Alan Brown
Registered LUser
A few of us here have played with different power supplies on the Young. I tried batteries but am settled on a superteddyreg based jobbie now, made by Simon.
rega dac, cdq, young dac bake off
- Thread starter bottleneck
- Start date
I did. only talks about option 5 being better than option 2. I've got it running continoulsy for about a month and a half now, still pretty much no difference. I'm running it via a mira3 into rega rs5 speakers.
Source is a modded logitech squeezebox touch.
Cheese
Bitter lover
What can you mod in a SB ?
bottleneck
pfm Member
I will admit the possibility that I am Robert Porter, if you will admit the possibility that I am from K-PAX.
bottleneck
pfm Member
We're doing our part over here, albeit in French... In the latest issue of Son & Image Magazine, we've reviewed the Wyred 4 Sound DAC2, the Atoll 100 and the Audiolab CDQ. Individual reviews unfortunately, no shoot-outs, oops sorry, bake-offs
Jan
PS. A hearty thank you to all of you who took the time to travel, listen and write about your impressions. The Calyx and Young DACs are on our radar!
Good for you Jan!
The Calyx and Young deserve all the credit they get.
You should try the Emotiva too, just for what it costs it deserves some positive press. An american company too, which is a pleasant suprise at the price point.
http://emotiva.com/about.shtm
bottleneck
pfm Member
Hi Rotelman
Run through 1 - (cheap Acer laptop) all DACs had to use USB. This is all the Acer has.
Run through 2, (dedicated music server has AES/SPDIF/USB) - each DAC was used with input thought to be optimal. Cables therefore may have been different, as (for example) SPDIF may be used on one DAC, AES on another etc.
Hi André,
Sorry I can't comment, because the reviews were done individually, by different reviewers. No joint listening sessions. Magazine policy...
All the best
Jan
makes sense... if it had been the same setup it might have made it a little less difficult.
best regards
André
Just wanted to point out to everyone that the emotiva model is XDA-1....not XDR-1. The font on the unit looks suspiciously like an R, but is actually an A.
Sounds interesting if it performed that well at that low a price. And being a pre-amp already that can directly drive an amp without anything else in the way, wow!
Sounds interesting if it performed that well at that low a price. And being a pre-amp already that can directly drive an amp without anything else in the way, wow!
Worth mentioning cables, in response to queries . . . I'm afraid I panicked and foisted fancy cables on a protesting Chris for the duration of the test.
We imposed a level playing field of single-ended output for all the DACs tested. Maybe this biased against those with true balanced XLR output (take another bow, Emotiva), but commendably most of those tested at least offer the option of balanced-'looking' outputs. Whether they are truly balanced, or just rewired single-ended, is never clear until you pop the hood.
The 1m RCA analog was a run-in LAT IC300 with Silver Eichmann Bullets.
The coaxial SPDIF digital interconnect was a run-in 50cm Wireworld Gold Starlight.
The AES/EBU digital cable was a KingRex 1m mini-XLR > XLR designed for the KingRex UC-192 used as part of the Stealth Mini's special sauce. There was also some Locus and Furutech USB cabling happening inside the knitting box.
We imposed a level playing field of single-ended output for all the DACs tested. Maybe this biased against those with true balanced XLR output (take another bow, Emotiva), but commendably most of those tested at least offer the option of balanced-'looking' outputs. Whether they are truly balanced, or just rewired single-ended, is never clear until you pop the hood.
The 1m RCA analog was a run-in LAT IC300 with Silver Eichmann Bullets.
The coaxial SPDIF digital interconnect was a run-in 50cm Wireworld Gold Starlight.
The AES/EBU digital cable was a KingRex 1m mini-XLR > XLR designed for the KingRex UC-192 used as part of the Stealth Mini's special sauce. There was also some Locus and Furutech USB cabling happening inside the knitting box.
bottleneck
pfm Member
LOL! 
I'm glad you did Mark.
I would hate to think anyone dismissed all our hard efforts for the day, simply because we used some standard interconnect I had lying around.
NB
Have you considered stocking this Emotiva product?
It has some serious power for pocket money prices
http://emotiva.com/xpa2.shtm
and look inside..
I'm glad you did Mark.
I would hate to think anyone dismissed all our hard efforts for the day, simply because we used some standard interconnect I had lying around.
NB
Have you considered stocking this Emotiva product?
It has some serious power for pocket money prices
http://emotiva.com/xpa2.shtm
and look inside..
Purité Audio
Trade: Purite Audio
Mark Hi, Emotiva looks really interesting, but I cant see the point of importing the brand when they sell directly to anywhere in the world?
Also why is the Calxy DAC $1450 in the US and £1500 over here, when the product is made in South Korea?
Keith.
Also why is the Calxy DAC $1450 in the US and £1500 over here, when the product is made in South Korea?
Keith.
Same as any foreign brand: prohibitive shipping costs and import duty and handling charges and customs delays, someone on the end of a local-rate call for support and advice, free home trial . . .
It is cheaper to ship product to the States from Asia than it is to the UK, just as UK equipment is always more expensive on their shelves ($Rega = $Young). The UK distributor (Bitperfect) has set the price firmly at £1500 which is £225 more than the landed cost of buying from the States at current exchange rates. This buys you a UK warranty and rapid delivery.
We have the same problem, of course: you're dealing with the 'official' price of the Young DAC being £930, and we're dealing with the 'official' price of the Calyx being £1500. The on-the-ground reality will be a little different! Some Calyx dealers are already throwing in £30-50 worth of cabling to sweeten the deal. We'll also go as far as we can towards price parity with bundles and freebies, but it's a bitter pill for us UK consumers that importers view England (and wealthy EU countries) as cash cows, and load prices accordingly.
bottleneck
pfm Member
Hi Striped.
I just have to chip in here.
The presentation of the Audiolab and Emotiva are not similar.
They are both good, but sound nothing alike.
The Audiolab has the sabre chip, sounds a little bit like the Wyred 4 Sound, The Emotiva has a warm generous sound more reminiscent of the Rega Dac.
More people should borrow Emotiva Dacs if their budgets don't stretch to products like Wyred 4 Sound, Young Dac etc - but I wouldnt think of it as a like-for-like product... but then it IS half the price, in fact less than that.
I just have to chip in here.
The presentation of the Audiolab and Emotiva are not similar.
They are both good, but sound nothing alike.
The Audiolab has the sabre chip, sounds a little bit like the Wyred 4 Sound, The Emotiva has a warm generous sound more reminiscent of the Rega Dac.
More people should borrow Emotiva Dacs if their budgets don't stretch to products like Wyred 4 Sound, Young Dac etc - but I wouldnt think of it as a like-for-like product... but then it IS half the price, in fact less than that.