suggest laptop for music storage

Marco-thanks for the write up, good points you make here. I too owned a Brick first, then moved up the line to the Cosecant, and eventually plan to go to the Crimson. The difference between Brick and Cosecant was profound, and I agree with your observations of Brick. Except I would add it rolled the bass a little as well, which is why I moved from it. Cosecant does not do this, and does everything Brick does, but with more authority and depth, while still retaining that pretty sound synonymous with Gordon's equipment. I actually have trouble comprehending how Crimson can be as good as people say it is quite honestly. Not that I am doubting it is, just fascinating to me that it gets better.

Anyway, my point is basically that all too often people automatically assume that up sampling is just simply better than an equivalent 16 bit design, and this is NOT always the case. In my listening tests I compared Cosecant with a Meridian G08 (upsampling) and the Cosecant sounded overall more like music to me and quite a few others in the room. However, in the case of the DACs we are discussing here maybe this is not the case, they could be the best sounding up samplers in the world for all I know. But hopefully listening is the ultimate decision-maker, not just technical stats by themselves. Sounds like you have listened to alot yourself, which is ultimately how I ended up with the stuff I have today-exhaustive listening, and side by side comparisons. And I can say with certainty, that I don't consider not having the ability to listen to 24 bit a shortcoming by any means. Hopefully others do not either.

Jax2-one other comment I forgot to mention about "lacked was in rendering the detail and resolution in that imaging as compared to my SS DAC".

This is a great point and one I have thought about alot. Too often I have realized when I went for the inner detail you mentioned was lacking in the Brick I got a level of resolution that was just too digital (like you described) and harsh or hollow, not at all musically paced. After all the things I listened too (and I heard some damn good stuff SS and tubed) I just decided it was really a matter of what you are willing to give up, and that finding the perfect balance was damn near impossible. A game of compromises if you will....Cosecant is about the closest to that balance I have ever heard, and for that reason alone makes it a relative bargain in the hifi world.

But another excellent point here that should be considered ultimately through listening.

Kana813 - Only very old D/A chips only support 16/44.1. Most everything sold in the last 10 years at least does 24/96.

Steve N.

Jc51373 - Do you really believe that these so called "commercial" designs are perfect/flawless and contain no trade-offs? In other words, the designers are really good at doing design?

If the designers were that good, I think they would be making the megabux working for Microsoft, Intel or Apple etc.(That's what I did for 25 years), not working for small audio companies. If the devices had no trade-offs, they would be a LOT more expensive too.

Steve N.

Jax2 - you pose an excellent example of design experience. Gordon, of Wavelength had a long career in big-company electronics before doing his own audio business, as I did. The Benchmark folks are from the pro-audio arena. This kind of experience does not happen in small companies unless you are lucky enough to have an experienced mentor willing to spend a lot of time with you.

They still have not figured out what sounds good in most studios IMO. Still using 20 cents per foot wiring and they believe that measurements are the end-all...

The DAC-1 basic schematic is solid. It's the implementation (PC-board layout) and parts choices that could be improved IMO. To manufacture this and sell it for less than $1K, some tradeoffs had to be made. BTW, the newer DAC-1 USB is much better.

Also, I have modded a few EMC-1's as well. It has a LOT of design problems. It also uses a very old D/A chip and upsampler. If you thing this sounds good, this speaks volumes. A really good DAC will bury the EMC-1 or the ECD-1.

Steve N.