InnerGroove

How many words are necessary to not come across as rude?

Ayre has the DX-5.

Pot, Kettle. Kettle, Pot.

Why quote the US census when the reality is that vast majority of people don't know about DACs, let alone ones that are in this class? High-quality audio is a niche market, and like any niche market, many products will carry a higher price tag to cover R&D, better quality materials, low production numbers, specialty distribution, etc, etc. Because of this, it's easy to just look at a price tag as dismiss it as catering to the wealthy, but the reality is that many people that buy these products aren't necessarily wealthy, they just have different priorities than many others. Case in point, last week I saw a client loading a pair of $6k speakers in to a 10+ year old econo car with bondo covering the majority of one side. Wealthy? No, but engaging music was more important to him than rollin' in a shiny-new car.

Unlike the outgoing model, it's able to simultaneously broadcast at 2.4 and 5GHz. The (unanswered, I think) question that's relevant here is the sample rate of the optical output - is it 44.1 or 48?

There is a pretty noticeable difference between the two; I would agree with Snowman's assessment that the M2 has more presence - while both can drive the hell out of speakers, the M2 is more fleshed-out and has a more authoritative weight. I also think that the M2 is better on the top end - on particularly resolving and/or forward speakers, the 390 is more fatiguing. Both are very legitimate choices in their respective categories, but make no mistake that they are in different categories.

I have a Xerxes with modified Rega OEM arm. Currently delving deeper in to digital, but skeptical that it'll ever replace my 'table.

I had a similar problem with an AirportExpress when switching DACs - I'm assuming that the newer DAC couldn't cope with the jitter, but can't say for sure (PeachTree does have some products with two optical inputs, and this is evidently a factor - one input is better able to deal with higher jitter sources, or so I've been lead to believe). In any event, updating the firmware on the AE, which had also been trouble-free for two years, eliminated the problem - don't know if this would apply to the ATV, but it might be worth looking in to. It's unfortunate that the M2 doesn't have the modular expansion slots - taking audio off of HDMI is one of the more compelling features of the newer NAD products...

I would count Box and HRS as the best sounding racks that I've heard (and I've dealt with a fair number), with the most notable improvements in the focus and timbre/texture. I will, however, say that I would rather have two single-wides side-by-side rather than the double-wide without center pillars or even a special order double with center pillars. Oh, another thing that you may or may not be aware of is that Box is next door to DeVore Fidelity, and John DeVore chipped in more than his two cents when it came to the tuning of these pieces. Now for the disclaimer - I used to work for a retailer that sold Box. I know Anthony and, while I wouldn't go so far as to say he's a chum, I do think that he's a really, really good guy. He's done some custom and off-the-rack (ha) work for some of my demanding clients, and they've had nothing but good things to say about their pieces.