Playback Designs Merlot DAC/Headphone Amp with DSD 256

[bmoura]

Coming in 2016.....

 

 

Playback Designs | the finest audio playback in the world

Sonoma Series Merlot DAC and Syrah Music Server from Playback Designs | The Absolute Sound

[matthias]

Brian,

is the Merlot an additional model or a replacement for the 3 or 5?

Matt

[audio.bill]

I don't know for certain, but since the Merlot is the exact same price as the MPD-3 I think it's a likely replacement.

[bmoura]

I don't know for certain, but since the Merlot is the exact same price as the MPD-3 I think it's a likely replacement.

 

And the Merlot is the first DAC in the new "Sonoma Series" from Playback Designs. Another likely clue.

[One and a half]

So much for future proofing and upgrades to the original product.

Upgrades are replacements, pfui.

[matthias]

I don't know for certain, but since the Merlot is the exact same price as the MPD-3 I think it's a likely replacement.

 

So the 5 is staying or is there a replacement coming as well?

 

Matt

[matthias]

And the Merlot is the first DAC in the new "Sonoma Series" from Playback Designs. Another likely clue.

 

The Pinot ADC is coming in 2016.

 

Matt

[bmoura]

The Pinot ADC is coming in 2016.

 

Matt

 

Yes, the Pinot ADC coming in February 2016 also looks very interesting!

"Please pay special attention to February 2016 the upcoming Pinot ADC (analog/digital) converter, it can be your home through the old tapes, vinyl records with high fidelity lossless audio transcribed into DSD signal collection and play. The device is both a High End Need audio playback system can also be used as a professional DSD recording systems."

 

 

【音响玩家】买音响送厂家自酿上等红酒，稀奇！

[Allan F]

Will Cabernet be the next generation?

[One and a half]

Will Cabernet be the next generation?

 

Citrus limon is more appropriate than Vitis vinifera varieties. The lack of any upgrades for the MPD-3 being replaced by a new model leaves me with a distinct taste of CH₃COOH.

[Hiro]

The Pinot ADC is coming in 2016.

 

Matt

 

A new discrete DSD ADC designed by Andreas Koch? Great news!

[徐中銳]

Newly uploaded Koch YouTube presentation :

[video=youtube;N-BMl-l6KDY]

 

Accompanying photos :

全平衡Analog Stage模擬放大

 

耳擴部份

 

使用環牛供電，比之前「3系」用開關供電好，也使用上IPS-3「內置屏蔽環牛」技術

 

修改了編程的XMOS芯片，以及Xilinx FPGA作運算處理

 

Syrah Server是一部內置JRiver、dBPoweramp，專為音響重播而設的電腦

[bmoura]

They even include a bottle of Playback Designs wine with each DAC according to the video!

[granosalis]

Has anyone heard this new Merlot DAC?

[audio.bill]

I heard it at AXPONA and it sounded superb, but it was on a system that I had no previous experience with. Always hard to judge a specific component's performance when it's not heard in a familiar system.

[granosalis]

Any news about this DAC? I haven't seen any review till now.

[Mercman]

A review should be appearing today at AudioStream.

[Hyperion]

It's still very, very new. Reviews will follow. We received the Merlot and Syrah last week up here in Scandinavia.

[Hyperion]

A review should be appearing today at AudioStream.

 

Wonderful: Playback Designs Sonoma Series: Syrah Server, Merlot DAC, and OpBox | AudioStream

[bmoura]

Has anyone heard this new Merlot DAC?

 

Heard it at AXPONA. Excellent. The Merlot DAC, OpBox card for SACD playback and ripping with an Oppo 103 disc player, the Pinot ADC and the Syrah Server will be products to keep an eye on in the DAC marketplace.

 

Also, note the rave review of this system by Michael Bishop from 5/4 Productions (formerly of Telarc) in the article below.

 

"The session provided a look at the recording process along with a number of examples of high resolution recordings made by Bishop and his colleagues at Five/Four. The music was played on a Stereo pair of ATC Studio Loudspeakers through the new Playback Designs Merlot DAC.

 

Bishop shared how he depends on ATC speakers to tell him what's on the tape as he is recording. He also had praise for the Merlot DAC saying he had heard it for the first time the day before and "it met and exceeded my expectations." But there were also some critical moments as when Bishop showed a photo of one recording studio where he didn't use the studio monitors provided noting "They didn't tell me anything".

 

Report from AXPONA 2016 - Positive Feedback

[esimms86]

Just read the audio stream review. Very cool system. I'm not looking for a new DAC but I was intrigued by the OpBox card and Sonoma software. I would imagine that the SACD rips may be potentially slightly better than what you can get from using a PS3(albeit at multiple times the cost). Upgrading the software to rip to .dsf should hopefully come along soon.

[徐中銳]

OpBox card

 

I should make time to follow up :

« Playback Designs D/D Converter

 

 

• Adds PLink output to Oppo 103 Player for direct digital link to Merlot DAC
  
• Captures all native audio data from any source supported by Oppo Player and sends it to Merlot for conversion to analog
  
• Supports very long distances between Oppo Player and Merlot DAC
  
• Galvanic separation between player and DAC
  
• Very easy installation »
  

 

From TAS' date=' $1,850[/url'] :

« “OpBox” modification kit for Oppo players, which allows a direct connection to the Merlot DAC via ST optical cable. This permits digital audio data sourced from any disc (CD, SACD, DVD or Blu-ray) to be transmitted natively via the Oppo’s optical output to Merlot for direct conversion to analog. The conversion is an easy install and can be performed either by a dealer or end user directly. »

 

 

See also Playback Designs Merlot DAC/Headphone Amp with DSD 256

[bmoura]

I'm not looking for a new DAC but I was intrigued by the OpBox card and Sonoma software. I would imagine that the SACD rips may be potentially slightly better than what you can get from using a PS3(albeit at multiple times the cost). Upgrading the software to rip to .dsf should hopefully come along soon.

 

It's a clever way to offer SACD disc playback via the Merlot DAC (and an Oppo 103 Universal disc player) and allow copying the music off the disc to music files. Andreas has indicated that .DSF support will be coming in a future edition of the Free Sonoma software which is also used to record to DSD with the upcoming Pinot ADC.

 

As for SACD copies, the PlayStation does them at 4X speed which some have found to be not as accurate as doing a real-time transfer/recording of an SACD with an SACD Transport + ADC and DSD Workstation. This feature will attract some listeners towards the Merlot + OpBox for Stereo SACD transfer to DSD files, no doubt about it.

[esimms86]

It's a clever way to offer SACD disc playback via the Merlot DAC (and an Oppo 103 Universal disc player) and allow copying the music off the disc to music files. Andreas has indicated that .DSF support will be coming in a future edition of the Free Sonoma software which is also used to record to DSD with the upcoming Pinot ADC.

 

As for SACD copies, the PlayStation does them at 4X speed which some have found to be not as accurate as doing a real-time transfer/recording of an SACD with an SACD Transport + ADC and DSD Workstation. This feature will attract some listeners towards the Merlot + OpBox for Stereo SACD transfer to DSD files, no doubt about it.

 

Good points Brian,thanks. I don't have a multichannel setup but it appears that OpBox is great for stereo and not useful for ripping to multichannel.

[bmoura]

Good points Brian, thanks. I don't have a multichannel setup but it appears that OpBox is great for stereo and not useful for ripping to multichannel.

 

You can "stack" 3 of the Merlot DACs for Multichannel DSD playback with the company's Playback Link (or PL-Link) connections. I'm not sure how that works, or doesn't work, with the Sonoma Recording software and the OpBox card.