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CaNucklehead

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  1. Chris, some time has passed since this - which i understand was your initial reaction - but has anything changed that makes you feel different now? Especially since your visit with Wimp/Tidal... Like most that ordered I am looking forward to my NY LE player, and am curious how the music store will resonate with folks in October.
  2. Thoughts? Folks in uk not pleased. Did we lose a great dac maker?
  3. I seem to recall before you left for SXSW you wrote that you would be able to listen to a pre-production unit after the interview. I read your interview and am looking forward to what October will bring, but was wondering what test files they had for demo purposes and how they sounded? thx
  4. Thanks all for the responses. I ended up going with the DAC2 HGC from Benchmark. In the end it seemed to be the simplest path for upgrade and I suspect we may see an upgraded Berkeley at some point with both DSD and USB interface built in. I can confirm that HGC noise level is much lower, seems more coherent throughout the spectrum, and most importantly to me, runs cooler. My HDR gets very hot, even in standby, and has a finicky power connection. Can't say I have had too much quality time with the new unit, but listening to Neil Young Archives now and am very happy.
  5. Thanks I will look into this. Can't get the English version of the site to work for some reason...having a good laugh at the google translate version though... Now to find somewhere to hear this.
  6. Hi all, I am on the verge of upgrading my system and would like some feedback from those that have gone before me and pulled the trigger on a new DAC. I have a Benchmark HDR1 that I use as preamp as well as a DAC. I am mostly happy with the DAC and will move it to a bedroom listening station mostly as Headphone amp/DAC. For my main listening room I am considering either the Berkley Alpha DAC 2, the Benchmark 2 HGC, or the Bryston BDA 2 (would need to buy a premap if went this route). Have 2 main questions: 1) would it make sense to go with the Berkley DAC 2 which could serve as both a good quality pre-amp and has stellar all around reviews or go with separate DAC and preamp? 2) of the DSD capable DACs (am aware not much content yet) between the Bryston and the Benchmark which would be more musical? I realize that I will need to hear for myself, however, doing so would require several lengthy trips in opposite directions to hear in person and I am trying to settle on which to visit first. If anyone has gone through a similar process involving these DACs your thoughts would be appreciated. Also, I would have expected more reviews of the Bryston or Benchmark units by now - anyone found any decent reviews? Thanks for your time. Mike
  7. Well I have the upgrade bug again and wondered what you folks thought. I have a Mac Mini >> Benchmark DAC1 HDR >> B&W 804D. Also have Rega RP1 >> Bellari VP130. Have been wondering if I would notice a dramatic improvement with an upgraded pre-amp and have been considering getting a better all around pre-amp with a decent phono input. At the moment I believe that is one area I could improve on. My budget is ~$5K and have been looking at Bryston bp 26 or BAT VK-30 (though am open to other suggestions). I understand sound is very subjective and I will gladly audition before I buy, however, would appreciate help in determining if it is time/$$ well spent and to help narrow the field some. Much appreciated! CaNucklehead
  8. I don't mean to question your knowledge - i am sure that you are probably right - but I took the following from the Apple support website: "The headphone / line output jack accommodates digital optical audio output, analog audio output with a 24-bit, 44.1-192 kHz D/A converter, digital audio output up to 24-bit stereo and 44.1-192 kHz sampling rate and supporting encoded digital audio output (AC3 and DTS). For analog headphone / line output, use a standard audio cable with 3.5mm metal plug. For digital audio, you can use Apple iPhone headset with microphone or a standard TOSLINK cable with a TOSLINK mini-plug adapter." I have tried connecting to the DAC with the Toslink cable and mini adapter and still get a max of 96khz. Is the answer another operating system then (I note you qualified macmini port ouput comment)? I will try and read up on the M2Tech Hiface but want to be sure it will work when/if I get one... thanks again for your response!
  9. Hey all, first thanks to all the savvy folks on this board I recently made the jump to an all digital listening system in my man cave. That's right, Xmas came early for me and I bought new speakers (804s), a used Bryston 4b SST2, a new Mac Mini running OSX 10.6.6, and a Benchmark DAC1 HDR. I have the Mac Mini connected to the Benchmark via USB as well as through the digital out connection (using mini Toslink connector I discovered I needed on this board. Why wouldn't Apple say something about this in their materials!) Ok, so I have everything set up and have recently downloaded some 192khz material from Linn Records in the hopes that all my research (an dough!) weren't for nothing. It sounded fine, however, wasn't sure I was getting 192khz output or if it was being downsampled. I was using Songbird which is supposed to handle this okay, but wanted to be sure. I heard about Audirvana on the site and thought I'd give it a try. When I play the Linn Records test file as well as the full hi res files I purchased the Audirvana player says it is down sampling to 96khz. Have tried playing ripped cd files to FLAC (16/44.1), known 24/88khz files, as well as 24/192khz files. The player seems to change resolutions ok, but won't play my 192khz file in native resolution. Have tried setting resolution in Midi Manager but max allowed is 96khz. Have set up aggregate device over USB and optical out with clock being set by Optical connection (used USB as well to no effect) What gives? Has anyone else had this problem? Is there something on the hardware or the software end that is causing this?? Its Friday night and my wife is on a campout weekend with my daughter so am looking to spend some quality time with the new gear (I know, but at 40+ this is what I'd like to do with my free time forgive me). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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