DarTZeel Preamp

Fsarc

"Also- what if Jeff Fritz had written a review of the Wilson X-2s or EMM DAC 6/CDSD and it was basically the same "tone" as the Dart review- honest, good reporting of what he heard, but felt these components were not competitive at their given price range. Fair enough?"

I honestly don't ever let a review or reviewer ever sway me one way or another. I have said time and again...for me it always boils down to 2 things...my ears and my wallet and I could care less what anyone ever had to say. After all it is my ass that sits in the sweet spot. Pick your flavor gentlemen

JTinn

"BTW... Since I am the one that was very hesitant to recommend you try the LAMM ML2.1's with the Wilson Alexandria, I am glad I was wrong and you are so pleased!"

Yes you were and yes I amp

I recently had my Ref 3 in for the upgrade where 4 bypass caps were added
The rep who did it is here in Campbell Ca. He made an interesting comment to me. He said that all too often he sees people chasing the "upgrade" ladder and never seem to be happy with what they have. He said at some point one must step back, enjoy what they have and just enjoy the music. I must admit that I am as guilty as any one else posting here but I am pretty much done until Meitner releases there alleged big upgrade for their DAC in the coming year. As far as amps, I feel I have arrived.

I am trying merely to get a feel for everyone's comments about the DarT.

Mike Lavigne

"when you say "anyone who has the same emotional involvement with the amp in their system" i assume you mean that any person with ANY amp (not specifically the darTZeel) might have the same perceptions".

Yes that was what I intended on saying

OB,

"Meitner releases there alleged big upgrade for their DAC in the coming year"

Can you give us more information?

As I said "alleged"

I spoke to Andreas Koch (who is a neighbor of mine)last week. They were to have released an upgrade with ceramic rather than silicone boards however talking to him, they weren't that pleased withthe sound and are continuing to work on it.

As well the newest DAC6e now comes with Meitner's discrete DAC's and not those previously dictated by Sony--somewhat of an improvement. The newest version also have a gloss rather than satin finish on the front.

Having said all of this Andreas tells me they would like to come out with a "package" of upgrades with makes for a definite sonic improvement. This hopefully might materialize next year.

The other little known fact is that the newest DCC2 does not (as yet) come with the discrete DAC's....only the newest DAC6e. The newest CDSD has the ability for future firmware upgrades and those who have this new unit, be advised that there is available a firmware upgrade which can be done by inserting the CD-ROM for installation.

Lastly, the newest CDSD with the newest DAC6e has the ability to upsample to 2X DSD. For whatever reason however it does not sound as good as DSD

Wow. Thanks for the information.

As far as the 2X DSD, the CDSD can switch between 1x fs and 2x fs by pressing the Alt-Play-Stop buttons simultaneously. Pressing the above button combination switches the 1x/2x multiplier. So pressing/releasing, pressing/releasing cycles 1xfs --> 2xfs --> 1xfs... and so on.

The DCC2 will lock with the CDSD at 1xfs and 2xfs. The DAC6 will only lock on 1xfs. I have the DCC2 and have tried switching multipliers. I can hear a difference between the 2. I prefer 2xfs.

In my particular CDSD, you can tell what multiplier you are listening to by looking into the CDSD through the transport draw and looking at the board to the right of the transport mechanism. There is an array of 4 green lights. The left most light is always off. The second and third light are always on. The fourth light goes on and off depending on the multiplier.

Light is off == 2xfs
Light is on == 1xfs

This is only when a CD is in the transport. When an SACD layer is active, all lights are off.

Rich

Jafox, thanks for the comments. i agree that obvious 'raves' like mine do typically require a reader's personal experience to become credible. it CAN be arranged.

a couple of weeks ago i did have some visitors to investigate my perceptions of what the dart pre was doing in my system.......although they were hesitant to identify what was doing what......they were pretty taken with what they heard; compared to other previous sessions in my room.

i have not tried the K-S Emotion in my system. when i get the production version of the dart pre i will be investigating how regular cables will compare with the BNC approach of the dart. if i get the chance i'll try the K-S.....they are on my short list of cables i'd like to try.