Birdland DAC

I'm a Birdland dealer so my comments may not be totally unbiased, but let's just say I do think it's something pretty special, especially in its price range.

I was introduced to Birdland by a customer who flew here (to New Orleans) to listen to Sound Lab speakers, and he brought along this little dinky DAC that he kept wanting me to try. Since the guy was purchasing a pair of fifteen grand speakers, I decided to humor him. We hooked up the Birdland (it was the now-discontinued Odeon Lite), and I literally didn't want him to take it home. I couldn't believe it. So I called up Gilles Gamiero and while he had all the business he could handle and didn't need any more dealers, he was kind enough to let me take on the line.

Now, there are digital front ends that surpass the Birdland, but in my experience they're quite a bit more expensive. I'm not claiming to have heard 'em all, but in my experience the Odeon AG is quite competitive with some well-respected units in the 2.5 to 4 grand price range.

Duke

Fuuny you should ask, I have the Birdland DAC with the Volume control in my system for an audition right now. I have also had teh Wavelength, Electrocompaniet, Audio Logic 2400 and Chord 64 DACs. The higher priced DACs are better than the Birdland but they are 2 to 3 times the price and they are not twice as good. I am using it with a very old Sony 10 disc CDP since my other Sony SACD player is loaned out to a friend. It sounds really good with this el cheapo Sony. It does pretty well going direct as you would ahve to have a Pass X-1, Joule LA-150 or Lamm LL2 to improve upon it with a preamp (yes I had them here also). Buy with confidence, in fact, buy this one, it is on loan from a dealer.

Email me directly if you want more input.

Happy Listening.

Thanks for the answers! I finally some info I was looking! I had initiated a thread re. this DAC last year but really got nothing substantive.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1063996266&openusid&zzBombaywalla&4&5#Bombaywalla

Bigkidz:
I'm going to email you directly for a comparison amongst these DACs.

Very nice DAC right out of the box, but really stellar once modded (Odeon-lite).

I've had my Odeon-Ag for about 2 months now. I think it's the finest audio purchase I've ever made. I'm not exaggerating. If you have a substantial investment in CD's, this is investment protection at the highest level. I've not had a chance to audition some of the other well known DACs, like Bel Canto and MF TriVista, so I cannot offer comparisons, unfortunately.
I will say this. Right now, I'm enjoying my RBCDs with the DAC more than my SACDs. Before the Odeon-Ag, SACD and RB weren't in the same league.

Best Regards,

Tom