Matt .. You should listen to the JBL Everest DD67000.. I think it's exactly what you're looking for |
Matt- Just an FYI there is new firmware for the DS that was just released yesterday. Your unit is pretty new and could already have it. Just check the screen (push the little gear in the upper left corner) the newest firmware is 6115, the older is 5417 .. Nice improvement with the new firmware. |
Hi Mattenshilp..interesting.. Here's my take. Stop worrying about the gear! First just wait for the PSA Directstream. I should have mine Tuesday ( I also have PWD MKII) I suspect it will be shockingly good from all accounts, and looking at more expensive Dac's it this point doesn't make sense.
From looking at the pics of your system you need to setup what you have correctly. The Vienna's are WAY to close to the back wall for starters, I can't tell but the spacing between them looks off.
You also need at the very least to get drapes or something over all the glass around and behind your speakers. Are there any carpets on the floor? Your room needs work much more than you need to buy more expensive gear. Just throwing money at better gear without addressing the room and setup makes little sense. I can 100% guarantee you that you haven't even heard just how good what you already own sounds!
You mentioned a Shunyata hydra av.. Good choice.. Have you done dedicated AC lines? Huge upgrade for small dollars, and the absolute foundation of a great system.
There are numerous tweaks you could do to get your system really dialed in.. Tweaks that would be fairly inexpensive..
Keep in mind it's Speakers/placement > Room> and then everything else!
I'm also in central-ish NJ glad to help if I can :-)
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@Mattnshilp .. Wow that's a drag..Talk about WAF.. I can't imagine my wife dictating to me where in the house , my house, the freaking house I work my butt off to pay for.. where I can enjoy my hobby.... jeez it's not like you want to paint the walls black, hang porno posters and black lights.. good luck.. |
Hey Mattnshilp, Cars and watches are good! Any distance more you can get off the back wall would help.. How far apart are the speakers and how far do you sit from them?
If you're gonna be in that room for awhile I'd certainly spend the $300. or so for dedicated AC lines that's a cheap tweak.. that has zero WAF effect..
I'm lucky my son is away at college so room isn't an issue, the $45K year that it costs, that is an issue! I sure could buy a lot of wine, watches and HiFi with that cash :-) |
Hi Mattnshilp.. a couple of thoughts.. have you played with the toe in of the "head" on the Vienna's?
Also I'm not sure if you use the door behind the rack but if you don't I'd suggest moving the rack back as much is as feasible, and then if you can pull the speakers out even 8-10" I think it'l really help with soundstage depth.. |
I think it'll help getting moved out and the rack back. Have you played with the toe in? It's nice that the head can be rotated. |
Mattnshilp.. Let us know how you make out.. |
Emm Labs Dac2x.. Chord QBD76 HDSD, Berkely Audio Reference Dac |
First official review of the PS Audio Directstream, http://www.audiophilia.com/wp/ |
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Matt.. One point about the PSA DirectStream.. I'm not sure if you're getting the kit or a fresh unit, but in any case the DS needs a good 200+ hours to really get it's mojo going.. It's good right of the box but it does need some serious break-in.. And fyi it doesn't sound anything like a PWD MKII.. |
Matt.. New review of the DirectStream. They LOVE it on redbook :-) http://bitperfectsound.blogspot.ca/2014/05/directstream-i.html |
Got a couple of extra laptops, or old desktops you can use ? |
Hey Matt, how about one of those inexpensive USB hubs? |
Like this http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-4-Port-Individual-Switches-HB-UMLS/dp/B00BWF5U0M/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401507819&sr=8-1&keywords=USB+hub |
Matt- Keep the DS at 100 and engage the 20db attenuator during burn in, it makes the Dac work a bit harder and burns in a little quicker that way. Dis-engage the 20db attenuator when you're listening.. |
Nice thoughts Matt, and I applaud you sticking to your guns.. The only thing I'd disagree with is your last statement:
"Rowland is a big company with a lot of $$$$ and R&D behind them, as is PS Audio. Rowland and PS both couldn't give a you know what about my thread...."
I can't speak for Rowland but I know Paul Mcgowan of PSA cares, a lot..you might be surprised, just spend sometime on the PSA user forums. |
Matt your probably right.. In any case I'm looking forward to your comparison of the DS to the others |
It was reviewed here http://www.bitperfectsound.blogspot.ca/2014/05/directstream-i.html and compared to the Light Harmonic |
Hi Matt.. Too bad PSA didn't burn your Dac in for you.. 200 hours is when it really starts to develop.. 500 it's there.. What ever you do don't make a decision on it with less than 100.. |
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Thanks.. Must have missed that |
Matt, dying to hear your thoughts on the DS! |
Matt- Thanks for the little update on the DS.. Keep in mind that there are two firmware versions. Both are valid and both sound different from one another. Some folks love the new v.6115 some prefer the older v.5407.
One thing that's cool about the DS is that by using a FPGA instead of a fixed Dac chip ( like an ESS sabre) is that it can be tweaked for SQ improvements with just a download! |
Matt what version firmware does your DS have? |
Matt.. If you tap the little "gear" symbol in the top left corner of the front panel display it will show you the firmware version. There's currently two versions 6115 and 5407 the display will say fpga and either 61 or 54, 6115 is the newer one, but some like the older 5407 better .. |
Cost no object ? Purpose built acoustically and aesthetically perfect room. |
@Kana813.. More acoustic are planned.. but it is the living room and I need to be somewhat conscious the aesthetics.. |
Tbg.. Is English a second language for you? Because I'm having trouble understanding your thoughts and ideas. In your first post you say that the vast majority of units you've owned sounded like tubes or like the Lampy but then you say it isn't your cup of tea.. You seemed to completely contradict yourself. |
Tbg.. OK I get it.
