ecr917

Yeah, the iTunes FLAC issue is annoying. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet, but I'm approach the bridge soon, so I'll need to get an answer. Thanks for the HDTracks link. I've been keeping my eye on them, but honestly they don't have much that interests me yet. I'll probably grab some tracks soon so I can do comparisons (and decide if there is enough difference to my ears to warrant the investment). I think it's going to take one of the big boys (amazon, itunes etc) to start pushing higher quality recordings before I start seeing many recordings that interest me. That seems to be a few years away yet (if at all). I was able to do some comparisons between USB and optical CD inputs. I played the same tracks and switched back and forth between inputs and honestly I couldn't hear a material difference. There are probably people with better ears than me that would claim otherwise, but honestly I found it encouraging that there wasn't a massive quality drop. That said, the testing was pretty cursory, so I'll be evaluating my opinion over the coming weeks and months. In the mean time I'm going to keep queuing up material from different sources and see if I can find any differences. So far, I've been really impressed with the unit. C

Thanks for the thoughtful and speedy response! I've been considering a similar setup to yours - streaming for everyday listening and a wired for critical/hi-res listening. I'm not sure how much hi-res content I'll be buying, given the artists and styles of music I generally listen to, but it would be nice to have the option. Do you hear any difference between FLAC files played via Airport vs. wired? Also, as a matter of curiosity, why do you use USB to SPIDF given the asynchronous clocking and hi-res playback for USB? It seemed from reading reviews and comments that conversion isn't necessary. As for the Meridian piece, it sure seems like a great piece, but is way above my head for now.

I haven't done much more than you have. While I've played around with the basic settings, but I've found that I'm generally keeping the EQ neutral. I also plan to play around with the room correction, but it'll be several weeks until I get into my new place, so I'm holding off. The soft clipping is a standard NAD setting that essentially lops off the highs and lows during loud listening to prevent the amplifier from actually clipping (or speakers from being damaged). Unless you're driving the amp particularly hard or have really challenging speakers, I think it's probably unnecessary. I have been very impressed with the amp so far. It provides a lot more detail and transparency than prior systems of mine. Reading reviews of the M2, many of the writers mentioned the completely "black backdrop" of the sound, and I didn't really know what they meant - I do now. Notes have a little more edge and definition than I'm used to. While this is an overwhelming virtue in my eyes, I don't know if I would like the NAD paired with a totally neutral set of speakers (I use Mirage OM-6s which are omnipolar and throw off a broad, though less detailed, soundstage than traditional monitors). Thus far, I haven't had a chance to listen to anything above redbook quality, but it's nice to know that you're hearing a bigger difference with higher quality material. To that point, what are you using as a source? I believe that in a prior post, you mentioned using USB as your primary input - have you done any comparison between the different inputs? Part of the reason I ask about inputs is because I'm trying to figure out how to set up the front end of my system, which is going to be a ground up assembly. I've mostly been playing from disc or vinyl over the last few years but decided that it's time to join the modern world. Most of my digital tracks are older mp3s so I'll be going through the process of ripping everything to lossless, a process I'm not looking forward to, but which is necessary. Ultimately I'd like to use a wireless solution with easy iPhone/iPad navigation, so Sonos and Airport/AppleTV are likely candidates. It seems that the experienced CA folks are several steps above these solutions, but honestly I'm not convinced that it's worth the effort of some of the more extensive (and expensive) solutions I've read about. Ultimately I've decided to err on the side of convenience rather than absolute fidelity. I plan to pose some questions to the broader group, but would be interested to know how you're running things right now. Eric

Hi there I've been lurking in the CA shadows for the last few months and this is my first post. I just got my 390 last week, and seeing as I haven't noticed other owners posting about it, I figured I should say hello. I recently sold most of my gear and will be moving soon, so right now I'm just running CDs via optical, but I'm very much enjoying the sound. Once I get resettled in a month or so, I'll start to do some critical listening and trying different sources, settings etc. That said, I wanted to see if you've done anything with the settings, room correction etc. Any thoughts or suggestions on sources? I'll be happy to respond in kind as soon as I can. Thanks! Eric