Heideana Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Well, at some point soon I'm going to have to think about getting an external decoder. Any thoughts/directions about which brand or chip is a good starter investment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 What's the rest of your signal path? You looking for a dedicated 2-channel thing or multi-channel? It's been a while since I've research the DAC market, but I would be inclined to pursue something more "professional grade" (like what they use in the studio). But it's all gonna depend on your source, amp, speakers and all that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 i use the cheap ART DI/o.... lotsa mods for these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 I might not be asking my question correctly. I was thinking of an external DAC that folks are hooking up to CD players to bypass the internal DAC and just using the CD player as a transport mechanism... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 The DACs in most (decent) Home Theater components (w/ digital inputs) of the last few years blow away the stand-alone, big $$$ discrete component ones of years past. IMO, Rotel and Parasound represent the best (value) in entry level hi fidelity... others may also exist. They are always ($ reasonably) available on the used market, due to the (perceived?) upgrade bug. You can also pay whatever you are willing to spend, but they represent ~ 90% (or more) of the performance the best have to offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 Thanks! I'm realizing the more I work with digital media that I'd better be paying some attention to the DAC's quality, just like I've been focusing on other links in my hifi chain. Call it an expanding worldview from just focusing on amps/speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 26, 2006 Author Share Posted October 26, 2006 Another way to articulate this question is that I think I've been on a steady upgrade and pretty sure the DAC in my Squeezeboxes are better the the DAC in my old Sony CD player/Mini-disc recorder. Not sure where the DAC in my Digidesign Digi 002 or M-Audio Fast-Track Pro fall in this...it sounds like the DAC's in most HT pre-amps and receivers are probably pretty state of the art and a step above all these other DAC's for most practical situations. I'm quickly realizing that I need to be able to switch between various digital inputs and top with a Peach and/or Merlin....A loose thought (like a lot of my thoughts...), a Merlin would be a good addition to my studio rig to add some warmth to digital multi-tracking and analogue tape-mastering, etc....and the Peach is perfect front end for hifi set-up with decent DAC and I'm kinda set for the moment...[8-|] Sometimes I kinda slow.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
consistent Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Hi, Check this out! may be of interest http://www.mother-of-tone.com/attraction.htm. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerohm Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 right out of the J Peterman Catalog [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for (I think)...I've also been worrying about power supplies as of late for digital devices....hmm...those little buggers need really clean juice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heideana Posted October 28, 2006 Author Share Posted October 28, 2006 Folks already know about this unit? http://www.audiosalon.co.uk/manleywave%20.html It looks great and is based on the PCM 1704 with tubes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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