You now prefer the sound of solid state to tubes. |
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Back and forth over this Empirical Audio product ( Ozzy vs S. Nugent) doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy... This is a perfect example of why manufacturers probably should stay off public forums... |
Joecasey.. I didn't read it like the DS was crushed I read it that Matt liked the ODSE better.. I wish he'd spent a bit more time listening to it, and spent some time reloading the firmware or getting help to resolve the firmware issue but honestly his thoughts on the DS's sound quality don't really matter to me, what matters to me is how the DS sounds in my system. Also I spent way way less $$ for my DS then he's spending for his ODSE.. so I'm good with my decision..
Additionally I found the DS is quite sensitive to power cables and interconnects.. So if he'd chosen to I suspect he could have gotten it to perform at another level, also consider that the ODSE has a built in off ramp thingy that if added to any of the other Dac's might have swayed him in another direction. But in the end it's his ears and his choice, I've just enjoyed his journey..
As for PSA firmware issues no question the Bridge is flawed but so are lots of other software driven products.. I had a bridge for a while and also gave up on it (planning on an Aurulic Aries soon) so I'm not a PSA fanboy by any stretch.
And I thought all along that Ozzy's beef with Nugent should have been private.. But if you are a manufacturer who uses a public forum for among other things promoting ones products ( frequently) then one needs to be prepared to take some flack from time to time. To Empirical's credit there doesn't seem to be too many folks that are un-happy, so he/they must for the most part be doing the right thing by their customers.. |
And like Ozzy I'll also bow out now.. Matt I've enjoyed your writing and hard work, enjoy your ODSE, it's a really nice piece..Time now to figure out how to get your rooms acoustics improved :-) |
I'm sure the 7's had nothing to do with it ;-) |
Matt is using a WireWorld Platinum Eclipse USB cable.. It's a good one but not necessarily always the best choice.. there seems to be much variation in USB cables and USB implementations..
And some Dac's don't sound nearly as good through their USB inputs as SPDIF, or vice versa .. The ODSE comes to mind since its an optimized for USB Dac.. So in some ways some of his impressions may not be accurate where the other Dac's are concerned.. In other words the Roland may crush the ODSE on SPDIF were as the ODSE sounds better due to it's USB implementation..
I think a better methodology for his testing might have been to use both a USB "and" a SPDIF source.. |
30,000 hours to break in.. gotta be typo that's more than 3 freakin' years! |
I think that you may be able to get better sound in the basement due to the lack of constraints. |
I had an Ayon Spirit MKIII for almost 3 years and it worked flawlessly the entire time.. so I can't comment on the CD players.. but the amps seem to be built great.. I also found that anytime I had a question about the amp Ayon USA was very helpful, I have an acquaintance that has a pair of the big Orthos monos that had an issue and Ayon was very helpful getting them repaired.
Matt as far as SPDIF cables go I'd really suggest that you borrow some from the Cable Company.. Lots of good ones under $1K Synergistic, Nordost, Shunyata, Wireworld, Audioquest to name a few.. Also you need to consider if you want to go RCA or AES..
And the other thing you may want to consider is the Mac Mini as a source.. There are a lot of folks that are dropping their Mini's in favor of the Auralic Aries as their streamer.. quite a few CAPS servers and Mac's are getting beat out my the Aries, something to consider.. |
Making waves?? Not me ;-) |
Here's a another thought.. I just replaced a Ayon Spirit MKIII and a PS Audio Directstream with a Devialet 200.. I only have a few hours on it but holy moly .. I am officially off the merry go round! |
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@kana813.. 80 more. Anyone want to vote for the D30R.. I'd sure appreciate it! |
Matt.. The first review of the new Berkley Reference Dac was just posted on Computer Audiophile.. I don't think you should read it ... |
Oops sorry Matt.. Don't read the review in the new issue of TAS either! |
In the TAS review there is an interview with the designer (s) of the Dac. They feel that building a USB input with the associated hardware degrades the SQ of the unit. Could that be BS since they sell the pricey outboard unit? Who knows but I'll give them the benefit of knowing what they're doing. |
That's pretty much what was said in the interview.. |
NP Al.. and FYI all the European high performance cars pretty much all come with Summer tires, which simply don't stick much below 40 degrees,, Even Audio on their S cars which of course are all Quattro come with Summer tires.. |
Sucks getting your bluff called Huh? LOL
Anyway back to a less silly posturing.. If I was Matt considering that at the beginning of this very long journey the original goal was:
"Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD"
I'd "really" want to get a listen to the Berkley.. but that's just me.. |
@Agear said:
He has had a longstanding love affair with Berkley as has the audio press. What has changed from a design and/or sonic standpoint?
I have no idea.. I haven't heard the new unit.. But the review in TAS was pretty through, as was the interview with the designers.. And what I found most interesting is how both reviews mentioned the big improvements in rebook playback..
In any case I surely don't have 16 Grand sitting around to drop on a Dac :-) so how good (or doesn't) it sounds is all academic for me |
I'd have got the PDK also.. if I was a player like you :-) And FYI the new Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3 all seasons are almost as good as most other brands pure summer only tires, of course a rear drive Porsche still sucks in the snow even with dedicated winter tires.. |
Op amps Shmop Amps...At the end of the day (if I could spend 16 large) I could care less if the thing uses peanut butter for caps and mouse nuts for resistors it's how the bloody thing sounds that matters... and it sure seems that the folks at Berkley know what they're doing..
And hey Audioengr.. how about a little apology to Al for your douchy poke at him the other day.. I think it would go a ways towards sprucing up your image.. |
