New Rega DAC

Lang76 -

I'd imagine it would sound great. I don't have an AE, so I can't say for sure. All I can say is that my ATV1 and Rega DAC sound far better than my Apollo did.

I have the first one my dealer got. We opened the box and compared it to a few things and used it with a couple of transports and inputs without any warm up/break in to make sure everything was working and get a rough idea what it sounds like. We didn't try USB.

We couldn't hear any differences between transports and inputs. It was cold, so it sounded not as full and rich as it does now, but it definitely competed with what was at the shop. I have to swing by that shop within the next few days for something else, and I'll try to hear their's compared to the others for my own sake. Their DAC should be fully run in by now, so comparisons will be fair. I'll report what I hear. The other DACs at the time were the Naim DAC, Naim UnitiQute (as a DAC and as a whole unit), and Arcam rDAC.

Kbarkamian - Ok, thanks. So you have the ATV1 with the 160G that actually stores the music files? I think this is probably the better route vs. airport express or ATV 2. Those 2 stream everything from the MAC while you're listing, I think? I think I'm going to follow your setup vs. buying a new CD player now. Thanks!!

I run in our demo Rega DAC for a week or so before doing some comparisons with the Apollo and Saturn.. using either the Saturn or Apollo as a transport. The DAC with Apollo transport is clearly better than the Apollo and also the Saturn (better tone, bigger sound-stage, handles complex music passages better). My listening also showed that the Saturn is a better sounding transport than the Apollo... not a big difference, but most significant difference I hear was that the Saturn/DAC combo had more grunt/weight in the bottom end than the Apollo/DAC combo. I used stock power cords on all items and a $100 Cardas co-ax digital cable to connect to the DAC. So far, I'm really impressed with how the DAC sounds.

I haven't heard the ATV 2, so don't base your opinions on what I said. One or two people said the ATV 2 sounds better, while others have said the ATV 1 is better. Not that I've counted them, but more have said the ATV 1 sounds better, if that helps. Same as everything else in this hobby, I'm afraid.

I can only report what I hear - My ATV1 sounds better with music stored to it's hard drive than when it's streamed. Not a huge night and day difference, but definitely better.

I've stuck with the ATV 1 because of the hard drive. I don't want to have to turn the computer on just to listen to music, and I don't want to deal with streaming issues like dropouts and interference. Everyone's priorities are different.

The ATV 1 is still on Amazon for $150. The ATV 2 is available for $99 at Apple stores. Maybe buy both and compare at home? Make sure you can get a full refund though.

What I can definitively tell you is that my ATV 1 and Rega DAC sound fantastic in my room. If you like the Apollo, I'd bet a lot of money that you'd love the Rega DAC.

Kbarkaimian - Thanks for your input. My buddy just bought the ATV 2 and is going to sell me his ATV 1 for really cheap. I to like the idea of having a mini hardrive vs. streaming.