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redxiii

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  1. I seem to be only able to find it there.. But I didn't really have time to do a lot of googling and I couldn't even wait for a 15% promo code to come along! Just went straight to check out. FYI Jacqueline du Pre's 1965 recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto is there too if it interests you. It did me. Oh MTT's mahler's 9th is very very good too! As is the rest of his Mahler's cycle, but I'm sure you knew that already. So, I'm sorry I can't be more specific than it's my favourite. Perhaps it's the difference in phrasing, the Berlin Philharmonic's playing, the pacing, but it just feels the most right out of the maybe 10 9th symphonies I have.
  2. This is my favouritest Mahler's ninth EVER. Recorded in 1964 and remastered now in hi-res! Anybody else as excited as I am? Listening to it now as I type! Lower noise floor and richer sounding but I wonder if that's just due to the remastering rather than the hi-res?
  3. Why so quick to judge? http://www.exasound.com/e18DAC/Features.aspx Seventeen Power Sources - Channel Crosstalk and Jitter Reduction The e18 DAC uses seventeen independent internal power sources to further minimize noise, jitter and channel crosstalk. The digital subsystem is powered independently and it is isolated galvanically from the rest of the board. The reference voltage sources used for the DAC outputs have less then 2uVRMS noise in the audio frequency range. Sounds pretty fancy no?
  4. That's exactly what it does. It is thus hyped because currently most of the other equipment able to do that (digital output from an ipod/phone) are chunky home hi-fi components. "The Cypher Labs AlgoRhythm Solo streams bit-perfect digital audio from Apple iPad™, iPhone® or iPod® device to output devices such as headphones and powered speakers, using full-speed Apple connected USB Audio for superior audio quality" It offers a coaxial out as well as a line-out (through it's DAC, which is a Wolfson WM8716) No thanks though. Line-out means you need a portable amp. Coaxial means you need a coaxial cable AND a dac/amp or dac and amp. Too many things to carry around.
  5. " This is HIFIDIY develop new USB DAC. The USB interface into the PCM2707, and then directly through I2S input to PCM1798. " from the website compared to " I am very curious to get your feeling about a DAC that cost 35USD and... that looks fantastic! " from the above post I can imagine both coming from the same person. CA-ers really do have a nose for sellers in disguise huh?
  6. Yes and it will function as a headphone amp or volume control via it's balanced/unbalanced outs.
  7. Centrance Dacmini would be my top choice under $1k. Doesn't go up to 192khz (only 96) and uses a different usb solution than the asynchronous but otherwise it's a fantastic solution for a mac mini. No personal experience but have read so many good things said about it. I doubt anyone needs 192khz. If you're gonna be hearing any difference it will be between any of the 88 96 or 192 and redbook but not significantly between any of the hi-res if they are all mastered properly. And most albums that are out in 176 or 192 will be available in 88 or 96 anyway.
  8. Quote from their website: Today, we proudly unveil the m903, which is simply the most refined and feature rich headphone amp, DAC and compact monitor controller available. Separated by commas and it would be difficult to decide which it most primarily is I guess. But the other 2 are DACs primarily for sure.
  9. Yup think it's a good idea to try out those 2 as well. The Anedio and Wyred4sound dac2. I recall the W4S is the same if not cheaper than the GD m903 and it seemed quite impressive.
  10. Nope. If you have to feed it into an integrated you'll have to struggle with 2 volume controls and decide what you wanna do with each.
  11. I don't listen to internet radio but how I guess youtube is similar? Haha when I watch something on youtube the sound quality is secondary and I don't really bother with sound quality as much. It's more of a psychological thing and I have enjoyed listening to the music as well but if you ask for my opinion, I'd say as long as you're using a decent dac and amp out of the PC you would definitely notice a difference and whether that bugs you is up to the individual. It is quite revealing of recording quality but it doesn't affect me from enjoying the music although I would still have to label it as "critical". I'm not familiar with Harbeth speakers but as far as I know they have quite a "signature sound" but there are some people who love it and cannot bear to hear another speaker. I'm using the monitors just over 1.5 m from me. I feel that the remote control is a matter of price targeting (the remote itself doesn't look like it costs more than $15) and yes I've read somewhere that a universal remote can indeed control the m903 but you need to find out the codes. I've no idea how to and I like to touch my m903 anyway [Edit: Oops I forgot to comment on the variable line output. It just means that the dac does the DACing to different voltages based on volume selection. I love the volume control on the m903 btw. I think it's probably as good as or better than preamps which take the fixed line and volume controls it but I'm not sure!] Ah I had the impression you were already using the MC15s. The bm5a mkii warranty is for one year only. Not sure why the discrepancy. I guess it's a matter of marketing as well since the dynaudio range is for consumers who would mind the number of years. I listen to my speakers most of the time and use the headphones when I don't want to disturb the rest of my family if they're using the study at the same time and when I am craving the lush, creamy velvet the denons give. But it's kind of under-utilized compared to the speakers. The NADs and PSBs are for stereo hifi as well as home theatre. They do their job and I enjoy their sound. I find they give me the most value for their price and as they demo-ed their equipment at a show before using that exact configuration that's what I bought after auditioning a few other systems which offered lateral rather than vertical differences.
