nevillekapadia Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 neville - what are your thoughts regarding the trinity dac? Hi AB, The Trinity has the best PRAT I have heard, along with detail that really stands out compared to the others. It leans on the transparency side of realism, with a great respect of right tone to give you that 'presence' of live performance. This may or may not bring you the musical emotion, depending on the quality of the recording. Best, Nev 3
Andrew S. Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 This may or may not bring you the musical emotion, depending on the quality of the recording. And perhaps depending on the performance itself .... not all performances are as emotionally involving as others - this was brought home to me today as I was comparing various different versions of Beethoven 7th. Right time for sleep. Late night listening this evening. 2
analog brother Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 thank you for the insights, neville. sounds like it could be a satisfying component in the right system. same here, andrew - late night listening is the best. 1
Andrew S. Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 I still regard the Emm Labs I heard at Neville's place as among the best digital I have heard. It has a gorgeous tone to it, in Neville's system. The Lamms didn't hurt either... 2
Galactic Soap Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 Hi AB, The Trinity has the best PRAT I have heard, along with detail that really stands out compared to the others. It leans on the transparency side of realism, with a great respect of right tone to give you that 'presence' of live performance. This may or may not bring you the musical emotion, depending on the quality of the recording. Best, Nev That was the first thing that saw me sit up and take notice when I was listening to DAC's in this price bracket: the PRAT imparted on systems by these DAC's accentuated detail retrieval, layering, imaging and sound stage etc...I always thought that PRAT was the domain of transducers and amplifiers with the D/A conversion responsible for delivering the complete and uncolored picture for reproduction by the rest of the down stream components. Upon placing the MSB Analog into my system everything visceral took on more weight : tonal colors was deeper, the contrast between light and shade was more profound, a step change improvement in timbre was seductively and delicately portrayed through attack and decay but it all came together beautifully, rhythmically and with absolute precision like I've never quite heard before. I learned then the job of every upgrade is to get you out of your listening chair, or at the very least get you to close your eyes, tap your feet and nod your head to the beat while also letting you hear things you've never heard before... 3
nevillekapadia Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 I still regard the Emm Labs I heard at Neville's place as among the best digital I have heard. It has a gorgeous tone to it, in Neville's system. The Lamms didn't hurt either... Thank you for your kind words, but so much has changed Andrew. May be a visit back would be best.
Andrew S. Posted December 5, 2015 Posted December 5, 2015 Thank you for your kind words, but so much has changed Andrew. May be a visit back would be best. Oh I'd love that - let GTG over the summer break, if you are around. I am always in perpetual motion, so my little set up may be of interest to you as well. In Leichhardt these days. Hope skip and a jump.
nevillekapadia Posted December 6, 2015 Posted December 6, 2015 Oh I'd love that - let GTG over the summer break, if you are around. I am always in perpetual motion, so my little set up may be of interest to you as well. In Leichhardt these days. Hope skip and a jump. Done.
