My New DAC!

[frenchmon]

After hearing that PS Audio DS, The Lampizator 7, Lampizator 5, and The Amber DAC....I was stunned at how a dac can sound close to vinyl. But those DACs cost $$$$$.

So I asked around in the DAC world about a DAC which doesnt cost that kind of loot but could sound unlike digital. I was told the iFI Micro iDSD and the iUSB PSU would put me in the ball park. So a week before Christmas it arrived at my house and I ahave been enjoying DSD 64/128 playback. Its a great little DSD dac....I wont buy another CD or CDP again.

iFI is the new company started byAbbington Music Research and if you know anything about them...they make great products.

Abbingdon Music Research - Home Page (http://www.amr-audio.co.uk/index.html)


iFi Audio (http://ifi-audio.com/)

[Feanor]

Well congratulations on those components, Frenchmon. Yes, I have heard of Abbingdon, the principal guy posts on Audio Asylum quite often. I couldn't afford the nominal Abbington products, so it's interesting to hear about more mainstream products from the same designer.

I'm still very please with my Schiit Audio Bifrost Uber, but it doesn't play DSD which I'd be interested to hear. I'd be all over it if I could rip my SACDs but that's not feasible unless you find certain older Sony Playstation models. I know there are DSD files for download but I'm not certain why they would have any advantage over, say, PCM 24/96 or 192.

[frenchmon]

In my experience DSD is more analog sounding....closer to a good TT in resolution. But with your limited hearing I don't know if you'd be able to hear a difference.

[blackraven]

Congrats on the new DAC. I have had my eye on that exact same DAC. I am also looking at the Wyred 4 sound DSD DAC. I have been thinking about going the computer route, especially after hearing the DragonFly DAC that I bought my son.

Feanor, I have heard SACD and double DSD compared to 44K, 96K and 192K. Both SACD and double DSD sounded better most of the time.

[Mr Peabody]

The DAC Frenchmon has does sound good, especially considering it's price. However, Blackraven, considering the level of amp & preamp you have you should be looking at a minimum the Lampizator Amber, or, Marantz Reference. Your sound starts at the source. There may be other good DAC's in that range I'm saying go the best you can to match or exceed your other electronics. The high res files though can certainly squeeze more sound out for less though.

[blackraven]

The DAC Frenchmon has does sound good, especially considering it's price. However, Blackraven, considering the level of amp & preamp you have you should be looking at a minimum the Lampizator Amber, or, Marantz Reference. Your sound starts at the source. There may be other good DAC's in that range I'm saying go the best you can to match or exceed your other electronics. The high res files though can certainly squeeze more sound out for less though.

Mr P. I was thinking about using the Ifi in one of my other systems not my main. The Lampi and Marantz is high on my list along with the Wyred 4 sound for my main system.

[Mr Peabody]

You'll be very happy with it. It doesn't sound like a "budget" DAC, it's just with your main system as you planned you'd probably want to go higher up. As a comparison the I-fi sounded better than Frenchmon's X-ray which is nice sounding CDP. So that makes this DAC quite a value.

[blackraven]

You'll be very happy with it. It doesn't sound like a "budget" DAC, it's just with your main system as you planned you'd probably want to go higher up. As a comparison the I-fi sounded better than Frenchmon's X-ray which is nice sounding CDP. So that makes this DAC quite a value.

I am going to try and listen to the Marantz some time in January. There is a local Marantz and Paradigm dealer here. I am hoping that they will let me take the Marantz home for a spin.

[frenchmon]

So Peabody...what does the level of amp/ preamp have to do with ithe DAC You saying it won't sound good with higher level gear? Your not making much sense now....besides Peabody...do your research...the iDSD beat out DAc that cost much more? Your really not making much sense? especially knowing a guy over at Audiokarma who has much more expensive gear than mine....who has a $800 Concero DSD DAC and because of the DAC , he has took his Audio Note DAC out of his system for the little CONCERO.

[frenchmon]

You guys are killing me. so my $2500.00 amp and $1700.00 preamp is just right for a $700. DAC/PSU but not good enough for more expensive gear? Lol! You guys aren't smart as I thought you where....you two sound like a bunch of audio snobs who don't know what your talking about!

[frenchmon]

Not trying to be rude guys...but just to show you guys how uninformed you guys are....both you guys have the Internet, but neither have done any research at all! Most people understand DACs are getting better and better, more company's are jumping on board, but at the same time, DACs are getting cheaper. The technology is getting better, but the price is coming Down due to the market being flooded. That's why you don't buy a ultra expensive DAC unless you are going for the bling effect. Unless you want the big name. Why spend over a thousand dollars on a DAC and it be out dated in a month? Makes no sense what soever unless you like throwing money away. The technology in DACs are changing too fast to spend big money on a DAC.

as far as I know the Lampizator DAC and W4sound DACs make sense if you are spending over $1000 because as far as I know, they are the only two DACs that can be sent back to get the upgrades as they come out..but the other expensive DACs are already out dated in a month or two...so it's best to keep it under $1000 if you ask me. It makes no sense not to get DSD...that way you have it if you need it.


You guys need to research out DACs...go to head-fi...go over to computer audiophile and see the expensive gear those guys have and the DACs they are using...the technology in the iDSD DAC will not be found on most expensive DAC.

and to show you how uninformed both you guys are....the MarAntz that Peobody is talking about cost $3400.00 and it's more than just a DAC! It's an Network audio player...do your research Peabody...

