Thanks @mesch . And now Schiit makes a converter.
Seeking Advice on NOS DAC
Looking to purchase an NOS DAC, budget is $1500.
Currently available for sale are:
- Metrum Acoustics Hex digital converter (used)
- Metrum Acoustics Amethyst DAC (new)
- Acoustic Plan Digimaster Tube DAC (used)
This is a German-built NOS, 24-bit R-2R resistor ladder network, PCM1704U-K converter with 4 tube EC 86 triode outputs.
- HOLO Audio Spring DAC – LEVEL 2 (new, but over my budget of $1500)
My primary listening is via the PS Audio PWT, while music files on my Mac are steadily increasing. I’m thinking NOS due to my large collection of Redbook CD's.
So, any experience or comments on which way to proceed is appreciated.
Currently available for sale are:
- Metrum Acoustics Hex digital converter (used)
- Metrum Acoustics Amethyst DAC (new)
- Acoustic Plan Digimaster Tube DAC (used)
This is a German-built NOS, 24-bit R-2R resistor ladder network, PCM1704U-K converter with 4 tube EC 86 triode outputs.
- HOLO Audio Spring DAC – LEVEL 2 (new, but over my budget of $1500)
My primary listening is via the PS Audio PWT, while music files on my Mac are steadily increasing. I’m thinking NOS due to my large collection of Redbook CD's.
So, any experience or comments on which way to proceed is appreciated.
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- 47 posts total
You should check out the new tube dac on the Doge site. It's probably not NOS, but if it's related to the Doge6 CD player topology, I'm sure it sounds warm and grainless, which is what people who are looking for NOS dacs are usually trying to achieve. BTW, IMO, looking for a dac based on circuit topology is not the best way to go about it. Buy for sound, not design or specs. But that's my opinion and, from what I'm reading around here lately, I stand with a very small minority. Good luck. |
Lowrider - not a silly question at all. Jitter will be a problem unless you have a really low jitter source, like an expensive USB converter or network renderer, costing more than the DAC. If you plan to use sources such as a transport or a Sonos etc., a reclocker like the Synchro-Mesh will bring that sound quality up to the latest technology uber-expensive DAC’s at a low cost. You get the best of both worlds: analog sound of NOS, plus detail, dynamics and liveness of a low-jitter source. I used to be of the opinion that resampling does some SQ damage to the datastream that cannot be recovered, but my latest Synchro-Mesh sounds almost identical to my best Ethernet renderer, which is 5X the cost of the Synchro-Mesh. My BNC cable is recommended with it because of the fast risetimes on S/PDIF. Steve N.Empirical Audio |
Looking at this lowrider, this is also a R2R ladder dac you should look at for RedBook replay, not too much about it yet, but could be the new Yaggy https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/border-patrol-dac#1486831 Cheers George |
- 47 posts total