

Saluti, Guido