danielaparker

I can't comment, since I've only heard it with CD and USB input, about a year ago. I would suggest reading Robert Harley's review of the SA-50 in http://www.avguide.com/buyers-guide/the-absolute-soundhi-fi-guide-disc-players-dacs-music-servers. Compare with Chris' review of the D-07 (I believe the DACs are similar.) Do you have the opportunity for auditioning? -- Daniel

As a former owner of an Esoteric X-03SE, and someone who very much appreciates the Esoteric sound, I would strongly recommend against the SA-50, particularly if you plan to listen to it through USB. When I auditioned it, listening through USB input didn't sound good at all. Robert Harley also makes this crystal clear in his review in The Absolute Sound - "My only reservation about the SA-50 is that the sound through the USB input doesn’t begin to suggest the full quality of which the SA-50’s outstanding DACs are capable...." Chris makes a similar point, albeit more ambiguously expressed, in his review of the related DAC-07 - "I see the D-07 DAC as Esoteric's half-hearted attempt to enter the USB DAC market. Between the misleading manual, the mediocre USB implementation, and the unsatisfactory sound quality it appears as though computer audio was an afterthought to Esoteric." I mean, "appears as"? What's he saying? -- Daniel

Shortly after Chris posted the CAPS article, I purchased the parts, but then never used them, I ended up getting a MBP+Int202 instead. If anyone's interested, I would be happy to send them all, except the SSD and Win 7, for the cost of shipping. If anyone's interested, you can send me a message through my user account. -- Daniel

Re "I wouldn't call it crap, just off topic :~)"<br /> <br /> On the contrary, I would say largely on topic, as the issue is whether the D-07 would have sounded better through a preamp. I don't see a problem with being reminded that there are differing views about this. But it would be interesting if Chris tried both and reported back.<br /> <br /> -- Daniel

Regarding<br /> <br /> PC DACS: www.usbdacs.com/Products/Products.html,<br /> Benchmark, www.sweetwater.com/c796--AD_DA_Converters?gclid=CJm24_67v6QCFdVb2godTwu31Q, Berkeley, etc.<br /> <br /> Audiophile DACS: www.dcsltd.co.uk/product/debussy-dac<br /> ...www.dcsltd.co.uk/product/scarlatti-dac ....MBL, Esoteric, etc.<br /> <br /> I don't think this classification makes any sense at all. <br /> <br /> As for your first list, Absolute Sound's Robert Harley recently suggested to a reader that "the ultimate system, in my view, would be the new one-box Meridian Sooloos music server ... and a Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC...the new Sooloos is $7500 in the US and the Alpha DAC is $5000." Presumably RH, who has lived with and praised the Berkeley for a while, knows something about audiophile grade equipment. <br /> <br /> The $2750 Ayre Acoustics QB-9 USB dac is a Stereophile Class A+ recommended component. Presumably they like it.<br /> <br /> As for your second list, from experience, I would dispute that the dCS Scarlatti requires a long break in time to sound very good indeed. <br /> <br /> Absolute Sound's Alan Taffel recently commented that "I heard the Debussy at CES and was sufficiently impressed to request a sample for review. At the show, the DAC's asynchronous USB interface came closer to matching good S/PDIF ... than I have ever heard. " Presumably it sounded good without a lot of break in.<br /> <br /> And incidentally, calling the D-07 an "ultra high end digital audio device" is a bit of a stretch, it's Esoteric's entry level dac, and less expensive than the Berkeley. Chris has reviewed significantly higher level products on this site, so presumably is familiar therewith.<br /> <br /> -- Daniel

Oh god, it looks like Chris will never become a professional reviewer. This is how it should be done, from Absolute Sound pro Robert Harley describing Esoteric's entry level SA-50, a disc player/DAC with a USB interface (which to my ear sounds worse than the D-07's),<br /> <br /> "The SA-50 is packed with sophisticated technology ... The SA-50’s most salient characteristic was a palpability and immediacy in the midrange ... The soundstage was the antithesis of thick, confused, or opaque. ...My only reservation about the SA-50 is that the sound through the USB input doesn’t begin to suggest the full quality of which the SA-50’s outstanding DACs are capable... <br /> <br /> With that minor caveat, I can enthusiastically recommend the Esoteric SA-50—the Swiss Army Knife of the digital age."<br /> <br /> -- Daniel<br /> <br />

I also have the Drobo FS, but with four Seagate Constellation ES 2 TB drives, and I don't find it quiet, not at all, I won't want it anywhere near my listening area. I keep a copy of my downloaded music on a 2T Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex driver, which really is dead quiet, and which I have on my rack. -- Daniel

Chris, I'd be very interested in your comments on whether the firewire cable makes any difference to the sound. My dealer wanted to sell me a Siltech classic for $1200, Daniel Weiss recommended an inexpensive cable. I went with a $35 Belkin cable from the Apple store. -- Daniel

I had a 2T Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex sitting on my desktop for a month, as a Time Machine backup disk, and it was easily as quiet as my MBP SSD, which is pretty quiet. It has since moved to the rack in my listening room. I'm very pleased with it. I connect through USB, but you can order it with a FireWire 800/USB 2.0 adapter, which Seagate says is up to 2x faster than USB 2.0. It comes in 1T, 2T, and 3T sizes. -- Daniel

You might want to check<br /> <br /> http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?p=1127178#post1127178<br /> <br /> -- Daniel

newegg has seven user ratings for the DS410, generally very good (4-5), but reviewers still complain that the fans are noisy. DS410 User Reviews Curiously, the newer DS710+ has more user complaints about heat and noise. DS710+ User Reviews -- Daniel

Sorry, I should have read the error message before posting :-( It works fine when configured to write to the Windows virtual disk. -- Daniel

Has anyone gotten dbpoweramp to work on a MacBook Pro with vmware, running Windows 7 64bit? I'm getting errors attempting to rip a CD, e.g. Error ripping to FLAC, 'Track 1' to '\vmware-hostShared FoldersMusicRighteous Brothers, TheUnchained MelodiesRighteous Brothers, The - 01 - Unchained Melody.flac' Thanks! Daniel

Hi Chris, Of these options for nas, which would you say is the quietist? Thanks, Daniel

rydenfan, In my auditions, the D-07 sounded much better than the SA-50 via USB input, to be honest, I didn't really care for the SA-50. Don't know for sure, but I think the D-07 has a better USB interface. While good on its own, the G-03X external clock lifted the sound higher. The external clock made a bigger difference to USB input to D-07 than to P-05 transport to D-07. -- Daniel