Any opinions on the AMR Digital Processor 777 Dac?

Audiofun,

In which ways do you feel the DP777 is in another league then the Octave? I concede my buddy's (actually a friend of Jriggy's too) AMR had the older circuit board which is said not to sound quite as good, but it wasn't that there was a difference we struggled to hear and gave the nod one way--we both flatly preferred the Metrum to the extent my friend sold his at a loss.

Yes indeed both my friend and I are using the AMR fuse and it makes a big difference. So did Herbies footers I found. I'm selling my Metrum now to try a LampizatOr Gen 4/Level 4, but if it doesn't live up to my hopes (like the Gen 3/Level 3 didn't) I may return to Metrum.

Gopher,
And I think I am may be going to borrow that Metrum Octave from your friend to hear for myself...

I wish the fellow from the AU would post his thoughts on the AMR his self. He found it to be superb in his 100k system...

Can someone shed some lights on how to install AMR fuse in Metrum Octave, where to buy AMR fuse (or any fuse that improves Octave)? I've never replaced any fuse (or opened up an audio gear box for that matter). Thanks in advance.

Kzhtoo,

Give Darren at Avatar Acoustics a buzz for the fuse. They're like $20. You need the 20mm .25amp one. Stock value is .20amp, but going over is OK.

Then you just open the power supply chassis from the screws on front, pry the black fuse protector open, pop out old fuse and plug in new one. 3 minutes work.

I noticed Create Audio has cheap audiophile fuses as well at $10. Their tubes are praised so I bought one to try in my new DAC once it breaks in.

I am on my 2nd AMR DP-777 after 1.5 years of ownership, and I am still highly satisfied by its sound. Look at my 300+ audiogon feedback, and you know very few pieces stay in my system for more than a year.

Well, I wish the bass of DP-777 is slightly faster and tauter (like Wadia?), and I believe you can get more excitement with other DACs playing hard-rock music. But I won't sell my DP-777 any time soon.

It's very easy to get a good DAC these days: Esoteric, Benchmark, Lavry, Metrum... just to name a few, with clean, clear sound and ultra high resolution, superb definition plus the "WOW" factor for the first few minutes. And yes, there's nothing wrong with these products.

However, it is very HARD to find a musical DAC for the long run, DP-777 is such a DAC. Ask die-hard analog fans why they don't listen to digital, spend a good 3 hours with LP (do young kids actually sit there listen that long?) and try to listen to the same cut in digital again.

Nothing is the best and everybody has his/her priorities. I won't use DP-777 for studio monitoring (nobody should), but to connect my spirit with music, I can hardly think of any other DAC under $5000. Happy listening.