1. Home
  2. digital
  3. 1398132150

Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hi All.

Putting together a reference level system.
My Source is predominantly standard 16/44 played from a MacMini using iTunes and Amarra. Some of my music is purchased from iTunes and the rest is ripped from standard CD's.
For my tastes in music, my high def catalogues are still limited; so Redbook 16/44 will be my primary source for quite some time.

I'm not spending DCS or MSB money. But $15-20k retail is not out of the question.

Upsampling vs non-upsampling?
USB input vs SPDIF?

All opinions welcome.

And I know I need to hear them, but getting these ultra $$$ DAC's into your house for an audition ain't easy.

Looking for musical, emotional, engaging, accurate , with great dimension. Not looking for analytical and sterile.
mattnshilp
wisnon
700 posts
 

For SunandMusic...here is (UK) Bonzo's take on the Aries Cerat. Note Bonzo is a Lampi GG owner and loves the sound. Comparison was done in Brussels.

http://zero-distortion.org/aries-cerat-lampi-ar-5se-analysis-omega-rockports/


For Matt, mad respect for this thread. When it started, it could have been a train wreck, but your personality and steady hand has guided this deftly to be a MAJOR resource for people researching Dacs and things Digital/speakers.

BTW, the congrats go to the Lampi team. Nothing to do with me. I just cut and paste. No secret I like the Lampi sound, as it agrees with my sonic taste. I dont like dry and for my demo with the Yggy, I found it dry. Not a big fan of most SS Dacs.  LoL

wisnon
700 posts
 

Also for Matt:


"https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/laufer-teknik-memory-player-64-i-ve-finally-found-what-i-ve-been-look"

Check it out.

wisnon
700 posts
 

Dragon_Vibe,

I didnt say anything was WRONG with your wiring, I simply meant it may not work well as setup with the Lampi for some reason, or it could be the interaction with the other tube gear in terms of grounding. I guess the way the Lampi is designed it has its own peculiarities.

It clearly work well in the VAST majority of cases, given that over a thousand of them are in the field and clealy work well at shows. A buddy of mine has 2 of them and he is owns an electrical installation company, and so he certifies his own house wiring and has ZERO noise, even with his HeadDac...ie Dac and HP amp in one.

To be clear, I am fine if the GG didnt work for you and is not to your taste. Happy that you like the PBD...your enjoyment with your gear is all that matters, just it does for me, Matt, Cstooner and all the rest. I am only giving my opinion, just like you and have no skin in the game. I dont apologise for standing up for what I hear and like though...but it is just one data point in the grand scheme of things.

For an all in one product, for $14K, Dartzeel makes the Danalog, ie LHC-208, which is an Ethernet streaming Dac and 200wpc classA/B Integrated amp. PCM to 384khz and DSD128. Now that is what I call a Digital Hub!

ctsooner's avatar
ctsooner
2,104 posts
 
Guys, I recently read a couple of question.  I have used a lot of different cables and after a week I lifted all off the carpet.  In EVERY case, bar none it made a huge difference in lowering the noise floor. It's about getting rid of the static charges etc...  dielectric or not, it made a difference.   Matt, call me on HRS.  I'm sure Johnny would lend you a platform or two to play with.

Personally, my best set up's I've ever heard are all with HRS and that's for gear I don't love too.  The new Wilson's sounded best when Dan's amp was on HRS platforms, the Dynaudio's sounded best when the VAC's were on HRS and the list goes on.  I just feel it's the best engineered gear out there and even their least expensive stuff sounded GREAT.

NO I don't own their gear, but maybe someday I can afford it.  The lower the noise floor the better for most systems.  If you have tube gear, to me it's  aMUST to use an HRS or something that's top notch as it will help with the noise floor problems associated with any tube gear.  JMHO.
dragon_vibe
430 posts
 
I guess is personal taste i found the Lampi GG too coloured for my taste but this noise issue was one of annoyance I encountered. I can see why many people love it, It is an excellent DAC and value. Being the nature of the GG Dac warm sound it can easily mate with SS Gear but will require careful matching with other Tube Gears. Probably due to too much warmth being added into the system and the sound signature becoming unbalanced. 
The GG dac does bring out the emotions of the music which is a big factor in my books. As too many high priced DAC these days sound Soulless, their is no life in their nothing that would stir the listeners emotions. 

I like the sound slightly warm lets say 1 or 2 notches above Neutral but not into Super Syrupy warm sound. I can reach this state easily by tuning the pre-amp and power amp tubes. So SS DACs have no issues on my system.
OTL amps are known for their transparency and smoothness.

I consider my current system a reference, It consist of PAD Cables all Neptune Liquid Series. Atma Sphere Nirvana Amplifier and Atma Sphere MP-1 Pre-amp with all the upgrades. This combination together with the Classic Audio Loudspeaker T1.5 Field Coils. The sound is so transparent it shows you the character of all the upstream electronics. Even minor changes to the system will shift its energy.

Regards to Cable Lifting, I have also experienced this to work wanders on some cables only. However I found No difference in sound with Purist Audio Designs when lifted or left on the floor. This would possibly be due to their damping techniques.

That Memory player looks interesting but the price tag does not :-)

Whilst I don’t have issues in spending money in Audio. I am now starting to realise not all expensive audio is worth going for.

The biggest area I would spend most of my budget on are Pre-amps, Power Amps and Speakers.

DAC, Transports, Servers all come last with cables.





More to discover