I have lived with my current DAC for the last 10 years & have yet to find the need to replace it. I have an Audio Note Kit 1.1 with some modifications :
1) shunt regulated B+ supply
2) Asychronous reclocking at the receiver
3) DAC 1.2 output board using 2 6922
4) misc parts swap
The AN sounded very lucid & did everything right. My system has been stagnant for the last 5 years. It consists of :
1) Fanless PC
2) Empirical Audio Offramp 3
3) AN DAC
4) Audio Research LS17
5) Bel Canto ICE thingy
6) BR Mitsubishi Diatone
Anyway, the Diatones do not really produce very deep bass & I was pefectly happy.
A couple of weeks ago, I heard a different setup at my dealer's house. He had a Audio Research CD8 as front end with an all AR amplification (ref 5, ref 110) driving a pair of ProAc D80. I also brought my AN as comparison as I was auditioning his AR & ProAcs.
Comparing the CD8 & the AN, I felt that the AN still shone in the higher frequencies. However, the lower frequencies were quite soft & muddy. The AR cd player was much better at the lower end but lost out in the higher end by not a very big margin.
So, this got me thinking. How about the AR DAC 8 or a DCS Debussy? Anyone heard them yet & how do you find them ?
Obviously I am biased in what I like. I also own brand name USB DAC & fire wire DAC that is well reviewed but could not audition before I made the purchase. Well, still the AN. I like the AN sound but would like more control at the bottom.
Any pointers ?
Regards,
Joe Ling
