minermark Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Headphones have there place in audio, they do thing a free air speaker cannot, However speakers do things headphones cannot IE...Soundstage.., If you are like me now with no space and no money for a full stereo setup, and poor hearing Headphones can fill the gap nicely Carlooch, I will never let a poor experience with a lone nut change me or how i deal with people, This forum is the only place i would make that offer, I have learned tons here and have met nothing but good people, (even the one person i crossed swords with a few times, turned out we became cool with one another and i drove to vermont and bought his K-Horns) HEY! I got my "Likey" back! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I too second the emotiva XDA-1 and XDA-2. Having owned both... I perfer the XDA-1... Both do not require use of external drivers, but the XDA-1 was a bit simplier... (Both plug and play). That said... I use my XDA-2 daily. Both the XDA-1 and XDA-2 allow multiple inputs... CD player and Compuer... and have full func remotes. For my 2nd rig, I just bought a Modi USB Digital/Analog Convertor by Schiit. (Schit has a good rep. Super simply... no extra power suplies and does Red Book 16/44.1. I used to own a HRT+ and loved it too... again for simplicity. The HRT is $70 more. The Modi is $110 to the door. Justin how would you rate the sound from the modi, I thought it was very good,and well worth the 100.00, it was a major improvement over my sound card. Frankly I am not sure the upgrade to the Uber Bifrost with USB (530.00) was a big step up, I believe the Bifrost did smooth out some grain,extended the bass, and perhaps added some clarity but it's certainly not 5 times better sounding Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinsweber Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 The Modi DAC is new to me but so far I really like. It has me considering buying my an HRT like I had and just using it for me main rig. (It being powered by the USB Buss is a plus). I have seen 1st issues raised by multiple grounding schemes. Some powered DACs ground, some don’t… like CD players. The self powered DACs and older Redbook DACs tend to be rock solid performs. The Gen 2 DACs are great sounding but sometime fickle. Regarding sound quality. I won’t use my soundcard directly as it can be prone to a great deal of noise. The Modi DAC is great… You can’t beat its build quality, sound, or ease of use for the price. It’s as nice a piece as my HRT was, though much more shelf friendly as all connections are on the rear. The HRT did provide LED info which was nice though. I do prefer my Emotive for the added convince features, but wonder if I’m missing the point as well. The Modi gets me 85% of the way there… enough to be really happy and doesn’t require a plug… a serious upside when considering I have my TT, DAC, power conditioner, integrated, mac mini, external drives… bla, bla, bla. The 2nd system is DIY SS Pre, SE amp of choice, Logitech Bluetooth adapter and Modi dac. I may try the Modi DAC in my main rig and see if I can hear the diff… 1 input for emotive, 1 for Modi… all into itunes with Amarra. The question for me is to go with Amarra Symphony or not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) The Modi DAC is new to me but so far I really like. It has me considering buying my an HRT like I had and just using it for me main rig. (It being powered by the USB Buss is a plus). I have seen 1st issues raised by multiple grounding schemes. Some powered DACs ground, some don’t… like CD players. The self powered DACs and older Redbook DACs tend to be rock solid performs. The Gen 2 DACs are great sounding but sometime fickle. Regarding sound quality. I won’t use my soundcard directly as it can be prone to a great deal of noise. The Modi DAC is great… You can’t beat its build quality, sound, or ease of use for the price. It’s as nice a piece as my HRT was, though much more shelf friendly as all connections are on the rear. The HRT did provide LED info which was nice though. I do prefer my Emotive for the added convince features, but wonder if I’m missing the point as well. The Modi gets me 85% of the way there… enough to be really happy and doesn’t require a plug… a serious upside when considering I have my TT, DAC, power conditioner, integrated, mac mini, external drives… bla, bla, bla. The 2nd system is DIY SS Pre, SE amp of choice, Logitech Bluetooth adapter and Modi dac. I may try the Modi DAC in my main rig and see if I can hear the diff… 1 input for emotive, 1 for Modi… all into itunes with Amarra. The question for me is to go with Amarra Symphony or not. Your wisdom in this matter is, to me priceless, 36 hours into my DAC hunt and im am still a Paddywan. Keep in mind minermark has a chance to screw up and still end up with a great DAC, you see the wife will want one too. sic,sic....... Edited February 14, 2014 by minermark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I will be buying an OPPO very soon. Is is worth it to get the 105 over the 103? To me its well worth getting the 105. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I use Emotiva DACs; one XDA-1 and one XDA-2. The -1 supposedly had volume pot issues if you didn't have it turned all the way up (the way I used it) but I never had an issue. I use one with my Logitech Squeezebox for patio speakers and one on my PC. You can get the -2 new for half your budget. or go with the Stealth DC-1 @ $499. My experience with Emo is pretty good. Only issue was trying to use their 500 watt per channel mono block with Belles and had a floor noise issue due to high gain. The XPA-5 amp currently in use (last 3-4 years) for surround has been flawless. When I witnessed the brown truck driver dropping the XPA-1 amp out of the truck they immediately sent me a new one even though it appeared undamaged except for the shipping box. I would probably never buy their surround processor but the amps and DACs have been really nice. Why the heck would you want to use a frikkin' 500 watt amplifier with Belles? Holy Cow!! You will never need more that the bottom (noisier) 4% of that amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) Been very happy with my Maverick Audio D2, but I if I were in the market now I would be looking hard at a DAC using the ESS Sabre chip. That is what Oppo is using in their new units, and Pioneer is now spec-ing in their upper end units as well (I believe it is in the Dragonfly?). That Saber DAC chip is stacked for bit redundancy in my Oppo 83 Special Edition. It's an excellent performer. I think the newer Oppos allow separate use of the DAC with other inputs, so it's a real bonus item, but it's also a great Blue Ray Player too. LOL Kinda like an iPhone 5 allows you to talk on it too besides all the other stuff it does, including a free DB meter app or two. Edited February 14, 2014 by ClaudeJ1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Wow, thanks everyone! ...particularly, "minermark" for starting this thread. Think I will give the HRT II a shot. Only about $150 shipped. Looking forward to hear what I have been missing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Wow, thanks everyone! ...particularly, "minermark" for starting this thread. Think I will give the HRT II a shot. Only about $150 shipped. Looking forward to hear what I have been missing. HRT ? iv not got to this page yet, but im working on getting here, Ebay, google, and you guys....