Before I made my purchase, it came down to 3 DAC. The concero HD DSD DAC...Sabre chip, cost $850, the IDSD , DXD /iUSB USP Micro, Burr Brown dual Chip, cost $700. And the new Marant HD1 DAC Cyrus chip. $850. $i did my research and decided on the iFI Micro. The Micro beat out several DAC costing thousands more...the Concero came in a close second...the MarAntz just was released two weeks ago in the US market.

[blackraven]

Frenchmon, calm down. I did not mean to disrespect you or your gear. I did not mean to imply that the IFi was inferior or would not fit in with my system and I am sorry for sort of stealing the thread. I am all for bang for the buck gear, just look at my AVA gear and I am still using a 5-6 year old AVA DAC. My interest in the Ifi is that I want a DSD usb DAC for my bedroom system so I don't have to move CD's around and the Ifi fits the bill. The reviews on it are great. For my main system I am looking at this $3500 Marantz unit not the new sub $1k DAC. As I would prefer to have XLR as my BAT preamp has only XLR connections. The Marantz and Wyred use XLR's and are fully balanced units.

Marantz US | NA-11S1 (http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=ReferenceSeries&SubCatId=0&ProductId=NA11S1)

My interest in the Marantz is its warm analog sound, features (network player) and XLR.

I also have an interest in the Lampi due to it being a tube DAC. I like having tubes in just about every chain of my sytem. I wish the Pass amp was tube but I can't afford a high powered BAT or CJ tube amp.

I have also heard the Wyred 4 sound DSD dac in my system and I was completely blown away and astounded at the difference in my system. Just the bass alone was astonishing. The dynamics and musicality were phenomenal and there was razor sharp detail and resolution way above what I thought was possible. It really took my system and sound to a whole other level. And my AVA DAC is no slouch as I brought it over to my local high end store and compared it to a $10,000 Ayre CDP and a Bel Canto DAC and it was not embarrassed.

Even my friend who brought the Wyred 4 sound over to my house went "Holy $hit" when we turned on the music. On a Classical music piece when the bass drums kicked in, it was thunderous and it rattled my house and that was with the sub off with my Magnepans. There was great synergy with the Wyred, BAT preamp and Pass amp. My only quibbles with it are that it may have too much detail, the sound stage could be just a smidge wider (my ava has a wider SS) and a bit warmer.

And I am with you about how far DAC technology has come in the last year or two. I am amazed at how well the little DragonFly usb dac sounds. There are plenty of great sounding DAC's in the sub $1K range the can compete with gear costing a lot more.

Sorry and Happy New Year my friend,

Larry

[frenchmon]

Sorry for sounding so excited man, I've even spoken to Peabody and had to apologize to him. But it's not making much sense to suggest an DAC costing less cant be good with more expensive gear....that is far from the truth. All one has to do is visit some of these other forums and see what others are saying....technology on these DACs are getting better, while they are getting cheaper at the same time.

And you know our friend Jaxwired from Audioshark...his w4sound DAC sounds great! They are great DACs. I think if I moved on to another DAC, it's going to be the Amber DAC, if not that, the W4Sound DAC.

happy New year to you as well, Larry!

Byron.

[frenchmon]

Ok...this DAC is really special. I up convert all previous files to DSD 64 on the fly...DoP, and if I rip a new file, its in DSD 128, with 128 native play back. That's as much as JRiver will let you do for now. I've down loaded HQ Player, but the gui is horrible, so I have to sit down and figure it out...it goes beyond what JRiver does.

What I find with DSD is a more refined sound and the ability to see into the music more. Its like you can see from the back to front easily...something CDPs cant seem to do as well. Raven...the iFI iDSD is a very warm DAC, and you may like that. Before it had a time to run in, it was sounding digital with a hard digital sound...after it ran in for close to 20 hours, that digital sound started to fad and the true nature of the iDSD came forth....it was like supper warm and smooth...I suspect you may like that, but for me it was a tad to warm, so I added a pair of silver interconnects from the DAC to the preamp and it was just right to my liking. DSD can fool you as its not a digital sound at all but more like a vinyl rig and that was my goal. The entire point of a DAC for me is DSD.....I listen only in DSD mode.

[blackraven]

Frenchmon, glad to hear that you like the DAC. It sounds like it fits my taste. I don't like things syrupy warm but I like a little bit of warmth which helps with any digital edginess and sibilants. It also gives music a romantic sound. I am going to try and find one used as I rarely buy new any more.

I am with you on DSD. Not all DSD recordings are great but the ones that are, just sound awesome. I have a friend that has a pair or Magnepan 1.7's with the Wyred 4 sound DAC 2 DSDse DAC and the DSD sounds great, fuller, richer and as you say more analog. DSD and 96K is the driving force for me to try computer music all though I will never give up on CD. (I am still not sold on Vinyl, I like it, but the clicks and pops can be irritating and having to flip the record every 20 minutes is still a drag)

My interest in the Marantz network player is because of the Marantz warmer sound. My Magnepan 1.6's tend to be a little sibilant sometimes depending upon the music. It is my only complaint about the 1.6's. The 1.7's and 3.7i's don't appear to have as much of a problem. I think that the 3.7i's or maybe the new 1.7i's that will be coming out next year may be in future.

Right now my system is almost dead neutral with a hint of warmth and darkness.