Price lowered to $275+and split shipping expense . It's in excellent condition, I see no significant flaws on the DAC or the remote, but
rating it 8/10 as I always do for my items. It will come with all the accessories in the original retail box and packaging. I have voluminous, perfect feedback just about everywhere under this same moniker. Selling because I have a second one just like it that I'm keeping. I bought this for use in a second system that I've decided to decommission and sell to replenish my PP account. More info below. Thanks for looking.
Stereophile Class-A rated DAC with MQA and full-featured remote. In addition to virtually unanimous 5-star subjectivists’ user ratings, it measures very well in all objectivists’ hands. The designer, John Westlake, is very highly regarded. In addition to the usual remote functions on DACs,
the remote allows play/pause/track advance and reverse with a Tidal playlist and USB input. This is a great feature if, like me, you find fiddling with the phone more of a pain that simply using the remote by touch and feel. The track control also works with Foobar and LMS/SBT-EDO, for me, but
I cannot guarantee this because it may be system-dependent. Another plus is that it can be powered from USB, avoiding need for the excellent, low-noise external SMPS. The manufacturer in fact recommends not to use the external PS with USB input. This is a great feature for portable use with a laptop to avoid finding an outlet; moreover, the
DAC and HPA can be 'off-the-grid' with battery driving the laptop. I found no difference in sound via my headphones with or without SMPS. The HPA sounds very nice with my low-impedance, efficient Enigma D1000 headphones, but it is not very powerful for planers
so YMMV. See on-line reviews (ASR, Stereophile and many others) for further info and excellent measurements.