deanda

I just wanted to post that the quality of the music and recordings from blue coast is pretty incredible. I have only downloaded hi res non-dsd, but easily ranks w/ the best high res downloads out there. The version of we bid you goodnight by kieth greeninger is pretty remarkable.

Has anyone seen this review ? If so, what did they think of it ?

Great disucssion. Here is a bit of a recap on the disucssion flow that was on-topic per the original post: lot's of discs sitting in dark corners; I like Chris's and a few others system of keeping recently ripped discs nearby to peruse as needed and then they wil sort of migrate to the box in the attic over time - this is hwat i typically do; ripping and then selling the disucss is a no-no a lot of back-and-forth on if acutally keepng the disks around as a "back up" is really needed. My two cents is no - mutliple back-ups in seperate drives is easy and cheap. Concept of some better ripping technology that would create an opportuntiy to re-rep to improve quality? perhaps...

Wanted to inquire what other folks are doing with CDs after ripping discs. Let's assume we are not worried about actually having to keep discs around as a back-up of the ripped files. Do most folks keep them in the listening room to look up, on occasion, lyrics, liner notes, etc. Are they collecting dust in dark attics. Do folks sell the lot to help feed the upgrade habit. Do tell ......

I just purchased one in US fro $4,995.

It has tubes in output stage and also in the impout stage for s/pdif

I did a long search for a DAC that has: - high quality gain/preamp section; analogue; - analogue inputs with ability to have HT bypass - non compromise, audiophile sound - asynch USB (properly engineered) Only one of all the DACs i listed to (a bunch) fit the bill - AMR. It also has a very interesting bifurcation to optimize red book and hi-Res files - actually two sepreate DACs. Mine get delivered in a couple of weeks. I would encourage hgihly to take a listen

Interesting. Very differnet from what i have heard - paired with a high power ss amp and very revealing speakers (bel canto mono blocks and the new Totem metals) the sound from teh AMR was very dynamic, from a dead black background and super sound stage (wide) and imaging. Would be interested to know what amps they were using.

badwisdom: could you let us know where you read the reviews. i have been waiting for a good review(s) of the dp-777 but have not seen any on-line or in print.

also on the analogue inputs, it can be set to a Home theater by-pass : From dp-777 manual Bypass: DP-777 is a standalone Digital-to Analogue Convertor (with the AVC bypassed). Please note that if the DP-777 is set up to use the AVC, it will automatically switch to “Bypass” mode if the volume is set to 0dB or “Byp” (ie: FULL volume). this for me is a key attribute as it allows me toi have my 2 channel gear and HT (TV, a/v processor) trully "un-linked"

Thnaks Brian. I would be very interested in hearing aobut the HP touchscreen. the CAV server is Microsoft Win7 operating system and i will use JRiver --> wil be headless with Jriver operated via iPad (VPN). The servier wil have the video out so a touchscreen is definately an option.

Brian: Have you been runing the DP-777 through parasound amps ? I am taking delivery of a DP-777 within the month. I will be using it with a custom built server from Command performace AV --> wireworld silver usb --> DP-777 --> Parasound JC-1s --> Dynaudio C2. So, eager to get a preview ....

Sort of surprised no one has mentioned this one. Ridiculous build quality, very sophisticated DAC implementation, tube output and great analogue volume control/pare amp. Also, HT bypass. Sound is truly incredible.

The gui interface is excellent and very, very quick - I would say quicker than the soolooos and much, much quicker than the Qsonix. Display that shows band, song and bits, etc. also, can be swithced to show a very cool looking analogue style meter - I think measuring some sort of dynamic range ???; I would say the interface absolutely lets you search, set up preferences, play lists, etc. I know it sorted by type of music (pop, classical, etc) but not sure how powerful on other filtering (I would dsay the sooloos is better on that); I am actually going to call the distributor today to discuss the hard drive stuff. It was lightning fast and silent. Basically, from what I understand, there is some proprietary technology in terms of operating software that allows the hdd to "sleep". Not sure how it works. When I was using it, I was clicking on new songs and placing them in the que and then playing them with no apparent delay. I think - in general - the sooloos has a better gui for detailed filtering, but the aurender was easier to use, incredibly intuitive and the sound was something pretty awesome (the rest of the equipment was top nothch also). As another endoresemnet, I understand Jeff Josephp (of Joseph speaklers) who has always used a very tricked out mac for a server, had his room set-up with the aurender at RMAF. After the show, he thoguht it was so good he intended to buy one.

I had the opportunity to listen to the aurender today at Command Performance AV in northern Virginia. Jeff fox, the proprietor, is a retailer who is carrying the aurender.. That in itself is a huge endorsement of the device as Jeff is a serious computer audiophile who designs and builds top notch servers and power supplies. In short, the aurender is fantastic. Sound quality is absolutely top notch, gui on their iPad app is great and build quality is over the top. After getting more details on the internal components, system integration (with home audio network) and listening to it for a while I have found it to be far superior to other "one box solutions" (e.g. Sooloos, qsonix). You would need to have a very serious, "purpose built" computer based server (with serious, external power supplies) to meet this sound quality. Listening was done through amr dp-777 and bel canto 3.5vb. Both were great, but I found the amr to be superior in the relatively short (2 hr) session. It is incredibly musical and let's the user select among some pretty useful filters/up sampling regimes. Also, tubes and high quality analogue volume control and 2 analogue inputs makes it a high end pre amp as well.