Please Recommend Transport + DAC for $5K total
Just use your existing transport if it still works and add a reclocker like the Synchro-Mesh. This will put you in the $10K transport performance range for only $599-$1400. Then, read all of the audiostream.com Recommended - "Greatest Bits" on DACs for each year. These guys pick the best DACs. They have good systems. You can rely on their opinions. I am not affiliated. Steve N. Empirical Audio |
The CXC is very good I use it with the Yggdarsil. It is Coax and Optical I also have a very good Lifeatec Optical cable the Wywires Litespeed Dig cable is the Coax connection. You can connect both Opt and Coax from the DXD to the Yiggy and switch to each for comparison of the connection and the cables being used. It beat my SA15s2 as a transport. |
I agree the CXC is a great transport I used it with my McIntosh DAC ,once I bought it it’s the first time that my CD collection come as close as possible to pure analog sound as my vinyl collection,of course there are better transports but you will have to spend many times more than this excellent transport.this one of the best selling product for Cambridge Audio. |
@auxinput
I'm experimenting ripping some CDs and sending them through the Amanero USB to I2S board to the LKS. The results are very promising. But I want to do more before I conclude it's not wishful thinking. But after all, the board is there precisely to re-clock the incoming data (twice?) and seems to work wonderfully for the DSD out of my laptop. And as I eventually want to rip all my CDs to the hard disk, this seems to be the way to go--rather that with a transport. Now I'm discovering that people are converting the CDs to DSD, as high as DSD512 (using a lot of storage) and sending the files through the board to the LKS with great success. More experiments to do. |
@melm - interesting. It’s too bad you don’t have a desktop. Next year I plan to buy the DAC first, but I will probably get the following as well. I’m currently running digital coax out of a Xonar Essence PCI card. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pink-Faun-I2S-bridge-LKS-audio-Model-IV-Pink-Faun-IL3-I2S-HDMI-to-RJ45-cable/281933158086?hash=item41a48696c6:g:wu0AAOSwUuFWvK9v it says it comes with an RJ45 cable wired specifically for the LKS i2s input. The Pink Faun does not support DSD, only PCM up to 192 which is fine for me. But I will likely experiment with DOP, as the LKS will accept DOP on its i2s input. I also read read that another DAC did DSD better than this LKS, but the LKS won for PCM format. |
