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Looking for Better Jitter Reduction in a DAC

I'm looking to improve the jitter control in my digital setup, which hopefully will create a more analogue presentation. I own a PS Audio PW Memory Transport, which sports a FPGA, and a Nuwave DSD DAC with a scaled-down version of the gate array.

   I have owned a Chord which uses this technology and it was like listening to analogue recordings. I sold it only because it's soundstage was very forward, like sitting in the front row of a concert hall. My current PS Audio setup has wide and deep imaging, as does my Atma-Sphere preamp.
   I have auditioned the Schiit Grundir and it was a bit too fast in the attack and transients, but had the dynamics and deep imaging that I like. So, I guess what I'm looking for is a unit with a laid-back, realistic musical presentation.

The Mytek Digital Stereo192 DSD and Blue Circle DAC are in my price range, but there is no way to audition them.
  So any recommendation and advice is appreciated. DSD preferred, budget is about $1200 used.


lowrider57
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

More expensive:

Empirical Audio, dCS, Ayre, PSAudio, Playback designs, Bricasti

Here is a top-tier PCM DAC shootout that has been ongoing for several years and involves many DACs (73 pages of posts):

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/absolute-top-tier-dac-for-standard-res-redbook-cd?page=73

Lower  cost to consider:

Sony HAP-Z1es, Wyred4sound (particularly driven using I2S), Metrum Acoustics, Rega, Bryston

Have not been impressed with the pro-audio/studio DACs...

bruce_philly
28 posts
 
Shadorne,

My Benchmark DAC1 is ... oh I don’t know, maybe seven years old. I runs warm and always did. I have it on 24/7 for most of that seven years. Yes this is true it runs all the time. Did this degrade the sound? Maybe, heck I don’t know. It just is dead sounding next to my Accuphase. I always felt this way since I first plugged it in.

What I learned when I purchased my Accuphase, a lesson that I keep relearning thirty years on now, is it is more about implementation than what chip does what.  The earliest chips sucked... then something happened, I think the chips became good.   The only two machines I thought were musical back then were the Accuphase and Ayre machines. That’s was it. Boxes that used the same chip sets were not nearly as good sounding as these machines.... it was not the chips that did it.

Peace
Bruce in Philly
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,333 posts
 
@bruce_philly

If you left your DAC1 on for seven years straight night and day then I think you may have suffered what I observed. A dead sounding DAC due to capacitors aging (higher heat ages faster). I particularly noticed this when I got mine out of storage to compare to the DAC3 and DAC2 recently. I think my DAC had been on for about 10 years straight and as I mentioned it runs quite hot.

There is no way a properly functioning Class A component should sound dead! Stereophile are fairly reliable in their classifications.
gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
If you left your DAC1 on for seven years straight night and day then I think you may have suffered what I observed. A dead sounding DAC due to capacitors aging (higher heat ages faster).

And might/would that apply to any DAC? Or for that matter, any piece of electronics with capacitors? Some manufacturers recommend leaving their equipment on 24/7.

shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,333 posts
 
@gdhal

Yes - rule of thumb is every 10 degrees Celsius higher in operating temperature will half the life of many capacitors.

Most caps are rated 105 degrees for 2000 hours. At 95 they will last 4000. At 85 they should last approx 8000 and so on and so forth.

So leaving your gear on 24/7 is usually a mistake. Good ventilation is very important
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