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I always wanted to stop in their shop but everything is so far out of my price range I've felt guilty asking for an appointment. How was that Del Taco?

@JoeWhip Spectral has fascinated me for 30 years. I'm curious what you think of the preamp and whether you're ever tempted to switch to one of their amplifiers, especially since the company recommends the pairing so strongly. Thanks

My Sennheiser Momentums need to be replaced. I’m hoping for some recommendations: - Bluetooth (latest codecs) - Good isolation - Active noise canceling bothers my ears - Good sound - Microphone for conference phone calls - Under $300. If I can keep it cheap enough I am hoping to swing an Aeon Flow 2 Thank you

When I saw the headline on the home page I immediately thought to myself, "I wonder which is better: EMM, TotalDAC, DCS, or Berkeley." (I'll never be able to hear any of them.) You answered it in the first line. When I sold hi-fi in the 80's, I tried to bring in Meitner. I've always loved his stuff.

Hi AustinPop Thanks for the review. If only I had the budget :). Re: your focus on upstream digital signal, MitchCo outlined approaches to this comparison in articles here a few years back. Would you be interested in a follow up to outline the measurable impact of the components in your upstream digital chain?

@The Computer Audiophile can you share a little more info about the goal of the "out of phase" setup step? Is the idea to find the position where the two speakers cancel each other out as completely as possible? I suppose there might be some trade offs, based on the room, of bass cancellation vs. other frequencies. Is there more to it than that? Thank you

I contacted them about MQA upgrades for the C47. McIntosh replied that they would not. Here is the rationale... Any device that received MQA will send unit to the DAXC as PCM, as happens on all data compression schemes like FLAC and what not. Signals up to 24.96 fully unpack from the playback software in your computer, 24/192 would require a hardware change in the DAC to ‘fully’ unpack. There are not even that many files out there in 24/192 and I guarantee you Tidal is not streaming 24/192 at all. Here is some different information about MQA from a DAC manufacturer: This is from 6 months ago, but still interesting. http://schiit.com/news/news/why-we-wont-be-supporting-mqa

HI Dr. Tone I had a problem with an evaluation C47 in December, 2015. Lots of static and noise on the USB connection. When I asked the dealer about the problem, he said he had an older C47 and that McIntosh was sending a new evaluation unit with the fix in place. We haven't had any problems with the unit we purchased. I notice that it takes a second for the first song to start but there aren't pauses after that - I don't even notice a pause on format/sample rate transitions. I have a Mac Mini and use Roon almost exclusively for playback and occasionally JRiver (version 21). Sorry you've had such a different experience.

I understand his ask and am positing that if you can't measure it using Mitchco's technique, then you can't hear it either. I don't remember a cable review that included measurements - the reviewer wants us to trust their hearing. Nor have I ever seen a review that demonstrated the effects of breaking in a piece of gear. But I would be interested in seeing how they either measured a difference (which in some cases would be real) or waved away the lack of a measurable difference vs. a subjective one. Mitchco's approach actually outputs a difference file - one could literally "hear the difference." Anyone still insisting that there is a bigger difference would have to explain how they're hearing something that literally could not be recorded.

I found this article really interesting in the context of WGScott's question. I doubt that this technique would leave any difference unmeasurable or unquantifiable, within the limits of the digital platform. If I had the money for the gear, I would launch a MythBusters-style video channel testing things like equipment break-in, digital cable differences, USB re-clockers, and various tweaks to quantify the differences they make.

Jud Thanks for a great explanation....

Hi everyone Just reviewing everyone's recommendations. In the end I chose: * https://pentatone.nativedsd.com/albums/ptc5186002mozart-symphonies * https://referencerecordings.nativedsd.com/albums/dvorak-janacek and * https://referencerecordings.nativedsd.com/albums/FR718SACD-beethoven-symphony-no-5-and-no-7 I also discovered that High Def Tape Transfers has DNS problems: * Entering highdeftapetransfers.com into your browser takes you to a disabled Shopify site. * Entering http://www.highdeftapetransfers.com (or navigating via a web search engine) takes you to their site. If anyone from HDTT is reading this thread, please have your network/DNS provider make that adjustment. Thanks for the advice. Scott

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm not a frequent classical music listener but I do like Beethoven, Chopin's polonaises (prefer Pollini to Argerich), and Schubert's cello/piano sonate. Some Rachmaninov (Argerich). I have several Segovia CD's and, if you want to count neo-classical, plenty of Yngwie . So my request is vague because I don't know what I'm looking for besides a recording with a good balance of quality work/interpretation and sound quality. What's the Jazz at the Pawnshop of orchestral DSD downloads? I'll check out some of your recommendations. Thank you Scott

Looking for a really well-done orchestral DSD download. I have most of Beethoven's symphonies and some Schubert but I'm open to just about any composer. Any recommendations?

It can depend on who is listening. But my short list includes in no particular order: * Jazz at the Pawnshop * Paul Simon, The Concert in Central Park * Arpeggione-Sonate & Bridge, Cello Sonata (Rostropowitsch, Britten) [on Decca] * Los Super Seven's Canto * Led Zeppelin How the West Was Won (Going to California in particular) * Nirvana, Unplugged * Norah Jones, Come Away with Me * Diana Krall, The Girl in the Other Room