Demo booked, bring on the contenders...

[jkeny]

Yes, Matt, that's my new DAC - I'm away at the moment - I'll email you when I get back over the weekend. PM or email me with your questions if you want something specific answered!

[Fran]

I know that it's a bit of an ask but I would only love a listen to the young dac when you get it....

[Claus]

Not at all Fran! You are most welcome! I shall let you know when it is here :)

[Claus]

The Young DAC units had to go back to the factory for a firmware issue. They should ship out at the end of next week. In the meantime I have hooked up my old Rega Planar 3 with Dynavector 10x5 cartridge and been rediscovering some vinyl. The sound is really quite good even from the amp's own MM Phono stage. Now I will have to track down some high res versions to see how they compete when I get the DAC. :)

[jkeny]

The Young DAC units had to go back to the factory for a firmware issue. They should ship out at the end of next week. In the meantime I have hooked up my old Rega Planar 3 with Dynavector 10x5 cartridge and been rediscovering some vinyl. The sound is really quite good even from the amp's own MM Phono stage. Now I will have to track down some high res versions to see how they compete when I get the DAC. :)

Claus, I can bring along some high res music for a listen whenever you say!

My contention is that the better digital gets the more like vinyl it becomes - smooth & silky, not lacking in detail just not exaggerated - organic is a term I've heard used. I reckon we have become used to the over-emphasised detail in digital (which I contend is the distortion resulting from jitter) & I liken it to MSG (flavour enhancer) - initially it grabs the attention with it's larger than life sensation but the freshness & realism is missing & ultimately we get a headache (as I do with both MSG & a lot of digital)

[cybot]

The Young DAC units had to go back to the factory for a firmware issue. They should ship out at the end of next week. In the meantime I have hooked up my old Rega Planar 3 with Dynavector 10x5 cartridge and been rediscovering some vinyl. The sound is really quite good even from the amp's own MM Phono stage. Now I will have to track down some high res versions to see how they compete when I get the DAC. :)

Claus, I can bring along some high res music for a listen whenever you say!

My contention is that the better digital gets the more like vinyl it becomes - smooth & silky, not lacking in detail just not exaggerated - organic is a term I've heard used. I reckon we have become used to the over-emphasised detail in digital (which I contend is the distortion resulting from jitter) & I liken it to MSG (flavour enhancer) - initially it grabs the attention with it's larger than life sensation but the freshness & realism is missing & ultimately we get a headache (as I do with both MSG & a lot of digital)

I'm looking away :) Still that is an amazing claim to make and I am totally intrigue, to say the least!

[jkeny]

The Young DAC units had to go back to the factory for a firmware issue. They should ship out at the end of next week. In the meantime I have hooked up my old Rega Planar 3 with Dynavector 10x5 cartridge and been rediscovering some vinyl. The sound is really quite good even from the amp's own MM Phono stage. Now I will have to track down some high res versions to see how they compete when I get the DAC. :)

Claus, I can bring along some high res music for a listen whenever you say!

My contention is that the better digital gets the more like vinyl it becomes - smooth & silky, not lacking in detail just not exaggerated - organic is a term I've heard used. I reckon we have become used to the over-emphasised detail in digital (which I contend is the distortion resulting from jitter) & I liken it to MSG (flavour enhancer) - initially it grabs the attention with it's larger than life sensation but the freshness & realism is missing & ultimately we get a headache (as I do with both MSG & a lot of digital)

I'm looking away :) Still that is an amazing claim to make and I am totally intrigue, to say the least!

Glad I've intrigued you & also glad that even though you may disagree with me you didn't start WW3 :). One of pieces of evidence for this is the use of RF attenuators - their main effect(when use din digital audio) is to cut down reflections on the SPDIF line. This results in a wetter, more organic sound. This I put down to reducing jitter as reflections are known to do. My other evidence is in my modification of a USB-SPDIF converter & the improvement in sonics as I worked through it.

Now when we get to high-res digital, it begins to surpass anything vinyl can offer, I think (but I haven't heard the best vinyl can offer) so this is maybe where we can agree?

[cybot]

I'm looking away :) Still that is an amazing claim to make and I am totally intrigued, to say the least!

Glad I've intrigued you & also glad that even though you may disagree with me you didn't start WW3 :). One of pieces of evidence for this is the use of RF attenuators - their main effect(when use din digital audio) is to cut down reflections on the SPDIF line. This results in a wetter, more organic sound. This I put down to reducing jitter as reflections are known to do. My other evidence is in my modification of a USB-SPDIF converter & the improvement in sonics as I worked through it.

Now when we get to high-res digital, it begins to surpass anything vinyl can offer, I think (but I haven't heard the best vinyl can offer) so this is maybe where we can agree?

I'll be paying very close attention from now on :-) All I can say is, anything that can even approach the positives of vinyl replay without any of it's foibles,has to a good thing.....

[jkeny]

You need to hear it & that will tell you one way or the other. I'll be start a thread in a minute so that people who want to hear this (modified Hiface + RF attenuators) in their home system can book it!

[cybot]

You need to hear it & that will tell you one way or the other. I'll be start a thread in a minute so that people who want to hear this (modified Hiface + RF attenuators) in their home system can book it!

As someone who wouldn't dream of using a laptop as a jukebox feeding a hi-fi system - hell, I can't even bring myself to play a cd:-) That's why when my last decent one died, it stayed dead. The only situation that might interest me, especially as I get older, is the utilisation of an mp3 player to play quality sounds through the system. In other words, is it possible to use one of your fantastic gadgets to get the best sound from these mp3 yokes without having to go down the road of dacs and laptops etc etc. Easy knowing I have never, ever delved into this murky world before.... and that's why I ask these 'silly' questions :( So in summing up, I'm only interested in going down this less travelled road if I can somehow use one of the many mp3 players I have at home from the likes of iAudio, Apple and iRiver. Hand on heart, I find headphone playback to be brilliant but unfortunately crap through a decent hi fi......