Elyse DAC

modwright · « **Reply #20 on:** 12 Aug 2014, 03:44 pm »

Hi, neither DAC does DSD or double DSD at this point. An upgrade for the Elyse DAC will be available in the future. To be honest, the technology 'lapped' me as the design for the Elyse DAC has taken so long. I am still waiting to see if the technology will stay or not...

The ELYSE DAC does use the same DAC chip, but that is where the similarity ends.

The DAC upgrade for the LS 100 IS very good!

The Elyse DAC is our Reference Digital offering. It is fully transformer coupled in and out with Lundahl transformers. It is 6922 tube based and has no coupling capacitors in the signal path. It utilizes a more sophisticated power supply, Digital/USB input design and analog stage than the LS 100 DAC upgrade. It offers RCA, BNC, XLR (AES/EBU) and USB (24/192) inputs. It is also a different price.

The LS 100 DAC upgrade = $1650.
The ELYSE DAC is $6900.

Thanks,

Dan

talk2me · « **Reply #21 on:** 8 Mar 2015, 11:15 pm »

I have had my Elyse DAC now for about a month. As good as the ModWright 105 is, this DAC is on a whole different, higher level. First, it sounds like I added a subwoofer to my Venture Audio speakers. The soundstage is deeper and wider. It sounds like I have a center channel and the highs are to die for. But what really amazes me are the vocals and midrange. An example, on Mary Chapin Carpenter's Stones in the Road, she appears to be playing and singing right in front of me. Well done Dan, well done. And Alex is truly a great guy.

modwright · « **Reply #22 on:** 8 Mar 2015, 11:29 pm »

Thank you very much for the feedback. It is a product that I have been working on for a LONG time and I am pleased with the results. Alex did brilliant work in the digital domain and the entire product has come together very well.

Take care,

Dan W.

jriggy · « **Reply #23 on:** 9 Mar 2015, 02:04 pm »

Quote from: talk2me on 8 Mar 2015, 11:15 pm

I have had my Elyse DAC now for about a month. As good as the ModWright 105 is, this DAC is on a whole different, higher level. First, it sounds like I added a subwoofer to my Venture Audio speakers. The soundstage is deeper and wider. It sounds like I have a center channel and the highs are to die for. But what really amazes me are the vocals and midrange. An example, on Mary Chapin Carpenter's Stones in the Road, she appears to be playing and singing right in front of me. Well done Dan, well done. And Alex is truly a great guy.

In bold and underlined above! This is one of the aspects that I noticed as well. So sweet and smooth! There is a lot of traffic in the DAC category but this one should not be ignored!

kngale1 · « **Reply #24 on:** 9 Mar 2015, 02:16 pm »

Quote from: jriggy on 9 Mar 2015, 02:04 pm

In bold and underlined above! This is one of the aspects that I noticed as well. So sweet and smooth! There is a lot of traffic in the DAC category but this one should not be ignored!

This is also true with the MW Sony HAP-Z1ES probably due to similar design. I agree there is a lot of traffic in the DAC category and MW transformer coupling designs shouldn't be ignored.

talk2me · « **Reply #25 on:** 10 Mar 2015, 09:03 pm »

I have tubed rolled to Philips 5R4GYS and Philips JAN 6922's. But, I have heard and read that the Siemens CCA is the one to get. They are fairly expensive, and was wondering if anyone has any for sale. Thanks. I noticed quite a bit of price differences with the Siemens 6922. There are Cca's, gold tips, greys and even different numbers on the glass.

talk2me · « **Reply #26 on:** 7 Apr 2015, 07:16 pm »

Also, I cannot play my Elyse DAC with either Oppo 105/103. I get a loud hum noise. Anyone else with this problem? I had to return both a 103D and 105D, and get a Sony 7200ES, which works fine with coax digital cable. But now I am researching old and new transports to match up with this super class Eylse DAC. Also am wondering any difernce in sound quality between rca/bnc or aes?

Phil A · « **Reply #27 on:** 7 Apr 2015, 08:26 pm »

For a CD Transport, a Marantz DV9600 makes an excellent one. I have a bunch of Oppos and it makes a good transport but not as good as the Marantz. In my old house, I had room for the DV9600 in addition to an Oppo but with the new house and rack I have limited space so the Marantz DV9600 sits in a guest bedroom. A Pioneer Elite DV-79AVi is also supposed to be a good CD transport.

Jeffy · « **Reply #28 on:** 8 Apr 2015, 04:59 pm »

Just buy a used PS Audio Transport. The sound is one of the best and it directly plays 24/176 DVDR like used with Reference Recording discs.

jriggy · « **Reply #29 on:** 8 Apr 2015, 07:17 pm »

Quote from: Jeffy on 8 Apr 2015, 04:59 pm

Just buy a used PS Audio Transport. The sound is one of the best and it directly plays 24/176 DVDR like used with Reference Recording discs.

Thats what I use. Not with an Elyse but I am still curious...

dminches · « **Reply #30 on:** 8 Apr 2015, 07:34 pm »

This sounds quite odd. Have you asked Dan directly? He uses Oppos all the time. It doesn't make sense why this wouldn't work.

