Thanks Gromit - yup, I'll make sure to post my thoughts as I spend more time with the amp.
Really enjoying it at present
Lefty
Glad you like it lefty and it was a pleasure doing the swap. The A30 is sounding sweet, but it took me a while to adjust to a very different presentation- ill do a write up in the coming weeks
ATB
Hifi dog
Always wanted to hear a really good Cyrus rig
Nice job Hacker, very professional.
Louballoo
As long as the amount of gain is right (i.e. it's not so loud that you're permanently restricted to low volume settings) digital volume control is very hard to beat IMO.In a surprising twist (to me), I preferred the sound of DAC-based digital volume control over that of a preamplifier. Before trying it I was absolutely convinced I'd dislike it... but I did like it, so much in fact that I no longer have a preamp, just DAC -> power amp.
Hipsterised photo of the current setup:
The main speakers are homemade (designed by James of this parish, built by me) and really are purple - they're clad in solid Purple Heart wood and contain:
Hiquphon OW-1 tweeters
Seas Excel M15CH001 midranges
Scan-Speak 25W/8565-01 10" woofers
Custom-designed crossovers
It's an all-digital all-homemade rig:
Source: Mac Mini with MPD music daemon
Sound: WaveIO USB -> I2S sound device
DAC: Twisted Pear Buffalo III DAC with Ivy 3.1 I/V stage
Power amp: "HackerNAP" Naim/Avondale derivative.
It sounds like a million bucks
As long as the amount of gain is right (i.e. it's not so loud that you're permanently restricted to low volume settings) digital volume control is very hard to beat IMO.
Carl,
The E-IIIRs need about 5 degrees more toe. But what a fantastic set-up. I really need to get cracking on my hackerNAP build(s) to mirror your effort.
James