Preamps built Into DACs

Mapman - sure, my system comprises:

2009 Mac Mini with SSD and 8Gbytes DRAM (better than newer versions IME). Amarra rev 4318 used for playback - 3 EQs are used in Amarra to flatten the speakers and room. Tuned with calibrated mic Earthworks M30 and iTunes Audiotools. Music Files are all .wav format uncompressed.

16-foot Polestar USB cable

Short-Block USB cable filter

Empirical Audio Overdrive SE DAC - used for volume control and D/A

Empirical balanced "bare-wire" silver cables

Empirical Audio Final Drive transformer buffer for galvanic isolation and achieving true-balanced signals (2 chassis). Also switches in the Home Theater

More Empirical balanced "bare-wire" silver cables

Empirical Audio modded Parasound JC-1 monoblocks - power cables are top of line silver Tekline.com

Empirical Audio Clarity7 speaker cables

Custom 4-foot ribbon speakers with 10" bass-box underneath. Custom crossover with Jensen Capacitors air-core inductors, V-Cap Teflons, non-polar Black Gates and low-inductance planar resistors. All wired with silver-plated copper wire in multiple twisted-pairs.

I also have a Sonos connected with cheap S/PDIF cable to an Empirical Audio Synchro-Mesh reclocker that feeds the S/PDIF input on the Overdrive DAC for more casual listening.

I dont sell the cables anymore BTW.

Steve N.

Ed - I'm sure your system is resolving. You may have one of the few.

Maybe we should exchange some tracks and find out how resolving.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Steve, how would that work? You could get me a "live in the bluenote recording" and see if I can hear what table three was ordering on track 5 at 3 minutes 12 seconds into the track (two dry martinis)? Would be interesting, but not methdologically sound, because it does not account for difference in sensitivity of the hearing of the observer. One of us may simply have better hearing.

Ed - I think this is possible. I have some old tracks that recently I noticed new lyrics and background singers that I never heard before. The challenge will be to distinguish the lyrics and understand them.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Understanding lyrics is a particular type of human skill. Some people are just better at it than others. Seems like an extremely poor way of testing how resolving a system is.