budt

After making purchases based on 6MOONS yes, I completely dismiss them. I have never made a purchase based on those other sites I referenced. I simply wanted opinions from audiophiles here to see if they agree or disagree with those reviews. Instead I am just getting grief. Perhaps this isn't the site for me. I bid you farewell gentlemen.

Regarding 6MOONS; to correct my above post. I meant to say ...they raved about many products which in my opinion were average or slightly above but certainly not the world beaters they made them out to be( again this is only my opinion,YMMV).

Highfidelity....."best usb dac I've heard so far" Soundstage......" best dac I've heard so far" UltraAudio......." currently the dac of choice for TWBAS( the world's best audio system)" Magazine-hifi....." best dac so far hands down" So, I don't think I misquoted anyone. As I said, I have not heard it but would like to hear from other audiophiles who have cause we all know professional reviews have to be taken with a grain of salt. I didn't quote 6MOONS because in my experience I do not agree with them at all. They raved about many products which in my opinion weren't even good( again in my opinion, YMMV).

I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to comment following your audition. Of course I don't expect it to be anywhere near your digital gear.

Of the 5 or 6 reviews I have read all but one said it is the best dac they have heard and much of the online chatter seems to confirm these statements.I am not making any claim as I have never heard it but would like to hear from those who have.

I have never heard this dac but according to reviewers it's the best sub 20K dac out there right now( with a street price under 6K).I have never seen a dac get such universal praise.Reviewer after reviewer say it is the best dac they ever heard. Anyone here try it? What are your thoughts?

There are certainly exceptions but as a whole they have become known as having poor quality control. It is going to take some sustained effort in this area to change these perceptions.

Perhaps but quality control is not one of them. I don't think I am alone in thinking this. Most audiophiles I know would not be willing to drop $3500 on any audio gear made in China as quality control has been such an issue with their wares.

From what I can tell this is made in CHINA. I wonder if the review samples will come of the self or be "special" review units. Personally I can't see dropping $3500 for DAC made in China.

I chose a number of what I consider to be well recorded redbook cds as well as a variety of hirez material.Almost all of the material was acoustic but not all. I also chose a variety with large dynamic swings, frequency extremes, and material which would in general exploit weaknesses, ie chimes,brass,solo cello, pipe organ, drums with cymbals, well recorded voice,choirs, woodwinds, violins etc to assess midrange and timbral accuracy. I set up each dac and the player for what I considered to be the best sound possible from it.I found some of the settings surprising but those settings produced what I consider to be the most natural sound from each dac.<br /> All three of these dacs had very good midrange although slightly different from each other.

I recently had the opportunity to audition these 3 dacs side by side in my system.<br /> My systerm is comprised of the latest B&W 800 diamonds , Bryston BP26 preamp and a pair of Bryston 7b sst2 amps. The server used was a custom one built especially for music playback. It is low powered with no fans, high quality power supply ,a solid state drive and a separate highend USB card( $340 for the usb card ).<br /> First I want to state the importance of proper set-up for each dac as it would be very easy to come to the wrong conclusions. The settings were different for each one to get the best sound. Also upgrading from a cheap usb cable to the $60 kimber usb cable made a very noticeable difference. This is the best $60 you could spend if you decide to get into computer audio.<br /> This will just be a very very brief review and is only my opinions of these dacs in my system. As always YMMV.<br /> First up was the Weiss dac 202( $6690).This dac has a built in preamp and I tried it on it's own as well as through the Bryston preamp.I preferred the sound through the Bryston as the attack was better and sounded a little more solid.For this dac I initially tried the firewire connection.<br /> The Weiss Dac202 is a wonderful dac with beautiful life like midrange and an airy top end. The sound staging presented by this dac is exceptional with great 3d effects and front to back layering. Cymbals sound open and real . It's almost as though the drummer is in the room.The timbral midrange accuracy of this dac is superb but is ever so slightly bloated. Voices while very very good sound just a tad larger than real life. The two main areas of weakness for this dac in my opinion are in the bass region and the attack( or transient response).The bass is a little bloated and sluggish but an even bigger weakness is the attack. A $6690 dollar dac should have good transient response in my books and the Weiss just doesn't quite have it.<br /> Next up was the Invicta( $3995). This dac uses the highly regarded sabre chips and is engineered by the guys who created those same sabre chips.This dac also has a built in preamp. I tried it both with and without the Bryston but found it better on it's own. It has a world class preamp section. I used the USB connection as I found this the best sounding out of the ones I was able to try. I will say right here this dac has the best transient response of any dac I have ever heard and it has the best bass control of any I have heard as well. Voices sound completely real and the right size.Pipe organ recording are so real it is uncanny. This dac also has pin point imaging for those who value that aspect.It is important to get the set-up right or it can sound slightly edgy.However properly set-up the highs are extended and sweet with an airiness around the individual performers.In the 6moons review of this dac they said it sounded virtually identical to the Weiss Dac2. I had that dac and I say the guy must be half deaf as the Invicta is far superior.At a price of $3995 the Invicta is an absolute steal.<br /> Last but not least is the Meitner MA-1.For the music lover this dac is about as close as you can get to digital nirvana.It doesn't have the transient response of the Invicta but close. It doesn't have the bass authority of the Invicta but again close. What it does have is the most natural highs I have ever heard from digital and even better imaging than the Weiss dac202. The Meitner has a very high degree of resolution but still manages to sound musical.<br /> <br /> So, what does all this mean?<br /> Well,if properly set-up in a blind test I think most audiophiles would pick the Meitner or Invicta but the Weiss would be a good choice as well.<br /> If money was an issue I would pick the Invicta.<br /> If I was a recording engineer and could buy any dac on the planet I would probably buy the Invicta.<br /> <br /> I ended up buying the Meitner but also plan to buy the Invicta as well in a few months when I can afford it...<br /> I was really torn between the Invicta and Meitner. The invicta simply does certain things better than any other dac I've heard which is why I plan on buying it as well in the near future.The Meitner is better on certain recordings and the Invicta was better on others. Again this is simply my opinion and of course in my system...<br /> As always YMMV......<br />

