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  1. Sartorius I was in the same boat with you a few months ago, trying to set up a "family friendly" 2ch solution. I was looking for a simple, one box solution with the minimum of boxes, cables, remotes, that could do Internet radio and I could Airplay the main iTunes Library that resides in a Synology 411 NAS / Mac Mini. Options were Onkyo TX-8050, Marantz M-CR603 and Denon CEOL. Onkyo needed the Onkyo DS-A5 dock to do Airplay, Marantz was a bit over budget... so I got the Denon. I hooked it up with Ethernet Over Powerline, attached an AppleTV and I was good to go. Airplay works flawlessly, Internet radio too, handheld remote is nice, firmware updates works... Denon remote app is nothing to rave about as UI, and sonically... I was pleasantly surprised - speakers are Q Acoustics 2020i. I don't think you will ever need anything more in a kitchen environment.
  2. Same issue here... Exactly as described, with Amarra for Weiss. Audirvana+ has no problems. Music Library stored on a Synology 211 NAS, 2x2T HDs.
  3. After a few HD crashes, I am considering the option of cloud storage for my iTunes Music Folder. The idea is to auto mount a cloud volume on my Mac Mini desktop, copy my 1TB music folder and point iTunes to that volume as Media folder location. I tried Livedrive.com and while it has a straight forward UI, FW external discs are not supported... and my iTunes Library resides in a 2TB external disk. Would value any opinions / experiences from Mac users that they've done that. Thanks for any help.
  4. Congrats for your purchase :-) As a rule, I am still trying to keep music path as simple as possible, eliminating the pre, one more pair of interconnects and one more power cord. That lead me to purchase the HDR and now to the DAC202. Focusing on DAC202 performance as pre, I would say that it's quite remarkable. For me, it's a major step up from my previous HDR. What you describe in your post, is the unique McIntosh sonic footprint… but don't expect to find it in the DAC202 or nowhere else... C2300 excels on instrument separation and air, silky smooth highs and total absense of fatigue, even after many hours of listening on really high levels. DAC202 is a "punchier" version of the same music reality. Sonically, with both pres, the ingredients of a gourmet dish are all there… There will always be the ones that would prefer just a bit more salt, or peper or spice. It's called personal taste… Having said that, right now, the C2300 is on my rack, doing it's magic with the MC501s. Next step would be a tube upgrade / rollover, with Gold Lions and / or Telefunkens VS the stock tubes. Some say that there would be a major sonic upgrade... Can't comment on PMCs as I have never listened to them. Enjoy your music :-)
  5. Well, I still have the C2300. I haven't make up my mind yet. C2300, contrary to the perception of what a tube pre should do to the sound, is quiet - and I mean dead quiet - smooth and revealling, without adding any euphonic distrotions or "syrup" to the sound. Well - perhaps is hard to believe - but what I miss with the DAC202 as a pre, is the c2300 superior detail and air around instruments. DAC202 adds slightly more body to the mid-lows, which sometimes, might be quite welcome. BTW, I use the same Oyaide FW cable and I have auditioned 8TC and 12TC as well and I liked them a lot. If you could do with some more detail / air, you might try the dirt cheap Gotham GAC2 XLR ICs. Good luck to your search. George
  6. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. DAC202 - set to 4.5 output attenuation - driving direct the 501s, and DAC202 - with volume control disabled - to C2300 to MC501s. They do not sound identical, but it's not a "better" or "worst" sound issue here... like I could say that DAC202 is BETTER - to my ears, to my space, on same system - than the Bench HDR. In short, I would live happily with both setups :-)
  7. Can't comment on DAC2 analogue out, but I use the DAC202 direct to McIntosh MC501 power amps. Soundwise, it's a quite nice upgrade over my previous DAC1 HDR. Not a hint of "digital" or lean sound... no fatigue at all. DAC202 alalogue out is on the same level as my McIntosh C2300 tube pre... There are some differences, but these are up to personal taste and the synergy of your speakers and your listening space. If you can live without the facilities of let's say a Mc pre - tone controls, remote on/off switching of power amp, or another pair of blue eys :-) - you should try to audition it in your system.
  8. Many thanks for posting your impressions. I am considering Ref 7 + Halide Bridge BNC as an upgrade option over my HDR. I await your update of Ref 7 - after the break in period - vs Prism, with great interest.
  9. Everything understood. Thanks for your detailed reply. As i see from your setup, you use LIO to drive the JC-1s. No preamp. As i intent to do the same, is there anything to consider? My amps are W4S SX1000s.
  10. I don't think there's something like a motorized volume knob on LIO with a remote control, so any iPhone/iPad apps would be fine, as long as they control LIO-8 volume and not iTunes. As there isn't an IR sensor on LIO, hardware generic "learning" remotes cannot be used. So only software wifi remotes can be made to work. That's why i found your post very interesting. If i understand correctly, there is a volume "knob" in MIO panel, resembling something like a Contour Design Shuttle Express. So, you mapp -through Sofa Control scripts- the up and down buttons of the Apple Remote, to buttons on that MIO volume "knob". I suppose SofaControl app should be open along iTunes for this to work. Don't know if this works with Pure Music or Amarra, or only with iTunes. That MIO volume works in analog or digital domain? Does MIO or SofaControl should be on the foreground? Excuse my expressions, as English is not my native language. And, yes, I do love those... other things in Modena :-)
  11. First post here, though i read CA since it's early days. I am considering LIO-8 as next upgrade step over my Benchmark HDR. The idea is to use LIO-8 with no preamp, feeding direct my power amps. I don't need input switching, as my only source is a Mac Mini, but i do need remote volume control, in the analog domain, keeping iTunes volume @ max. In this thread, I found only Bob Stern's post for using sofa control with Apple Remote. Are there any other suggestions? Thanks for any input George
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