h.rav

I'm looking to upgrade to a Freya from a Saga. Has anyone experienced better sound quality stepping up from Saga to Freya?

@Lee Scoggins Is MQA Ltd. one of Accenture's customers? Are you consulting for them? Your posts are mostly related to MQA. On a personal note, clearly, MQA is all about DRM. There is nothing more to argue about this.

@Corvo I live in a 230V country and I have no problem at all with hum. I do have a dedicated line. My guess it's your AC line.

Great video, keep it up Chris!

Just got the mINT, I think this little unit sounds fine for the size. I mean it is really small compared to my other audio gear. It does a great job driving my speakers but then again, my speakers only need 70w. I think people who value simplicity - everything in one box and small foot print will definitely love the mINT. The headphone amp section is also very good, comparable to CEntrance DACport which is an excellent headphone amp.

REShaman, does the DAC-2 DSDse accept regular PCM 24/192? Do I need to install a driver on my Mac? I can't find any info about it, maybe I'm missing something. I'm contemplating on upgrading my DAC-2.

Not a fan of Conductor. It sounds raspy and the stepped attenuator is awful. The DAC is also not very good.

I had Gungnir for a week. Compared to my W4S DAC-2, it sound more well rounded, a bit more musical. Now, I find the DAC-2 is a a bit forward sounding. I like the USB input, it doesn't sound any worse than coax. It actually sounds bettter than coax.

Priscilla Ahn - A Good Day

The 1813+ fan is quiet, some might like that. Even on cool mode, it's still quiet.

I cannot hear any difference. I'm only using properly shielded USB cables, not some cheapos. And I have dedicated power line for audio.

I would just get HD650 or HD600 with DACport. That's more than sufficient.

The last thing I want to spend really big is on a DAC. Technology, especially digital and the more recent example, USB DAC evolves very rapidly. A few years ago, there were very few elegant USB DAC solutions. Now, they are coming like water. I think well designed DACs have their place, superb output stage and SPDIF input have been mastered for many years by reputable DAC designers. Sure, I want a modern most-bang-for-the-buck DAC. But choosing one isn't that easy. Tons of live listening sessions should be done and sometimes, even after careful planning and setup, it still does not sound the way I want it to sound like. My criteria for buying one: 1. Excellent SPDIF input stage 2. Excellent output stage 3. Upgradable and it won't cost a ton, I'm kinda like the way Schiit Audio offers upgrades. That's one example. 4. User upgradable. I want it to be completely plug and play, again, I like Schiit's design cues. I don't want the thing to be too complicated to open and I don't want it to leave the house 5. User friendly. Not a lot of DACs are user friendly. Even some of the most expensive ones are quite confusing to operate. 6. Excellent Hi-Res driverless USB input. Kinda like Wavelength's.

The app looks great, thanks Chris!

cans: Grado RS1i, Sennheiser IE8 amp: CEntrance DACport