Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Alex, can you please educate me?

"Analog Devices converter chips" - what does this statement mean exactly? Are you comparing PCM converted to Analog directly vs PCM to DSD to Analog? Or are you referring to Steve's "older" USB Off Ramp 5 conversion technology as compared to the XMOS USB conversion?

My technical fund of knowledge is woefully limited and I welcome any education you or Steve offer on that subject.

Thank you.

Mattnshilp,

I think when Alex speak of "Analog Devices chip", this is the name of the chip manufacturer. Kondo for example uses a chip made by Analog Devices in their DAC 5 Signature and DAC 5th Element...the 1865 chip I think?

Zanden uses the TDA 1514 double crown DAC chip, etc...

More recently, Gryphon Audio Stahl-Tek have used ESS Sabre 9018 chip, etc...

Alex - hope I got that right!

08-07-14: Bigkidz
Contact me and I will build you a DHT DAC that will blow all these away.

Send him your prototype. Ironically, in the world of digital, it is rare for one piece to "blow away" another.

Here is my sincere impression... If you decided to go with either of these top tier DAC's, you would walk away with one of the best out there and enjoy your purchase for years to come. These guys BOTH seriously know what they are doing!!! As a buyer, and a very long time enthusiast, I learned something totally new during my current system built. I used to shy away for these small, "One man show" companies and gravitate towards the big guys. These "One man show" guys usually have 4-7 other people working for them and produce top level gear for fair prices that offer way more performance for the dollar then lost of the big name labels can. It's a simply a matter of overhead and production. For those of you who are on the fence, try a Merrill Audio, Empirical, APL, Lampizator, or the many other speaker and electronic manufacturers out there that can't afford an advertising/marketing camping. You jus tight be happy you did.

That is probably the most important point made in this thread. I have always gravitated towards boutique, artisanal manufacturers. A lot the best, most cutting edge gear can be found there. There are downsides, but if you are a true blue phile in search of the ultimate SQ, its the place to be....

Matt,

I mean the actual D/A converter chip around which the DAC unit is built.

As I've mentioned before on this thread, the ODSE and Aeris most likely use exactly the same D/A converter chip - the AD1853, except if Steve hasn't gone for the AD1955, but it is still Analog Devices and has their "house sound" to it that helps your system to achieve the synergy you desire, similar to the role of your preamp. :-)

Being well aware of Analog Devices converters sonic character, I already suspected this is the case for your system when you liked the Aeris and ODSE so much, but that is probably the truth for any system that is a "mix and match". :-)

Especially the ODSE running the digital filter of the AD chip at 2X or 4X oversampling instead of the normally specified 8X oversampling for CD quality data, it emphasizes midrange lushness even more, while sacrificing noise floor and distortion figures, of course. But we are not in this hobby for perfect measurements; all we care is a good sound that we like. :-)

Hope this explains it.

Best,
Alex Peychev
APL Hi-Fi