Picklgreen

I got a response from NAD today regarding the M51 and C510 and this is what they said: Thank you for contacting the NAD Electronics Support Centre regarding the differences between the M51 and C510 DAC's. Please be advised that both units use our DDFA chipset, the differences are the M51 uses high spec components, and different, all virgin alumimum casework.

OK now I'm confused! What is the differences between the NAD M51 & C510!?! The C510 is $600 cheaper so there has to be some pretty big differences. Ill reach out to NAD and see if they can shed some technical insight.

Um the iFI isnt in the same class of DAC as the Arcam or the Rega! Im not looking for a DAC that costs less than the USB cable I would be using to plug it in!!!

Just when I thought I made my decision I have discovered the NAD M51! This thing looks amazing! It is one of the inlt DACS that has HDMI (among the usual compliment of USB, toslink, coaxial) digital input! For the setup I want to use the dac in this is perfect. I guess now the only issue is justifying a $2000 DAC...

Arcam irDac. Little more than the cambride but worlds better sound quality!

Im going to order the Arcam irDac. It has more features I am looking for than the Rega. Meridian has a 2nd version of their Explorer DAC coming out soon also. I'll have to give that a listen also (Ive been a huge Meridian fan ever since I first bought a 508.20 cd player over a decade ago. If you have never listened to a Meridian cd player definitely put it on your bucket list!)

How rich are you? Meridian Prime Power Supply. $1250. Probably the best USB power supply available. And depending on the quality of your dac upgraded power supplies ALWAYS improve the sound. Upgrade your power cables and get a quality AC line conditioner too. My favorite is the Hydra from Shunyata. But be careful. That stuff is expensive!!!

Moon-Audio has the Meridian Explorer on sale for $149. This is cheaper than I paid for a used one off Audiogon! http://www.moon-audio.com/meridian-explorer-usb-digital-to-analog-converter.html

Moon-Audio has a new headphone amp/DAC called the RAL KEB02iP. I believe it comes from South Korea. It sells for $349.99. It seems to be a very capable DAC! It uses the ESS 9018 dac. It is also iphone/iPad certified (it will play hi rez files directly from your iDevice with the usb card reader cable). The other product i've seen that does all this us the ADL X1 and that one sells for over $500. More info at RAL KEB02iP dac headphone amplifier | High End Headphones | Moon-Audio.com If your familiar with this product or know if any posted reviews let me know!

Its time to upgrade my Meridian Explorer dac's and I've narrowed it down to the Arcam irDac or the Rega DAC. Anybody own either of these and can give me your 2¢? I need 2 of them so I may just buy one of each.

iTunes will start selling hi rez files in 2 months. Hopefully they will put hdtracks out of business once and for all!