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 HRT ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/HRT-High-Resolution-Technologies-Music-Streamer-II-Asynchronous-USB-DAC-/281251545967?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417be6036f 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfbane Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 A simple DAC unit USB input RCA out $500 to $1000 should get a decent one I would think. Any thoughts or recommendations would be well received. I currently own a couple of Tube DAC's made for Grant Fidelity. The DAC-11 (mine) and other DAC's they sell you can view online here: http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Digital-Converters/ Wb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) Wow, thanks everyone! ...particularly, "minermark" for starting this thread. Think I will give the HRT II a shot. Only about $150 shipped. Looking forward to hear what I have been missing. HRT ? iv not got to this page yet, but im working on getting here, Ebay, google, and you guys....... Can tell you both that the HRT Musicstreamer 2 is a decent DAC out of the box but, it gets noticeably better with some burn in. I may look into the Modi or this Sabre chip mentioned here for 2 channel, not headphone listening. My mintlike 5.5's may not like headphones. Edited February 15, 2014 by billybob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 A simple DAC unit USB input RCA out $500 to $1000 should get a decent one I would think. Any thoughts or recommendations would be well received. I currently own a couple of Tube DAC's made for Grant Fidelity. The DAC-11 (mine) and other DAC's they sell you can view online here: http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Digital-Converters/ Wb Dam, I need to read up on these critters, getting ahead of myself in research. The only thing iv decided so far is NOT to decide for a few days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 HRT ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/HRT-High-Resolution-Technologies-Music-Streamer-II-Asynchronous-USB-DAC-/281251545967?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417be6036f That is the booger... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 (edited) HRT ? http://www.ebay.com/itm/HRT-High-Resolution-Technologies-Music-Streamer-II-Asynchronous-USB-DAC-/281251545967?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417be6036f That is the booger... I plugged it into pre-amps, now an int. amp. It is a nice little DAC, so much so that when I sold one here recently at a bargain, I came to miss it. Your computer will need to detect it and use it as the default device. This should eliminate any duty from your built in soundcard/DAC. The forum member I sold to, I have not heard back from. Taking that as a good sign as I expressly asked that they get back with me with any problem. Sometime with anything there is buyer remorse. With the $30 more the MS2 is bringing now on Amazon, I see that your e-bay price is better. The good news is, I feel that if you got one and used it for 2 months and somehow did not like, it could be resold fairly easily for $100+. The DAC versus the built in on computer, bring all the superlatives like, imaging, seperation, soundstage,etc. BTW, I only sold due to personal reason, and would own one again. The MS2+ even... Good Fortune Edited February 15, 2014 by billybob 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 The DAC versus the built in on computer, bring all the superlatives like, imaging, seperation, soundstage,etc. Thank you for the input "billybob" As soon as I get this darn Rotel processor all figured out (buyers remorse), certainly going to make a DAC addition. **someone please remind me to NEVER buy another pre-amp/processor again** -FS: Rotel RSP-1068 pre-amp/processor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybob Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 The DAC versus the built in on computer, bring all the superlatives like, imaging, seperation, soundstage,etc. Thank you for the input "billybob" As soon as I get this darn Rotel processor all figured out (buyers remorse), certainly going to make a DAC addition. **someone please remind me to NEVER buy another pre-amp/processor again** -FS: Rotel RSP-1068 pre-amp/processor Now mind you, I edited my post above. And only RCA phono stereo out of the MS2 means I am using it dedicated to computer source. Bet it will sound good with about any DAC. Rotel somewhat regarded highly here,lol... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Rotel somewhat regarded highly here,lol... LOL the Rotel sounds fabulous!!! RSP and a pair of mono-blocks, it is sweet It is the processor part I am very much disliking. On screen controls and options? YUK! Just want to push a button or turn a dial, please. serenity now!!! TYG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minermark Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 @ fry's picked up a little plug in device SIIG USB Soundwave Pro, $34 bucks just for the heck of it. This little critter plugs into the USB and the 1/8 headphone/preamp feed comes right out the back side. Powered by the USB I figure, well, the system static coming from the sound card has just got to get a little better. Cured 95% of the noise, crystal clear audio, holy cow $34 bucks! You can dam sure bet im lookin into at least a couple of $200+ units, I say couple because the wife just heard mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 @ fry's picked up a little plug in device SIIG USB Soundwave Pro, $34 bucks just for the heck of it Certainly a little shy of your 500 to 1000 budget in the first post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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