jankers1

What goldsdad says makes perfect sense. When the 300D was being fed by the v-link, it did sound wonderful and my software player (pure music) showed that the correct sample rate was playing - be it 44.1K, 88.2K, or 96K (didn't have any 48K music). It was just the 300D indicator light which was in error. I got the SOtM converter because to my ears it sounded as good or better than the v-link in my system and also supported 176.4K and 192K. Perhaps silly, but I really like the sample rate indicator lights. Being an engineer, they have to be correct otherwise I go nuts even though I know it is just cosmetic.

Per Audio_Elf's comment "Once you get beyond a single source active speakers loose their appeal in terms of avoiding boxes." This is true for most active speakers. The AVI ADM 9's have an analog input along with two toslink digital inputs and make for a simple system with very few "boxes". This came in handy for me as my wife likes handling CD's and I prefer streaming.

My favorite CD of Mozart's Requiem is the one recorded on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death live in Vienna. It's a live recording by London records and is very nicely done and beautifully sung by Auger, Bartoli, Cole and Pape and conducted by Georg Solti. Here is a link on amazon; http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Requiem-Augér-Bartoli-Solti/dp/B0000041ZS

Seeing as the V-link didn't appear to play well with my Simaudio 300D, I tried out a SoTM dX-USB-HD and it works perfectly with the Simaudio. Granted it's more expensive than the V-Link, but it does the higher rates (all the way through 192) and sounds very nice. I feel I must state again that the V-link works fine with other DAC's that I have. It is just the combination of the V-link and the Simaudio 300D that has issues.

I have a Simaudio 300D and have experienced this exact same issue (stuck at 48Khz) with the V-Link as well. I had a Grace m902 DAC lying around so I tried the V-Link with it. The V-Link going to the Grace m902 via SPDIF or Toslink followed the sample rate changes without issue. I then checked on the 300D using a mini-Toslink to Toslink cable directly from my Macbook. In this case the 300D followed the sample rate changes perfectly. I surmised that it is an issue between the V-Link and the 300D since each independently seemed to work fine but didn't play well together.

I realized I hadn't clarified point 5 from the original post in my first response. 5. Ability to connect to 3.5mm minijack AUX-in on car stereo. The Sonore MVP does have a 3.5mm analog out. It sounded fine, but I preferred using a USB DAC and I had a few lying around so I went that route.

I don't know if Jesus (vortecjr on this site) sells the MVP any more but I bought one about a year ago and love it. I live in South Florida so having a music server that can handle heat was important. The MVP always works perfectly and sounds great. It has a 1-tb hardrive, is silent, and has wireless so I control it from an iPod in my car. I must add that Jesus and Simple Design are great to work with. You hear that a lot on this site and I completely concur. Top notch in every way. In my car, the MVP feeds a NuForce Icon uDac2. I've used a Wavelength Proton DAC which sounds even better but couldn't justify a $900 DAC in a harsh car environment. The NuForce works very well and is only $129. I'm very pleased with the sound and the convenience is great.

I have a Sonore signature system (USB->Wavelength Proton DAC) and absolutely love it. In reading all the goings on with the Lion OS upgrades etc. I rest peacefully at night knowing I can safely ignore this mess and just enjoy my music. BTW I'm in no way affiliated with Sonore, just a happy customer.

I used Sample Manager to down-sample and change the bit rate. It is not free ($79 if memory serves me correctly), but it works well, has an intuitive interface and uses the iZotope engine. SOX worked well for me too but I found myself spending more time fiddling with batch files since I was too impatient to try to figure out all of SOX's options.

I've had the DS1200 for several years and love it. Clean, clear, quick and fills out the bottom end of classical and jazz recordings beautifully. I can't comment on other music types as classical and jazz is all I listen to. The DS1200 in 2 cu. ft. outperformed my NHT1259 in a custom 3.5 cu. ft. enclosure (old school folks should remember that sub driver) by a wide margin in depth, fullness, clarity, volume, and speed. I've recently ordered the DS1500 for HT use in a larger room.

From what I understand, the iPad camera connection kit may work with the newer Devilsound DAC. I believe the "IPAD digital out" thread on this site mentioned that this configuration worked for one of the contributors. If it does work, you could connect directly into your head unit via Devilsound RCA's. I have ordered the Devilsound DAC and am looking to get my iPad in a few weeks. Provided the setup works (not sure if the iPad can source the current needed for the Devilsound) I will be comparing it against my McIntosh MX4000/MDA4000 combo using the MX4000 as the head unit/preamp and the Devilsound DAC instead of the MDA4000 DAC (MDA4000 has proprietary optical inputs). It's a pretty high bar as the MDA4000 is a highly regarded car DAC. I'll update this thread with my observations in a few weeks (provided all works out). If it doesn't, I have many uses for the Devilsound and the iPad so I won't be too sad.