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MDAC first listen (part VII)

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delange said:
Thank you for the update John. Apriciate the great work and support from you guys!
ZX81... those were the days hum. I also owned one and I learned assembler on it. Remember the ZX Spectrum that came out after it? That one had 48k of memory! Woohoo...
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ZX Spectrum - Yes Sir Clive Sinclair used one bank of 16K Ram and a second bank of "Duff" (Cheap rejected stock) of 64K Ram IC's with the upper or lower bank disabled - leaving a working 32K IC, which when addresses together with the first 16K back resulted in 48K!.. true British "engineering" solutions... The Japanese must have been shaking there heads in pure disbelief.
 
desp_erado said:
Ah, I miss those days! General coders have it too easy these days! Gone are those "try and cram Turrican into only 32k projects!".

On that speedy fix for AC3 pass-through Dominik sent me, is that going to be in future builds or as an option?

I have just ordered a universal remote, so looking forward to those codes too!

Ben
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Hi Ben,

In future software releases we will ignore the the SPDIF validity "Flag" for non PCM audio data pass though.

The statues of the SPDIF validity "Flag" for AC3 data is not well defined within the industry standards...

So you will be able to update to future software builds without worrying about your AC3 pass though.

John
 
On behalf Dominik and myself.

Thank you for everyone's comments - as I said before, we firmly believe in the ethos of offering support as we would like to be treated ourselves :)
 
Just FYI, my random BPT errors turned out to be a cable issue after all. Tried a new one and it's perfectly stable with no more random errors. Am also using an old laptop as a dedicated machine to serve the M-DAC via USB so no concerns about CPU or USB bandwidth being sporadically diverted to other applications.

Also want to concur with other comments about the amazing beyond-the-call-of-duty support I've received from John. Am very very grateful for that (and future firmware releases!)

Best regards
Krisposs
 
+1 Kudos to John and Dom.

Mav


Krisposs12 said:
Just FYI, my random BPT errors turned out to be a cable issue after all. Tried a new one and it's perfectly stable with no more random errors. Am also using an old laptop as a dedicated machine to serve the M-DAC via USB so no concerns about CPU or USB bandwidth being sporadically diverted to other applications.

Also want to concur with other comments about the amazing beyond-the-call-of-duty support I've received from John. Am very very grateful for that (and future firmware releases!)

Best regards
Krisposs
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Hello there

A quick rundown of my M-DAC experience so far….

Sources = Sony X-3000es CD and Squeezebox Touch
Amp = Quad 303 Speakers = Quad ESl57

Had the DAC for a week (second-hand) and running 0.99 firmware with no problems.

Optimal Spectrum for acoustic and classical
Optimal Transient XD for everything else

D3E on and Inverted Phase (a Godsend for me and my 303)

First I spent some time comparing the DAC to my CD player and Touch using a Promitheus TVC preamp. Lots of careful listening later and I preferred the DAC to the Touch but it was a very close call with the CD player. The DAC drags out more details but the Sony has that wonderful trademark smooth presentation. I have always thought this CD player to be a real gem so this was very promising.

Time to use the DAC in preamp mode and this immediately struck me as being better in my system. Having to run at -35db though so some -14db attenuators arrived in the post today and I’m going to have some more fun tonight!

Thanks to all in these threads for the advice and of course to John and Dom for the continued support.
 
I just received my MDAC yesterday and after about 30 hours of break-in with the 0.99 FW, i just moved it to my main rig. Sound great so far, im really liking this DAC.

I was wondering if someone could send me a link for the bitperfect test file. I cant find it anywhere for the life of me.

Thanks!
 
Knowing the notorious fickleness of ears and expectation, I will not swear to this but I think the new software may possibly have provided a larger/better balanced central image.

Could be my head though.
 
Ale79 said:
Absolutely! So much so that I actually feel bad not having yet bought a Lakewest product and can't wait to do so, it just doesn't feel fair somehow.., but one thing is for sure: MANY audiophiles will be buying John's new company's products not only for the ingeniousness of their designers but also thanks to his outstanding customer care!
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So the big question is do you have an Audiolab product which is a brand you have looked to own for years or a John Westlake product. Don't know about you but when I show off my iPad to my kids I do not mention Steve Dobbs.
 
Flampy said:
So the big question is do you have an Audiolab product which is a brand you have looked to own for years or a John Westlake product. Don't know about you but when I show off my iPad to my kids I do not mention Steve Dobbs.
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I see you've decided to begin in a friendly manner here Frumpy? :rolleyes:
 
arthur said:
I see you've decided to begin in a friendly manner here Frumpy? :rolleyes:
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No, just wondering what is going on. I was fortunate enough to meet John at a show a few years ago and he was a really top bloke. I love Audiolab products as I have had them for years and some on this forum appear to be missing that they own an Audiolab product. Would be great if John designed more Audiolab but if not then I would still buy it. Is it just me?
 
Just updated to firmware 0.99 which went smoothly from my Windows 7 PC and there appears to be quite a marked improvement in sound quality. Quite a lot more detail and tightening up of the presentation. This is a welcome bonus. Didn't expect the firmware update to improve the sound. Thanks John and Dominik!
 
Only that audiolab are no longer audiolab but part of the Chinese brand...erm thingy, I can't remember.

The point made repeatedly on this and other threads is that the CDQ's and Mdacs were brought largely on JW's reputation and then probably a good few more were bought because of his and Dominic's rather tireless efforts here and on the other threads.
 
arthur said:
Only that audiolab are no longer audiolab but part of the Chinese brand...erm thingy, I can't remember.

The point made repeatedly on this and other threads is that the CDQ's and Mdacs were brought largely on JW's reputation and then probably a good few more were bought because of his and Dominic's rather tireless efforts here and on the other threads.
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That Chinese brand...erm thingy have managed to bring some great products out though. Same can be said for most speaker brands and nearly all electronic brands at similar price points. All Chinese using different designers. You spend under a grand and chances are its coming out of china. John and Dom would of just been woking under orders. Glad they did though as the Mdac I have is the best purchase I have made :)
 
Flampy said:
That Chinese brand...erm thingy have managed to bring some great products out though. Same can be said for most speaker brands and nearly all electronic brands at similar price points. All Chinese using different designers. You spend under a grand and chances are its coming out of china. John and Dom would of just been woking under orders. Glad they did though as the Mdac I have is the best purchase I have made :)
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I'm not implying anything negative about the company. Simply that they played a blinder getting JW to do the design work. It gave them instant credibility.

Good move.

Ps I had to look it up, but it's IAG!! ;)
 
Flampy said:
Don't know about you but when I show off my iPad to my kids I do not mention Steve Dobbs.
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Me neither but there again I've never heard of Steve Dobbs :confused:

I would certainly be more inclined to buy a new product if I new John had a part in its design after hearing the sound quality of the MDAC and seeing the support he and Dominic have offered on this forum :)
 
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