I just listened to a Nova feeding a pair of ERA D5s at Audio Advice in Raleigh, NC. On the input side I had two configurations: 1. Mac -> USB -> Nova, 2. Mac -> USB -> Proton -> Nova, so the Nova amp was used in both cases. If I settled on the Proton, I was likely going to pair it up with a different amp, obviously. But this comparison allowed me to rule out any affects the amp may have had on the sound.<br />
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I am fairly picky about my audio, much more than the average person, but probably not as much as many on here. My reaction is that the pure Nova configuration sounded much more open, much better sound stage than the Proton. The Proton sounded "muffled" in comparison. I was surprised, I had been expecting the opposite. As a computer person, I was expecting the Proton's DAC to generate "higher resolution audio". BThe differences I noticed varied depending on the music, but overall I strongly preferred the Nova setup (without the Proton). I probably won't be buying anything for another month or two, but right now I am strongly leaning towards just getting the Nova and D5s.
