teajay,
I personally believe that your motive in starting this thread was to share your excitement about the performance of the Lab 12 DAC, and your belief that it would save interested members a lot of money. Period.
If I am considered gullible for that, fine.
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Agree with everything that you said Charles. It's very human to share your knowledge and excitement, and that is one of the main purposes of these forums.
I contacted Mike Kay on Saturday via email, and received a prompt response. I am really interested in this DAC, and I'm getting ready to sell a few things in order to get it.
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Thanks Charles and Al. I have always felt that I have to trust people at some point without rock solid confirmation. I believe that he is telling the truth, and I intend to buy the Lab 12 as soon as I sell my Audio Note Kits 2.1 which I have loved for several years now, and a couple of other things.
I don't know how long that will take, but I will be sure to give my impressions Charles if/when it all works out. |
celander, I think nearly everyone who reads this is aware that reviewers get a substantial discount, and the "high value" comment assumes that the reader is looking for a component that is in the price range of the piece under review. If it isn't in the readers price range, they are likely reading the review just for entertainment. I do that frequently. |
dvac,
Let me understand this...are you actually saying that listening to audio systems on your computer speakers is a good way of evaluating their sound quality?
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captelee,
I'm sure that the ifi pro is a good modern DAC, I just went to the website and had a look, but to me, there is nothing that compares to the natural sound of a good, non oversampling DAC like the Lab 12.
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A chip doesn't need to be expensive to be good, and if it wasn't good, I don't think that the designer at Lab 12 would have gone to all of the bother to design an entire DAC around it. |
Hi Al, That’s what I had read, and I know that this configuration has been used in the past to some extent, (oppo I think) and that’s one of the things that got me excited about it. I’ll admit to being very enthusiastic about non-oversampling DACs in general. They just sound so much more natural than the other DACs I’ve owned and heard. |
If you’re an ordinary guy, like myself, and not an electrical engineer, this can really become confusing and intimidating. This is something that we didn’t have to deal with way back when. I was reading a review of a DAC last night, and I was honestly lost with 90% of the explanation of the piece technically.
So, Steve N., can you comment on the design of the Holo Spring Kitsune as compared to the Lab 12 regarding jitter/filtering? Other opinions are welcome as well.
Thanks, John
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Charles,
Thanks, and I hear what you're saying loud and clear. I guess I'm not really being practical about this. I just want to get a DAC that is better than the one that I have without much bother, because I can't try either before I buy them. I have actually loved my ANK 2.1 for several years now, but felt that it was time to take the next step up. I guess nothing is that easy unless I stay with ANK, and really know what to expect, although I had an email exchange with Terry (Teajay) today, and was heartened to hear from him that he was familiar with some upper end Audio Note DACs, and found the Lab 12 superior.
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Charles,
I know you too well...I know that you weren't trying to discourage me. As I said; I am being a little lazy and impractical.
Many years ago now, John Rutan introduced me to my first AN DAC, the Zero something, can't remember exactly, but it was their lowest model and it had the miniature tubes that were soldered in. It was a revelation and I kept it for years. When I was finally ready, I had the ANK 2.1 built for me and again, it was a happy revelation. You are correct clio09, it is a good piece. I know of course, and I can sometimes imagine while listening, that there is room for improvement, but it is so natural and believable to my ears that I know the designer was on the right track. I'm sure that I would probably be happy with several of these fine DACs, but I'd better slow down and think a bit.
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