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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 5, 2021 11:13:04 GMT
LOL - I rather like it! At least you can see it properly unlike my DAC screen. The display looks reasonable I meant that PSU LED The Bluetooth box you kindly sold me has the LED at a nice, low brightness All LEDs should be at that level |
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 22, 2021 18:29:25 GMT
Friends, Romans and Audiophiles, I have a new DAC en route on a specially chartered stealth plane from an undisclosed island in the Far East. In a hidden military bunker, a crack (head) team of leading engineers have been working night and day to fulfill the potential of this revolutionary design. This unit is at the cutting edge of new tech - such are its world beating measurements and extraordinary veil lifting abilities, it gives me no pleasure to inform you that even in stock guise (and without a grounding box) it will surely make Martin and John's new DACs look like they were made by messrs "Fisher and Price" - they will need months of intensive counselling after the shock and trauma sets in. Such is the cost of progress in this whirlwind era of digital high-fidelity! This super exotic boutique DAC is so top secret than it only has a codename for now ...  |
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Post by John on Nov 22, 2021 19:03:06 GMT
Any clues
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Post by Slinger on Nov 22, 2021 19:06:07 GMT
Oooh. I'm all aquiver, Jules.  |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 22, 2021 20:23:22 GMT
My DAC is the Mosquito to your Lancaster.
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Post by John on Nov 22, 2021 20:29:57 GMT
Mine is a Northrop B-2 Spirit
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Post by MikeMusic on Nov 22, 2021 20:40:27 GMT
Mine is quite big Note the CD drives  |
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 25, 2021 14:37:07 GMT
Back on the ranch, time to give the Pro-ject active pre a proper work out. The moment I fire up Tennessee by Gillian Welch, I'm instantly aware of a more palpable sense of realism and instruments 'in the room' and closer to the performance. Texture and timbre is impressive and my passive feels somewhat thin in comparison. The acoustic guitar is mesmerising and the strumming feels so alive in the recording. Moving onto Nils Löfgren, the Bass and Drum track is shockingly vibrant and alive - good grief when the drums kick in it is quite so dynamic and thrilling. An incredible test track! On more synthesised and heavily produced music, the difference between the two pres is more subtle and nuanced, but the active certainly has more depth and body which results in it feeling a little 'darker'. It will be interesting to switch back to the passive at some point and see how I feel. Anyway, superb VFM this little Pro-ject preamp! Nice to be able to make small adjustments to the volume with a remote too. At some point it would be interesting to see what a more expensive pre brings to the party but going to leave it in place and see how it gets on with the DACbuster when it lands.  |
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Post by John on Nov 26, 2021 7:31:10 GMT
Good that the active pre is working well for you Jules
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digititis
Nov 26, 2021 8:53:37 GMT
via mobile
Post by julesd68 on Nov 26, 2021 8:53:37 GMT
It's good sometimes to have a different perspective on the music and trying the active is an itch I have wanted to scratch for some time.
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Post by John on Nov 26, 2021 9:41:13 GMT
A little while ago you were frustrated about the dynamics using a passive pre and this seems to have solved that issue.
I guess in some ways we want it all transparency, intimacy, dynamics, scale and a certain mid punch that makes rock music more exciting.
Is the DAC coming from the UK or somewhere else.
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digititis
Nov 26, 2021 10:10:06 GMT
via mobile
Post by julesd68 on Nov 26, 2021 10:10:06 GMT
A little while ago you were frustrated about the dynamics using a passive pre and this seems to have solved that issue. I guess in some ways we want it all transparency, intimacy, dynamics, scale and a certain mid punch that makes rock music more exciting. Is the DAC coming from the UK or somewhere else. Actually the passive isn't lacking in dynamics at all, quite the opposite actually! It has good slam, but with the perceived notion of super transparency I sometimes feel it's a bit lightweight in tone and body. The active fleshes out the instruments a bit more with added depth and texture. Difficult to explain further than that. Whether this is a desirable or undesirable coloration, or indeed more accurate, I can't say yet. The DAC is on a plane somewhere! |
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digititis
Nov 26, 2021 11:08:35 GMT
via mobile
Post by John on Nov 26, 2021 11:08:35 GMT
I usually go for what I enjoy
Looking forward to hearing about the bemouth DAC
So are you getting a R2R ladder based Dac or modern chip DAC
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 26, 2021 12:24:34 GMT
Chip based - I haven't listened to any R2R DAC's yet so not yet ready to take a punt on one ...
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Post by John on Nov 26, 2021 14:46:34 GMT
A Topping D90 ?
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 26, 2021 15:03:38 GMT
LoL - you aren't getting it out of me until the unit has landed chez moi and been tested.  |
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Post by John on Nov 26, 2021 16:30:11 GMT
🙃⏰🛎
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 3, 2021 11:08:17 GMT
Tragic news, the plane carrying the DACbuster has been downed by rogue forces over the South China Seas. My intelligence sources suggest that Agent MartinT was possibly the culprit behind this heinous act of industrial sabotage.
In light of this as a temporary measure I have ordered a Topping D70S which is the upgraded version of my current DAC, the D70. Topping claim its superior engineering results in better performance - I'll be judging with my ears.
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 3, 2021 11:09:30 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Dec 3, 2021 11:17:09 GMT
Tragic news, the plane carrying the DACbuster has been downed by rogue forces over the South China Seas. My intelligence sources suggest that Agent MartinT was possibly the culprit behind this heinous act of industrial sabotage.
In light of this as a temporary measure I have ordered a Topping D70S... I'm already planning the 'downing' of the D70S due to some astonishingly unlikely catastrophe. |
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