Phil A · « **Reply #31 on:** 8 Apr 2015, 08:13 pm »

Quote from: dminches on 8 Apr 2015, 07:34 pm

This sounds quite odd. Have you asked Dan directly? He uses Oppos all the time. It doesn't make sense why this wouldn't work.

+1 on that. I've never had an issue with any DAC and transport like that and over the past few years between all the systems I've had 10+ transports around. The PS Audio transport sounds like a good idea as well. Older Oppos, like a BDP-83 can send full resolution from DVD-A via the coax output.

talk2me · « **Reply #32 on:** 9 Apr 2015, 07:40 pm »

I talked with Kristen, and she told me they use a 105 at their shows. I had the Elyse digital designer at my house, and was told it was the grounding fault of the 105/103. So go figure. I am testing out a Teac CD-1000 and a Enlightened Audio t-1000 transport with Pioneer Stable Platter. I am also feeding a new Sony BDP-S7200 for my Runco plasma screen to my Elyse. The sound for movies is fantastic. I almost bought a PS Audio Memory transport, but there are too many for sale on A-Gon.

Phil A · « **Reply #33 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 12:31 am »

The Proceed PMDT is a marvelous transport but it is old and could be a problem getting a repair. I've probably owned about 25 transports (or more) since I've owned DACs and the Proceed was the best and the Marantz DV9600 was second to those I've owned.

talk2me · « **Reply #34 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 02:46 am »

^ Thanks for info.

jriggy · « **Reply #35 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 01:28 pm »

Quote from: talk2me on 9 Apr 2015, 07:40 pm

I talked with Kristen, and she told me they use a 105 at their shows. I had the Elyse digital designer at my house, and was told it was the grounding fault of the 105/103. So go figure. I am testing out a Teac CD-1000 and a Enlightened Audio t-1000 transport with Pioneer Stable Platter. I am also feeding a new Sony BDP-S7200 for my Runco plasma screen to my Elyse. The sound for movies is fantastic. I almost bought a PS Audio Memory transport, but there are too many for sale on A-Gon.

There is always tons of PS Audio for sale on Agon and there has been PWTs on there since they came out. PSA is a big brand... But I have been using my PWT (used) for over two years with no issues. It replaced an Oppo 83se. When the PWT went in place, to me, it sounded like all the jitter was gone. It was clean and clear... That's not to say that a non-memory buffer transport can not play clean and clear or sound better, I'm sure they can but for me, for 1500 bux, I was and am quite happy...
So don't write it off just due to Agon, as PSA always has a ton of everything they offer for sale on that site... If you get a chance to compare the PWT with another transport, I would love to hear about what wins out.

But now I am curious about the Proceed and the Marantz...

Phil A,
Did you ever have a PWT?

Jason

Phil A · « **Reply #36 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 02:26 pm »

Quote from: jriggy on 10 Apr 2015, 01:28 pm

Phil A,
Did you ever have a PWT?

Jason

Jason - never had one in my rig. Years back when Dan I believe was modding some of the units I was debating as to whether to get a newer DAC/Transport (had an older DAC and a Modwright Absolute Truth Mod to my Sony XA-777ES) I looked at the PS Audio site for a bit and there were times when I thought about it but held off. I guess about 4 years back I made the move to digital audio and file playback. The Proceed weighed about 45 pounds shipped and of course could do DVDs as a transport as well. I had a friend come over when I first hooked the proceed to the older DAC (Micromega DuoPro) and he was blown away. He thought I bought a new DAC. The Proceed as a CD transport was much better than the Sonys I had, the Oppos, etc. and was better than the Marantz but not nearly as much as the others. The only time a disc really gets played on any of my systems is when I have a get together at my house of the Space Coast Audio Society (like once a year) and maybe a couple of times a year when I get something new and have not burnt the file yet. So literally there's probably about a dozen discs a year played at my house. I have the DV9600 sitting unused in a guest room. I could sell it now but will likely just wait until I get my next Oppo and just rotate an Oppo up there (right now I have the DV9600 and a Sony Blu-Ray player - had a PS3 but decided if a guest comes the Blu-Ray player is easier and I have a Roku 3 box up there with Netflix too). So at this point I don't have a need for a transport. If I upgrade something I generally rotate something to a secondary system and if something isn't worth the hassle of selling I just give it to someone (like I won't want to be bothered when I replace the 13 or so year old Sony ES receiver in my office- just not worth the time).

talk2me · « **Reply #37 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 09:25 pm »

The Elyse digital board designer swears by Enlightened Audio T1000 transport as the best.

jriggy · « **Reply #38 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 10:34 pm »

Thanks Phil. I thought I would ask since you've had so many over years.

Jeffy · « **Reply #39 on:** 25 Apr 2015, 11:22 am »

Probably the best transport ever was the Forsell. I would then rate CEC below the Forsell and then the Esoteric Teac Transports. As far as today my favorite is the PS Audio.