Foster....here's another rub:
The longer you live with a DAC the more it settles in. I'm not talking about break-in. I'm talking about our ears and tastes settling in with a new addition to a system. After the W4S 2 was broken in we still weren't in love with it. But after more time went by we found it better than our first and second impressions. The unit had not changed. We did.
The more I listen to the Rega DAC the more I like it. I bet if I had the EE or ARC living in my system for a while I'd also start to acclimate and appreciate the strengths as much or more.
So when folks gave me reviews and impressions of the Merlin speakers, I was happy to find them very in line with my own listening experience. The same can be said for the Manley tube amp. People were really on target, as they were with speaker wire and even the two power cords I tried.
But I've found almost universal "fail" when it comes to users and reviewers giving their two cents on DACs. No matter who it is I believe that such reviews must be taken with a LARGE grain of salt, unless your system is a very close match for the person writing the review. The DACs we listened to were tried on two systems and even that leaves a huge margin for error in our assessments.
If you kept the EE, try it with tube removed! This is it's most transparent configuration, at least so far as we could hear. The Centrance is truly terrific, but needed a long break-in before it gave it's best. Your findings may be completely different and just as valid!
Robert B
NY
The longer you live with a DAC the more it settles in. I'm not talking about break-in. I'm talking about our ears and tastes settling in with a new addition to a system. After the W4S 2 was broken in we still weren't in love with it. But after more time went by we found it better than our first and second impressions. The unit had not changed. We did.
The more I listen to the Rega DAC the more I like it. I bet if I had the EE or ARC living in my system for a while I'd also start to acclimate and appreciate the strengths as much or more.
So when folks gave me reviews and impressions of the Merlin speakers, I was happy to find them very in line with my own listening experience. The same can be said for the Manley tube amp. People were really on target, as they were with speaker wire and even the two power cords I tried.
But I've found almost universal "fail" when it comes to users and reviewers giving their two cents on DACs. No matter who it is I believe that such reviews must be taken with a LARGE grain of salt, unless your system is a very close match for the person writing the review. The DACs we listened to were tried on two systems and even that leaves a huge margin for error in our assessments.
If you kept the EE, try it with tube removed! This is it's most transparent configuration, at least so far as we could hear. The Centrance is truly terrific, but needed a long break-in before it gave it's best. Your findings may be completely different and just as valid!
Robert B
NY