AudioBear

We have the d1-tube-mk2 DAC & d1-server and I concur. Against, say a well sorted DIY Twisted Pear Buffallo II DAC with HD Power supplies and Legato output, the TotalDAC has perhaps has a bit less slam? However, I was never sure how much of that slam was real. When I try and compare to an orchestra live, then the TotalDAC seems much more like the real thing. I guess it is system dependant and of course what you expect from your music, but for me the TotalDAC is something special.

Hi SwissBear, AudioBear here ;-) We are lucky to have both the TotalDAC d1-server & d1-tube-mk2 DAC, so I don't think you will be disappointed! We had the DAC on demo, then visited Vincent (TotalDAC) in France last summer (we were there on business/holiday) and also bought the d1-server. Many systems play music, some do it very well, but in my experience not many let you get into the very soul of the music. The TotalDAC does just that, no barriers, no listener fatigue. Whilst it may not be as initially as impressing as some, it rewards with such subtlety and pleasure, it just keeps you coming back for more! They have been playing music here pretty much every day since they arrived, 6hr+ a day, nuff said.

Somewhat late in replying, a busy Christmas, so apologies. I downloaded the Chopin Polish Songs, not something I was very familiar with previously, hence my choice. And what a pleasant surprise it has been, some fine singing by Iwona Sobotka with Ángel Cabrera on the piano. The recording has a very pleasant natural feel to it, with good sound and dynamics. Now although some have said it is too quiet, I think it is just fine, the levels allow proper dynamic range and there is always the volume control on your HiFi. Thanks to Mario Martinez & all those at PlayClassics for allowing us to experience their recordings, it has been a pleasure and I will certainly be buying more.

There are now four EC albums 24/192 on Qobuz, any body had a chance to hear them and compare to the UK CD's? My Aim Is True This Year's Model Goodbye Cruel World Taking Liberties

Is this the same as the Onkyo HF player?

In answer to my own question and thanks to puremail on the Apple forum "Downloading and installing the alternative Candelair Controller Driver helps to solve the problem. Under System Preferences you will find a new icon to configure the IR receiver." https://www.iospirit.com/labs/candelair/

Mmmm, everything seems to play OK on my Mac Mini with the new OS, not sure on sound yet. But now my Apple remote control will not work and there is no option at all under 'Security & Privacy / General / Advanced' for any infra-red stuff, but these are available on my iMac? Anyone any ideas?

Anyone else have these problems? 1. Audirvana does not seem to import/sync files with the DFF extension [DSD128]. Odd since in integrated mode they play just fine from iTunes and show the correct data. 2. Also having problems including DSD files in a smart playlist with Album/is/xxxx. Any ideas?

Whilst I'd like to thank Damien, sadly I won't be upgrading to A+. It's not because of any metadata issues, although having some form of 'compilation' tag might help when you can sort by artist, rather it is the sound quality. I've got a Buffalo/Legato Dac with the latest PS's fed from a 2013 Mac Mini via USB/WaveIO into 300B monoblocks and Beauhorn loudspeakers. A system not known for it's stridency but A+ really does not do it for me, too harsh, shallow/narrow? So back to v1.5.12.6, I prefer the 1.5.10 version but it's not as stable as I'd like. A different system might be better with A+ as might an OS upgrade, but for me, for now, no.

I've not tried transformer output but I do think the v3 Tridents make quite a big difference with the Legato 3.1, especially in terms of grain and bass dynamics. I also think that a good PS for the WaveIO does make a nice difference :-) To be honest I like it so much, I've not even bothered to fit the Arduino and white LCD screen for my DAC, even though the box is cut for it! The screen hole is currently filled with a bit of a Fairy Liquid Tab Capsule box and has been since last Christmas ;-)

wwaldmanfan I'm on OSX 10.8.4 / iTunes 11.0.4 (4) Now fixed after reboot I was asked to install SysOptimizer (don't remember this before) and this install routine did not appear on my main music Mac? Now works. Now to get down to some serious listening...

OK I have go to the bottom of this, after reboot this morning I was asked to install SysOptimizer (don't remember this before) and this install routine did not appear on my main music Mac? Anyway, this option now works and does not hang playback, apologies if I did not see this install pop-up before.

Sadly in 1.5.4, setting SysOptimizer hangs playback with 'Optimizing system for audio....' on main screen. Un-tick and it works.

Mac Software Clean up for Audirvana Plus Direct Mode Beta OK, this may not work for you but this is what I did for Audirvana Plus Beta 1.3.9.9, which did not work very well before I did this but it does now ;-) Setup: MacMini is mid 2011 with HDMI, a standard internal HD for OS and external Firewire drive for music, 8GB memory. OS is Mountain Lion 10.8.1, iTunes 10.7. DAC is diy WaveIO USB board connected via i2S to a somewhat modified Twisted Pear (TP) originated (Sabre32) and output boards, then straight into a pair Terraplane 300B SE Monoblock valve amps into Beauhorn loudspeakers. Direct/Integer Mode is supported for this DAC and I do not up-sample (the DAC does). Take a backup of your Mac Make a note of all your Audirvana settings as they will be deleted and you will need to redo them. Make sure you have a copy of your Audirvana license file as this will be removed from you copy and you will need to put it back. Close Audirvana Plus Beta and delete/remove the Audirvana plist and cache files and folders (varies on each OS), on ML I’m seeing a file: /Users/your_userid/Library/Preferences/com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus.plist And two folders: /Users/your_userid/Library/Application\ Support/Audirvana /Users/your_userid/Library/Caches/com.audirvana.Audirvana-Plus [*]Next download and install the appropriate version of ONYX for your Mac OS, in my case 2.6.1 for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Donate these good people some money for their hard work. (No relation - just grateful.) [*]Run it and and SMART check your drive and then Verify it (This can take some time and closes other processes.) [*]Assuming all is OK and you don’t have to do any repairs: Under the Maintenance/Scripts tab tick them all and then Execute. Under Maintenance/Rebuild tick LaunchServices and dyld’s shared cache and then Execute - DO NOT Shut Down or Reboot when finished, just Close. Under Cleaning/System tick them all and then Execute - again DO NOT Shut Down or Reboot when it is finished, just Close. Under Cleaning/User tick them all (Except International Preferences and ColorSync ) and then Execute - again DO NOT Shut Down or Reboot when it is finished, just Close. Under Cleaning/User tick them all (Except Apple Software Update Log and Any other logs you wish to keep - I ticked the rest ) and then Execute - this time select Reboot when it is finished. [*]When you are back up and running, it can take some time, restart Audirvana, select your licence file and re-do your settings. Hopefully Audirvana will be OK, good luck.

Oddly enough I have the same problem with 1.3.9.9, strange... Initially I had problems getting 1.3.9.9 to work with odd stops and the like but after a bit of a software clean up (I'll try and post what I did later.), it seems to be working quite well now. Two days and counting and no crashes with 16/44 to 24/192 music playing. Fingers crossed... however the sound does not seem quite as good (small I think) as some previous versions of the Beta have been, but I know Damien is working on that ;-)