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Ears To You

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  1. I have always heard good things about the synergy between Naim and Dynaudio, and the Focus 160 definitely seems like a speaker for me to listen to. Like you, I have also heard very good things about the PMC speakers, particularly the twenty.21, as well as ATC line and their SCM11. I live in NY, but when I visit my family in Seattle, I frequent an audio store there that is a quality, reliable Naim dealer, and they rave about both the PMC and ATC with Naim gear. Which particular model would you consider for your second system?
  2. I beieve that the Teddy 12/2 (12V/2A) power supply for $370 would simply replace the wall wart that comes with the Arcam. The irDAC is 12V/1.5A, but I think the Teddy will supply just the amperage that is needed - up to a max of 2A. You could shoot Teddy an email, as I've found him to be very prompt, friendly, and helpful with any questions I've had. I saw a few threads on various sites about people's experiences with adding a PS to either Arcam rDAC or irDAC. You might have seen these too, but I figured that I would attach one in case you hadn't. They also mention possibly adding a Mark Grant linear PS as an alternative to the Teddy, so maybe that is another option for you? https://www.avforums.com/threads/power-supply-for-arcam-rdac.1543170/ I would definitely encourage you to try the Teddy PS on your XS2, as it really made a sizable, dramatic improvement with mine! I bought mine full price from Teddy, but I've seen them come up periodically on Audiogon and eBay at good used prices, but they are in big demand used and sell within hours of being listed. With the Teddy PS, no periodic, expensive recapping service needed like with the ridiculously expensive Naim PSs. This addition was a much bigger improvement than the one between the TeddyDAC and the irDAC for me. The DAC differences were quite subtle between the Arcam and Teddy, so I'd encourage you to carefully A-B any contenders rather than only relying on others' reviews and experiences, to see what differences you can hear in your specific system. If you can find them used, all the better, and you can simply sell the non-preferred one for pretty much what you paid for it. Crutchfield used to sell the irDAC with a great return policy, but they show it as "no longer available", so perhaps Arcam is coming out with something new? My friend replaced the Teddy with a Naim DAC V1 that he found used for a good price, and he said that they were both simply different flavors, but both enjoyable. His (my) TeddyDAC is not the USB version, and since he was switching over from Cullen-modded Sonos to a Mac Mini, USB was needed. Out of curiosity, what speakers are you using with your system? I have been looking at possible alternatives to my B&Ws, so any suggestions in that arena would be appreciated. Lastly - do you use the headphone output on your XS2, and if you do, do you find it good or acceptable? I ask because my XS2 is the previous 60 watt version (without a headphone output), and I have been thinking about adding an external headphone amp.
  3. The Teddy gave a noticeable improvement in clarity, presence, and a broader soundstage than the irDAC, but not a night and day difference. The Arcam acquitted itself quite well, and even had more bass than the Teddy, but the Teddy just rendered a more musical presentation overall that I preferred. I had a friend who is a professional audio engineer come over to A-B the 2 DACs, and without giving him any clues as to price, appearance of the units, my preferences, etc., he picked out the Teddy repeatedly as the preferable unit, but like me, he felt that the Arcam was not at all bad. A friend from another forum had offered me the Teddy on approval at 1/2 of it's retail, as he had replaced it with a Naim DAC, so when it tested out better, sending him a check for $650 was a no-brainer. Are you thinking of getting a TeddyDAC?
  4. Hi Bear, I would be very interested in hearing your experiences with the Synchro Mesh when you get it. Since my last post, I've called Cullen directly, and they said that the Sonos mod is a bit more comprehensive and therefore more impactful sonically than the Remedy, but as you say, the Remedy allows for more flexibility and it's use with other components that could benefit from a reclocker. I have also replaced the Arcam irDAC I had bought with a Teddy Pardo DAC, and that has made a very pleasant improvement. I am still waiting on the Sonos Cullen mod, as a friend might be moving on from his, and might sell it to me.
  5. You must have gotten quite a charge out of finding this 20 amp circuit, but in order to not gloat about having this, you must remember to stay grounded, and be sure to insulate yourself from harsh criticism.
  6. Hi Audio_Elf, Thank you for the recommendation of the iFi iDSD, as I haven't heard of it before, but will certainly check it out. I did post this same question on the Naim forum last night, but as it was my first, inaugural post on that (and this) forum, it only got posted by the Mods this morning, and hasn't received any answers yet, but the more info I can get, the better. Thx!
  7. Hi, I would like to know if anyone could give me any advice regarding the relative merits of using one of these DACs with an iMac>Sonos Connect>Naim XS2>B&W CM5s? I've demo'd the irDAC in my system, and it did sharpen up the sound nicely, but a Rega was suggested as a better option by a trusted salesperson, and getting it at a S/H price ($650) vs the irDAC price ($700 new - haven't found any used ones) makes them comparable price-wise. I know that the Rega cannot do USB HiRes, and I guess this is one reason that they are reasonably priced used. I've already ripped 1200 of my Jazz, Classical, Blues, classic Rock, etc. CDs into ALAC by iTunes onto my iMac and WD ext. hard drive, and will be getting a NAS drive this week. I intend to either have the Sonos modded by Wyred4Sound or buy the Empirical Audio Synchro Mesh in order to wring whatever sonic improvements I can from this setup, and I will also be buying a TeddyCap for the Naim amp. I don't intend to get into HiRes downloads, so for me, playing through the 1200 CDs in 16/44 res will be fine for me until the HiRes ever comes down in price. I know that there are other streaming options, but the UI of the Sonos is fantastic, and it works well for me. Any suggestions or alternatives would be greatly appreciated!
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