shoegazer

It *was* quite a trick. I snapped my fingers and a man magically appeared through a glass door and moved the cable out of one DAC and into another one. And I got to listen to five different DACs. My snapping trick does not work at home though. And there's only one DAC. Oh well.

About a year ago I listened to a few DACs at this price point in back-to-back-to-back in the same system. Rega, Musical Fidelity, Peachtree, and Bel Canto. At < $1000, I thought the Peachtree was the obvious winner over the Rega and the Musical Fidelity. The Bel Canto, was clearly better than the Peachtree, however the BC retailed for $1,395. The thing I didn't like about the Bel Canto is that it had a built-in pre-amp that I didn't want to pay for. If that doesn't bug you, I'm sure with patience you could find one under $1K on A-gon. It does sound great, I can tell you that. In the end I bought a Metrum without having heard it first. A million positive reviews means it must be good, right? Whether that's true or not is for another thread, but I do like the Metrum a lot. It did pencil out to about $950 total, but I did have to buy a USB>SPDIF converter which pushed the cost over $1,000. The Metrum likes a well-clocked stream feeding it so if you want to stay under $1K, I would look elsewhere. Any chance you are near a major city? If so, you, too, can go on your own back-to-back-to-back listening adventure. It really made a huge difference in my hunt. Good luck - Seth

I will admit, Kevin, that when I saw the Wavelength on Audiogon, I did a double take. I happened to have a few minutes to kill and I hopped online because I had been hoping for an AP to show up. So yes, there was definitely some luck involved. Interestingly enough, I was in the same boat as you, thinking that I didn't want to spend more than about what an AP cost since part of me feels they are very expensive for what they do. You could just buy an AP now, keep it if you like it, and then buy a used converted by whomever later on and compare them at your leisure. You could probably sell either unit for a small loss at that point. I don't know a thing about the JK unit so I don't know what to tell you about that device.

I have a Metrum + Wavelength. I bought a barely used Wavelength on Audiogon for a hair more than what a new AP2 would have cost. I have not listened to any other converters with the Metrum because I am very happy with the Wavelength and I figure why mess with something that I like so much. The only downside to the Wavelength that I would point out is that the driver can be flaky on my setup (CAPS v2.0). I sometimes have to toggle the power switch on the USB>PCI card once or twice to get the music flowing. Granted I haven't taken the time to dive into this issue since it is a minor inconvenience, but it has been the one annoying part of my Wavelength experience. From all of my research leading up to getting the Metrum/Wavelength, I don't think you can wrong with the AP, Wavelength, or OffRamp. I would also add the new Sonore unit to the list even though I just heard about it today since I've never seen Barrows hype junk. Enjoy the music -- Seth

I would recommend Beach House's previous album (Teen Dream) to anyone who likes the current release. I've only heard a track or two from the new album, but it reminds me of their last one, which is quite good. Good sound quality, too.

There are computer audio/parts and computer audio/media servers sections on audiogon these days. You could give those a shot.

Two things: First, do you have the original or the re-master? I have the original and while the cymbal is a bit bright when I listen to it, it's not anything out of the ordinary for a recording of this quality. Second, sacrilege though it may seem, you could use the equalizer in your playback software to knock a bit off the top end. That may help. -Seth

I knew there was a reason why I continue to drive the same car I’ve had for 13 years! As far as getting the most out of 44.1, I just completed my odyssey of building a new system, and essentially my entire collection is 44.1. As is the case with you, much of the music I listen to will never sniff HD for a variety of reasons. To get the most out of 44.1, and hence my collection, I bought gear that I think sounds great playing 44.1 and took the time to set it up properly. Voila, excellent sound out of 44.1! I realize this isn’t rocket science, but it worked for me and I don’t see any need to upgrade anything for a long time. FWIW, in the reviews of the gear I have, one theme I’ve noticed is that they often say/imply that the gear I have is like a good utility tool: perhaps not the best at any one thing, but good at most/all the major things that matter. I didn’t buy any one piece because it met this criterion, but since I listen to such a wide variety of music, it’s something that I’ve noticed has paid off. I also made sure to buy components that work well together and to take my time doing so. Two cents for you, Seth

FYI, Wild Flag got a lot of play on Sirius-XMU, the indie rock station on satellite radio, when they released their record. There's also a regular show on the station hosted every Wednesday by a guy (brooklynvegan.com) who has vowed to play a Sleater-Kinney song every episode until they get back together. I have a feeling he might be doing that for a while....

You're moving through the machine faster than I did. Took two months to the day between ordering and arrival. Shipping took most of two weeks so be prepared for that. Mine got held up in customs (not sure if it was here or there) for most of that time. Regardless, the goodies are almost here. I suggest you break out whatever you have that was recorded live. A listen to a lot of bootlegs, and that's what I think sounds the best on the Metrum. Enjoy! -Seth

I'm a big fan of the Wavelength Wavelink converter (USB>SPDIF) plus Metrum Octave DAC that I have. Combined MSRP is right at your budget. FWIW, I listen to a lot of rock, jazz, and electronic. When I was on my upgrade binge recently I listed to several DACs near $1K, and I liked the Bel Canto 1.5 the best. The 2.5 is closer to your price point and includes an upgraded power supply (unless I'm mis-remembering). I heard a Bel Canto 3.5 with Bel Canto amps and Joseph Audio speakers recently that was some of the best audio I've ever heard. From all the research I did, I don't think you can wrong with the Calyx, Bel Canto 2.5/3.5, Ayre QB9, Perfect Wave, or the Metrum. Perfect Wave's software might drive you a bit batty but the gear supposedly sounds great but it was definitely above my wallet's fighting weight. I wanna say that several people said you should without a doubt get the upgraded power supply for the Calyx if you decide to go that way, so keep that in mind when you are thinking costs. Good luck in your quest, Seth

Also meant to say that perhaps the speakers you have are too big for your room since you said they sound better when they are louder and I see that they are floorstanders. I've noticed that my system needs to be pushed a bit before it starts to sound the way I like it. If it's too low, the sound is thin and hollow. Fortunately, the volume that sounds good to me does not sound bad to my upstairs neighbors.

I just upgraded from the system I was able to afford in grad school to the system I can afford today, and I ended up getting the amp/speaker combo I have after listening to many different set-ups and having a "eureka!" moment as soon I heard at the dealer the gear I ended up getting. It's quite possible that what you are hearing out of your upgraded system is the way it's supposed to sound, which is at odds with the sound you are looking for. Having said that, I also second what others above have said about speaker placement. That can easily make or break a system and I would strongly suggest you experiment with speaker set up and possibly other low-cost alternatives (e.g. room treatments) before dropping any more cash. Look at it this way....when I sit on my couch and lean my head a foot forward, I am amazed how much the bass response varies over such a small space. If you get to the point where you want to buy some other equipment, I recommend avoiding Crutchfield only because I think their prices are too high. Excluding the CAPS, every piece in my new system was either a demo, a closeout, or was slightly used (< 3 months). This saved me 25% - 30% on each piece and I got full warranties on the demo/closeouts. Good luck in your quest, -Seth

A few items off of the top of my head: Radiohead -- King of Limbs Tortoise -- TNT Phish -- Every ticket holder is able to download for free excellent sounding audience/soundboard mix in MP3 format. Anyone may buy hi-res versions of the show for a fee. James -- Laid Cowboy Junkies -- Trinity Sessions Morphine -- Cure for Pain Wilco -- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -Seth