  12. Hi Exorcist, I've never done a comparison with the wavelink hs (never had one) but there is definitely an improvement in the usb input compared with the m902b that I had previously. It also now supports up to 24bit 192khz including the 88.2 and 176.4 that many others do not. This asynchronous versus adaptive battle seems to be a matter of implementation and either one implemented well seems to give good results. In fact the DACmini is made by CEntrance which is the creator of their AdaptiWave USB solution, which though only up to 96khz seems to be an equally effective USB solution. According to their website they believe the difference is mainly in the marketing. Regarding the 'soft' part, sorry I have no idea what they mean. It sounds like the 'edges' of the sounds (especially the HF range) are smoother and not too 'hard'? Hahaha sorry for sounding idiotic but for me what I find is that certain DACs/amps/speakers seem to lean towards either making the sound soft/hard/sibilant/warm and my ears have told me that the m903 walks a good balance. Passages or instruments that are supposed to be jarring and sharp are just that and voices or recordings of warm, sensuous tones are pretty warm(soft?) as well (but in my case limited by my monitors I think). [Edit: I also recall Grace Designs commenting that they chose the DAC chip over another of higher specifications based on voltage constraints and because the chip they chose sounded more musical to them so I guess that allays any worries about being too analytical although the specs may not look as good.] Regarding the focus of the manufacturers for the m903, from my understanding/opinion, they manufacture mainly professional monitor controllers/DACs and this line of product includes the USB solution and headphone amplifier in addition to their DAC. So I would say 70% DAC with variable level analog line outputs which is useful for us using active speakers (not sure if that constitutes a pre-amp) and 30% headphone amp. In any case they call it a reference headphone amplifier so it better be decent. Compared to dedicated headphone amps I've owned or listened to, including some from Meier, Pico, RSA and Nuforce, I've found that it is comparable with just sound signature differences between the higher-end range of the above mentioned brands. The DAC portion is definitely superior to those which are mainly headphone amplifiers such as the Burson which stuck a DAC in there in order to sell to those who want an all in one solution. Though the DAC in the Burson is supposedly decent, it still seems to me like kind of an afterthought. I would refrain from commenting on the DACmini vs m903 as I've not heard the former. As to why I chose the BM5A MKII: 1) Price - I found a good deal 2) Brand - I've always liked Dynaudio speakers. I didn't actually audition the speaker itself personally though I heard the MKI before and liked it. 3) Reviews - Very neutral and very accurate, choice studio monitor for many studios/musicians 4) New - it's relatively new in the market (new things last longer. Or rather a new version isn't going to come out so fast) 5) I don't want speakers which seem to have modifications done to make them sound more fun or engaging just to sell it as a consumer type hifi speaker. I'm not sure about the MC15 but I trust dynaudio to have done a good job with them though. 6) Look at my headphone. It's a Denon. There's enough bass in there to last me a lifetime. I picked the bm5a mkii for when I need to hear music as is compared to the Denons which although modded still give a pretty big dollop of bass which I must clarify is NOT muddy. Just sounds niceee. Woah long post. Hope it answers your questions! Cheers!
  13. I'm using a Grace Design m903 with my dynaudio acoustics BM5a mkii and I've only heard really good sounding music out of them. The one thing that drew me to the m903 rather than the lavry, benchmarks or other dacs is that these people at Grace Design are not shy when it comes to licensing technologies that they have found to be superior. The two significant ones are the wavelength asynchronous usb solution and Crossfeed for headphone listening from Jan Meier of Meier Audio. I don't think it gives you the additional warmth you mentioned you wanted and also I've heard people comment that it is a little bass-shy, but I've found it to be very engaging, clean, detailed with very tight and exact bass. If you're using the dynaudios I don't expect that you will be getting thumping, earth-moving bass anyway, so accurate and good bass would be what we are looking for. I've heard a Lavry DA10 and the Benchmarks and have found them to be really similar. Some others may be able to describe differences at great length but sorry I can only say through the USB inputs I've found the m903 to be better in soundstage and in clarity of details. Honestly one of the other reasons I bought it is because it looks really awesome too! Another option I can think of is the Centrance DACmini. If I were using a Mac mini it would be the first on my shopping list. Matches it very well (is built to match the Mac mini in any case). It's very good value at $795. Haven't heard it personally but I've had the DACport for a while and it was really pretty good at what it did. The DACmini has been getting good reviews
  14. http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Grace-Design-m903-Async-USB-192k Heard good things about it and am waiting for mine to arrive. Has a preamp section which you didn't see the need for though. But versatility gives equipment a longer lifespan (not till they breathe their last, but till we "need" to get new gear). Hope this helps.
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