Streaming DAC recommendations?

[John Gallup]

On 5/20/2021 at 11:16 AM, ctsooner said:

The Rossini is better when used with the clock.  I've not heard Bartók with the clock. 

I went ahead and got the Rossini clock, and it does indeed improve the listening, or confirm my bias, or both. Now that I have these two pieces in heavy aluminum cases, my Rogue Audio Ares Magnum phono pre and RP-9 preamp look—dare I say it?—cheap? They still sound great, though.

Edited August 23, 2021 by John Gallup

[ctsooner]

Fully get it John.  I too like the Rossini clock when using a Rossini.  It takes it to teh next level for sure.  Congrats

[GdnrBob]

I just viewed a Steve Guttenberg video yesterday. He effused about the Mola Mola DAC.

Considering how he loves vinyl, I take this as high praise.

Has anyone listened to the Mola Mola?

B

[ctsooner]

Bob, it's on my short list.  My buddy Matt reviewed it for TAS.  He loves it and is trying to get me to audition it.  I'd love to, but not sure if I will be able to.  He said it was very much a relaxed presentation that most digital falls short on.  I wish digital was only DSD as that's the best way to get rid of the ringing issue I think.  It's why many of us love DSD.  

My short list is Bartok, Mola Mola, Ayre, Halo, Auralic and a few others.  There have been a few decent advances in digital over the last few years, so some of the ones that are 5 years old or older, need some updating.  I wont' spend the money on the Bartok, but I want to hear it again (it's been nearly 2 years since I spent some time with it).  Dave just has never had teh bass that I like.  very weak.  I liked the Ayre better back in the day and it's why I bought it when it first came out.  

 

Halo is the one that is hot right now, but I don't trust reviews and I don't trust we posters who post about it. That said, a few people I trust have said they love it.  I wish I could get it in for 30 days to see if it's worth it.  That said, I also am scared about goign direct to a company.  I'm leaning heavily to Auralic, but I need to spend legit time with it first and I want to hear it vs the Ayre and any other DAC I can get in at the same time.

 

[Stringreen]

GDNR Bob.....I have an Ayre preamp with 2 outputs to the power amp....one I use for the system amp, and the other for the dedicated headphone amp.   I noticed that when connected, the sound suffers as compared when one or the other is disconnected.   I called Ayre thinking something was wrong, but they agreed.  You might want to check your Ayre.

[GdnrBob]

@Stringreen,

I am confused (nothing new).

Are you saying both preamp outputs need to be connected, or sound quality suffers?

Or, both need to be running at the same time?

I only use one output in my systems.

Bob

[Holmz]

Sounded like both… Maybe the output impedance of the Ayre and the input impedance of the two devices is pulling the signal down?
(I dunno, just a thought)

[Stringreen]

only one output should be connected at a time for max performance

Edited November 4, 2021 by Stringreen
additional information

[Reedman]

With my tiny DACmagic I connected my laptop and streamed Seattle’s Classic King FM broadcasts. My DAC indicated a sampling rate of 192kHz. I was expecting to hear more detail in the music but did not. I also noticed the lack of detail playing FLACs ripped at high resolution. When I spin cds and take advantage of the DACmagic I hear plenty of detail such as the buzz that accompanies lower brass instruments and more dynamics - accents, crescendos and percussion mallet and stick attacks. Why might the music from the laptop (streamed or from playing ripped files) not sound as good as from a cd?

[ctsooner]

I’ve yet to hear a laptop stream sound good for many reasons. Drives matter. That’s why some manufacturers are selling their own drives again. Timing and power issues are always a culprit. It’s about getting the cleanest signal to the DAC.  Sample rate is nice, but what was the bit rate?  I’m a WAV person over FLAC. That’s just me though. I use Roon (need to reup), but other services still sound a bit better on the same recordings .  

[olds1959special]

I use Tidal and Apple Music streaming apps which are lossless and a MHDT Lab Havana DAC which uses a 6SN7 tube with adaptor. This is my favorite DAC and I don't need a tube pre-amp since it has a tube.

[olds1959special]

Also I changed the DAC chip to AD1856.

[Boom Boom]

On 8/23/2021 at 3:50 PM, John Gallup said:

I went ahead and got the Rossini clock, and it does indeed improve the listening, or confirm my bias, or both. Now that I have these two pieces in heavy aluminum cases, my Rogue Audio Ares Magnum phono pre and RP-9 preamp look—dare I say it?—cheap? They still sound great, though.

Curious, John Gallup have you splurged for the Apex update? Heard the dCS rep play the Apex Bartok and the non-Apex Bartok. Demo was impressive. Apex immediately sounded improved. This was at a local event.

[John Gallup]

7 minutes ago, Boom Boom said:

Curious, John Gallup have you splurged for the Apex update? Heard the dCS rep play the Apex Bartok and the non-Apex Bartok. Demo was impressive. Apex immediately sounded improved. This was at a local event.

Reminds me to ping the dealer, Mike Rose at Excel Audio in Newport Beach. He said I was "in the cue" last month.