Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

AL

I spend the day listining to a pre-production version of the darTZeel LHC-208 (Danlogue). It is a 200wpc ethernet streaming Dac/integrated amp….and it kicks butt! VERY smooth Dac that soundly beat my Chord Qute EX with Hynes LPSU. Its has a lovely analog sound and plays all up to DSD128.

And the best part is that it will cost less than $14K. Extremely cheap for Dartzeel.

The worst part?

It wont be ready before at least 1 month and only 50 units in the frst batch and there are over 100 form orders already.

This will sell like hot-cakes.

The Antipodes DX is up and running today.
A couple of early impressions are how easy it was to get the hang of the operations, and how much I enjoy the interface. Another thing I like is how easy it is to rip CDs. Mine are only taking about 5-8 minutes to rip and I can fully play music while ripping. All you do is put the CD in the front slot and wait until it pops out. The music is automatically added to your playlist. The remote interface with iPeng is very easy, versatile and works great.
So far, I wouldn't say the DX sounds better than my Mojo mini but, based on Steve's comments, I will give it time. It is certainly in the same ballpark but maybe a touch less resolving and a touch less dynamic than the mini. There is no edge or glare whatsoever, but my mini also does not display those undesirable traits. The DX displays a somewhat more evenhanded presentation than my mini, which seems to do a little more with regards to attack and decay. At this point, the DX also displays a bit of lower midrange or midbass warmth, which could be affecting the perception of resolution and speed.
These are very early observations and do nothing but show that both the Mojo mini and Antipodes DX are very good sounding source components. I will not be surprised if the DX gets better with time, or even if it surpasses the mini, but I will be surprised if it ends up being substantially better than the mini. I already knew the mini was good last year when I decided to sell my $7,500 CD player.

Mitch - as I said before, it is a good USB interface that makes the Antipodes rise above everything else.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Mitch - as I said before, it is a good USB interface that makes the Antipodes rise above everything else.

Ok then, in generic terms (without listing manufacturers) please describe what makes a good USB interface. What are the important factors of a "good interface?" Is it converting USB to S/PDIF ahead of the DAC, having additional clocks before the DAC, filtering, or all of these? Is there more?

Steve, have you ever heard the British CAD stuff?

I believe their CAT transport/music server is the only other usb only music server truly designed from the ground up for primo USB output, besides the Antipodes.

I understand their CAD usb only DAC is your competition (although not directly available in the US), but you and CAD seam to share similar design philosophies regarding the advantages of a good USB input.

The Antipodes is Unix based, while the CAT is Windows based. Any advantages to either?

Also, couldn't Mitch simply use your Short Block to sever the USB power to his DAC? Or do you feel that the off-ramp is also needed to significantly improve his USB input stage? I'm not really familiar with his DAC.

Mitch - keep it coming. What you are doing is priceless for me! I just wish you had an ODSE as it would have removed a huge variable (USB input stage in the DAC). Lol. But the comparison should still sound true. As such, I wait with baited breath for your next update.