Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hi Audiolabyrinth,
Perhaps I misunderstood Matt, but he wrote that he's done listening to DACs "without" his preamp (Criterion). So I assumed he has been listening via the DACs volume control up to this point. By the way if a DAC's VC were to better an active preamplifier I'd be the first to celebrate that achievement, so far, no go in my experience. Premium active preamplifiers are mandatory for me. So I can relate to Matt's desire to use his Criterion. He wants better sound quality.
Charles,

Oh my this whole single volume control pot, attenuator, LDR etc... vs active preamp thing. What Charles and Matt say times 1000. I have heard so many integrated units that claim to dispence with a preamp that I may not be able to count anymore. The gap in sound quality from those compared to my active tube preamp is so wide that an active is an absolute must.

As Matt and Charles say, this is true for us and our ears...for us. If you like the preampless sound, then great and it is wonderful to save all that money. I wish I could.

I have a Romulus and love it with my tube preamp. I have tried LDR's and transformer based attenuators that are touted to be the best and they take a far back seat in sound quality compared to my active ... to my ears.

No 3 inch attenuator board, LDR, or any other type of volume pot alone can compare to a full out active tube preamp in my experience.

The sound of an integrated volume is clean, fast, detailed, vibrant etc.... Every one I have heard shares these same great qualities for sure. Fact is they all sound like they were cut from the same cloth when compared to my active. All in the same "family" of sound if you will. Straight wire with gain and all that stuff. I can see why folks like them. Like all things audio it comes down to preferences in the way we like to experience our music. That's all. For folks like Charles and I and many others, a full blown active is prefered and no matter that form of tiny, stand alone attenuator is thrown at us.

I suppose Aesthetix even knows this as they and many of their customers certainly like the sound of their new, active tube preamp better than the 3 inch board in the Romulus. $1000 vs over $10,000, but many choose the more expensive Aesthetix option for "sound" reasons.

Bill,(Grannyring)
Yes, there have been "many" threads on this topic already so I wasn't trying to resurrect it again, but Matt is clearly quite emphatic about this issue. He misses his Criterion very much!
Charles,

08-10-14: Mcondon
Reading this thread has been very interesting, but I do wonder whether a Mac Mini, even if upgraded for audio, is an optimal digital source. Also, I have found that there is often an interaction between source and DAC that can makes the combo either much better or much worse than the sum of the parts.

and

So, this thread may be quite useful for Mac Mini users, but may not be universally applicable. Of course, Matt has made it clear that his views are one man's opinion. But I guess I would be hesitant to conclude that the ODSE is the best DAC...it may just sound best with Matt's particular source.

Bingo....

08-10-14: Radiohead99
Great thread and some great dacs. But I can't help wondering that the using mac mini is the bottleneck and not doing remotely any justice to these top of the line dacs.

It absolutely is and one reason why the ODSE has a distinct advantage with its built-in Offramp.