A little update. I recently ordered 3 dacs to try out, Weiss dac202 , Meitner ma-1 and Invicta dac. I received both the Weiss dac 202 and Meitner . First up was the dac202. This is a wonderful dac with beautiful life like midrange and extended highs and great imaging. I found it ever so slightly edgy in the 10 khz range, at least that is what I believe the range to be. I also found the attack( or transient response) to be a little soft as was the bass but this was slight. My only other critism was the optical input will not handle hirez( which is a shame as the attack was much better on this input).Also, the drivers for this unit use a lot of the cpu power( if you're using a lower powered processor). Other wise this is simply an outstanding dac and absolutely world class. I would love to hear this dac again with those few areas addressed.<br /> Next up was the Meitner MA-1 . Where do I begin with this ? This dac is so good in my system I listened for 8 hours straight the first evening and into the wee hours and 6 hours straight the next evening. I will get back to finishing this update in a few days when I can pull myself away( seriously) as I am completely enthralled at this point.<br /> Even if the Invicta arrives tomorrow it will sit for a few days as I am not ready to pull myself away from the music my system is making with the Meitner in place.<br /> Stay tuned. <br />

I was talking to a highend store owner last week( they also have recording studios and produce mostly jazz type stuff). They sell the likes of Wilson,Avalon,Emmlabs,Berkley,Spectral etc etc etc.He said in their studios they have been doing computer audio for 20 years and so have been using servers since that time.It was his opinion that a custom built computer music server trumps anything offered by any audio company and he added that it was a fraction of the cost.

I had my son (who is a computer engineer) look at Chris's criteria for the CAPS 2.0 server and he assembled what he thought might be a system that would better suit my needs.<br /> <br /> http://www.thejayzone.com/htpc.png<br /> <br /> This system is a bit cheaper, albeit not as small and compact as the CAPS 2.0. The AMD E-350 is faster than the Intel D525, and is passively cooled as well. The motherboard also supports newer and cheaper DDR3 RAM (up to 8GB). It also allows for 2 PCI expansion slots (for dedicated USB and Firewire cards), and natively supports USB, Firewire, and TOSLink. The power supply is a high quality fanless modular power supply. The case, while not as compact as the Oregon M10, will allow for any micro-ATX system and should be more friendly towards future upgrades. The SSD is made by Intel, which although a little more expensive than Sandforce drives, has proven to be more reliable in the past.

This is budt's son... The Zotac board has a nice heatsink (I appreciate the inclusion of heat pipes, always a good sign), but sadly doesn't have PCI expansion slots which my father wants for the SOtM PCI USB card. Also, keep in mind that it doesn't have built-in Firewire in case you're using a Firewire DAC. With regards to the Asus board, worst case scenario: stick a very low RPM 120mm fan in there and it will take care of any heat. I'm thinking that probably won't be necessary, though.