jeromelang Posted December 6, 2015 Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) In what way(s) does chipless DAC outperform off-the-shelves DAC? Edited December 6, 2015 by jeromelang
goldiver Posted December 6, 2015 Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) What an entertaining thread! I wouldn't dismiss some of the 'budget' suggestions put forward either. I mean, once you get into the realm of $100K digital, surely any preferences would have to appraised alongside room acoustics and amplification and speakers. Not to mention transports. And that's where my suggestions come in, because I prefer good old-fashioned CDs, so disc-spinners are where I'd be looking. The most expensive system I've listened to is a DCS Scarlatti setup a few years back. Last year in Holland I heard the latest Zanden transport-DAC combo, and the mega-expensive Metronome Kalista combo. Being a Densen fan (my current CDP is a Densen) I also checked out the Densen B-175 (CDP and separate power supply) - which I could easily live with, thank you very much! In the past I've heard the Audio-Note DAC 4.1; the top-of-the-line Wadia; and Gryphon. I thought the DSC Scarlatti was incredibly resolving. I can only wonder as to how good the Vivaldi sounds. Having said that, I prefer "body" and "texture" in digital replay. So I've always appreciated but not loved the Wadia and DCS setups I've heard, and gone for the likes of Zanden and Metronome. Over the years I've heard nearly every Metronome model released and I'm very partial to the sound of this brand. In the absence of a modified power-grid, acoustically designed bespoke listening room, and a desert island, I'd buy Zanden's latest $22K CD spinner, the Model 2500. If I could get a good deal on that island, it would have to be the Metronome Kalista/Calypso stack. Edited December 6, 2015 by goldiver 1
POV Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 Wow there's some amazing gear highlighted in this thread. Personally the b est digital front end I've ever hear is from Acoustic Arts, and was their DAC 2 Tube DAC, being fed by their Drive 2 CD transport. I shy away from describing digital gear as analog like, so I'll just say this: If this front end didn't convince the vinyl obsessed that digital has something to offer nothing would! @ $30k Australian approx it's not out of the realms of possibility either!
wis97non Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Hey; each to their own! Are you saying you heard both DACs at a show in the same system? Zip, did you see this factory tour report http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/goldmund/4.html 1
Music2move Posted March 12, 2016 Posted March 12, 2016 Nagra HD DAC with MPS, quite sensitive to upstream power cable, superb in my home system, also needs very good source, vibration control, and is lovely regardless of 16bit/44.1 or Spotify Premium or 24/192 downloads. My favourite, after all I have heard, but that list not includes dCS nor T+A nor Trinity nor Acoustic Arts. Happy listening, M2m
wis97non Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Nagra is very nice, but I am partial to DHTs and chipless DSD. See my baby here and a Bal version too:
DSD_Fan Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 While this DAC is my grail: I'll be buying one of these soon enough 4
Tommy107 Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Mine came yesterday n i can't go to bed [emoji6] What it sound like i dont know how to explain in words but this set up is 2mins on out of the box n i was speechless . Enjoy http://youtu.be/bPOVhyOPLsI 6
DSD_Fan Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Mine came yesterday n i can't go to bed [emoji6] What it sound like i dont know how to explain in words but this set up is 2mins on out of the box n i was speechless . Enjoy http://youtu.be/bPOVhyOPLsI I think I wet my pants Is that a boulder amp ? Tony 3
Tommy107 Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Yes Tony 265kg only 3 of us unpack , carry down 20 steps . Don't know how we did it but at the end , it sound out of this world , so yeah worth it [emoji1362] 1
AudioGeek Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Wis, does that device function as a preamp as well?
wis97non Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Wis, does that device function as a preamp as well? Yes, its has a stepped ladder volume control (2 resistors max in the signal path)and one analog input and 3 digital inputs.
AudioGeek Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Nice! Have always been a fan of the DHT sound, and have been dabbling with DSD. Would be a good combo.
Guest Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Mine came yesterday n i can't go to bed [emoji6] What it sound like i dont know how to explain in words but this set up is 2mins on out of the box n i was speechless . Enjoy http://youtu.be/bPOVhyOPLsI - Congratulations Tony. very nice. @wisnon - hi Norman lovely to have you here posting. 1
DSD_Fan Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Yes Tony 265kg only 3 of us unpack , carry down 20 steps . Don't know how we did it but at the end , it sound out of this world , so yeah worth it [emoji1362] That is my dream amp. Well done. Must sound amazing too (back to my AR Ref 75 SE for me) 1
analog brother Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 75se is a beautiful amp! nothing wrong with that at all. 2
NordicNorm Posted April 1, 2016 Posted April 1, 2016 This is not a theoretical conversation (for me) and front line contender is CH Precision. Considering that after 2.5 years you are still talking about getting a DAC, this conversation definitely appears to be a theoretical one...
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