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Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hi All.

Putting together a reference level system.
My Source is predominantly standard 16/44 played from a MacMini using iTunes and Amarra. Some of my music is purchased from iTunes and the rest is ripped from standard CD's.
For my tastes in music, my high def catalogues are still limited; so Redbook 16/44 will be my primary source for quite some time.

I'm not spending DCS or MSB money. But $15-20k retail is not out of the question.

Upsampling vs non-upsampling?
USB input vs SPDIF?

All opinions welcome.

And I know I need to hear them, but getting these ultra $$$ DAC's into your house for an audition ain't easy.

Looking for musical, emotional, engaging, accurate , with great dimension. Not looking for analytical and sterile.
mattnshilp
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Agear,
your wife sounds a lot like mine. Very intelligent, great sense of humor and never a dull moment. Grannyring, the same could be said of your wife as well. We're lucky guys.
Charles,
mattnshilp OP
917 posts
 
"Berkeley saw it fit to not include any usb input altogether. "

I'm thinking their attitude is the typical "separates" thought process.

Many believe that USB to spdif conversion should be looked at similar to a phono stage; separate units to achieve ideal performance. I hit this opinion early on with my Rowland Aeris and even more with the Big 6 eval.

Since Berkely has a well reputed and reviewed USB to spdif converter in their product list, it makes sense to me that their reference DAC would not include internal USB to spdif conversion.

As music servers become more robust and user friendly I believe computers may become less prominent for an audio source and USB may go away.

I think that more reference DAC manufacturers may avoid a USB input over time if music servers become the reference level, fluid user interface source that they should be.

Interesting times.
erikminer
433 posts
 
In the TAS review there is an interview with the designer (s) of the Dac. They feel that building a USB input with the associated hardware degrades the SQ of the unit. Could that be BS since they sell the pricey outboard unit? Who knows but I'll give them the benefit of knowing what they're doing.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Mattnshilp, I used to greatly favor Firewire as the best connection and even had a FW to SP Dif converter. Then Apple who owns Firewire totally pulled the rug out from under it and third parties that made converters. I also used to greatly dislike USB even with asynchronous clocking within the dac, but now I have heard many USB connected dacs that sound quite good. I must say that USB cables are greatly improved. The BMC USB cables is the best I've heard.

In my case, the greatest concern is high definition. SP Dif is too limited to PCM and USB is not. That is the end of my interest in SP Dif.
wisnon
700 posts
 
"09-09-14: Grannyring
Yes, my wonderful wife. Remember the events are greatly exaggerated :)
Grannyring"

Yes of course, but her literary style is very developed. We have some friends who just moved back to the States and the wife sort of reminds me of my mental imade of the Audiophile's Wife, though the husband has a modest system and is not a crazy audiophile.

My own wife is far and away satisfied with a boombox listening to MP3 and rolls her eyes at audio-tomfoolery. LoL
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