[SatoriGFX]

 will there be a revised version of the VDA•2 released anytime soon? How about a VDA•3?

CIAudio recently made some changes to the VDA-2 and is offering a "free"  update to anyone who purchased one previous to the these changes being made.  How's that for service?

Adam.

[elg2001]

Their service seems excellent. That's why I'm considering them. I received similar recommendations for my speakers from RAW Acoustics, and they're the best damn things I've ever heard. By quite a bit.

Last questions:

1) any plans for a successor to the VAC•1? A successor to the VRX•1?

2) How much of a difference (in dB, in the applicable test(s)) does the upgraded power supply and cables make? I know I asked this before, but if you could quantify it in some way I would appreciate it.

[CIAudio]

Last questions:

1) any plans for a successor to the VAC•1? A successor to the VRX•1?

Not at this time...

2) How much of a difference (in dB, in the applicable test(s)) does the upgraded power supply and cables make? I know I asked this before, but if you could quantify it in some way I would appreciate it.

The VAC-1 noise improvement is only 1-2db, the primary advantage is improved bass response/dynamics.
Balanced mode eliminates a small amount of ultrasonic noise and has better noise immunity from other devices in your system.

[SatoriGFX]

Their service seems excellent. That's why I'm considering them. I received similar recommendations for my speakers from RAW Acoustics, and they're the best damn things I've ever heard. By quite a bit.

Last questions:

1) any plans for a successor to the VAC•1? A successor to the VRX•1?

2) How much of a difference (in dB, in the applicable test(s)) does the upgraded power supply and cables make? I know I asked this before, but if you could quantify it in some way I would appreciate it.

You're going to give yourself a brain aneurysm.  We're talking about a $600 DAC, not a $600,000 house.

Numbers only tell part of the story.  If you have read what users have said regarding it's sound/performance and it sounds, based on their comments, like your cup of tea, it probably is.  I read as many user reviews as I could on the VDA-2 and when it arrived and I plugged it in it sounded pretty much as I expected it to.  It's amazing what you can deduce about a product's sound from reading reviews.  My Jean-Marie Reynaud Twin Signatures (bought new) and my Simaudio I-5 (bought used) both sound pretty much as I expected them to as well.  One review never tells the whole story.  But reading many reviews (professional or user), looking at each reviewers equipment and their comments on the product in question (and other products they have used) usually let's me know pretty much what to expect.  So far, my decisions have worked out.

Adam.

[elg2001]

OK I've made a decision: I'm going to buy the VDA•2 and the upgraded power supply. I'll get the balanced cables at a later date, when I actually have components that accept a balanced XLR input. What is the best way for me to make payment?

I'd like to thank you SO MUCH for answering all my questions. I know I'm picky, and I really appreciate you bearing with me and helping me come to an informed decision.

[SatoriGFX]

OK I've made a decision: I'm going to buy the VDA•2 and the upgraded power supply. I'll get the balanced cables at a later date, when I actually have components that accept a balanced XLR input. What is the best way for me to make payment?

I'd like to thank you SO MUCH for answering all my questions. I know I'm picky, and I really appreciate you bearing with me and helping me come to an informed decision.

I think, if you have done your research right (and it seems you have and then some), that you are really going to enjoy this DAC.

Let us know what you think.  Give it some time to burn in (200 hours maybe) before making your final judgement.

Adam.

[gooberdude]

Just chiming in to schill for Revelation Audio Labs...their umbilical cable transformed my VPP-1 phono preamp.  My guess is it would turbocharge the DAC as well.   It imparts a similar sonic upgrade as the external PSU, but takes the improvements to a whole 'nother level.   

When i have friends over and we start talking about cables and what not, I simply replace the RAL umbilical with the stock umbilical for a listen.   After that, folks just nod their heads and go  'oh, i get it...'  People are usually shocked that a 1 foot long cable can do so much. 

no affiliation, just an extremely happy customer.

[elg2001]

I've done a TON of research on cables. The short of it: fancy cables are the same and in many cases worse than a well made copper cable. At least this is what I believe. You're entitled to your own opinion.

I'm basing my opinion on the fact that I've seen scientific measurements and bench tests that can repeatedly reproduce the fact that an excellent copper cable (I get mine from blue jeans cable) will match or outperform expensive "audiophile" cables. If you can give me an argument that contradicts my point, then I'd like to hear it. But I do appreciate your opinion.

[mfsoa]

OK someone'll say it, so here goes...

I don't listen to scientific measurements and bench tests. I look at scientific measurements and bench tests.

I listen to music.

If you base your judgement on cable quality based on your own listening tests, and come to the exact same conclusion you've already reached, I say that's excellent, you've done your homework, I have no disagreement with you etc.

But to know how something sounds based on the look of the tests, well, I don't think there's much arguement here that that's just not how it's to be done.

The BJC is a good interconnect for the $$. I bought a pair to establish a baseline for future cable shopping. I have since made the similarly priced kit from DIYCable and feel that the DIY kit is quite a bit better sounding. Don't know why. Don't care. Don't know how they measure.

[elg2001]

Dusty, please read my latest question above. Just making sure you don't miss it because of all these comments.

[gooberdude]

Hey elg2001,

I'm not talking about fancy cables that might be snake oil...the RAL umbilical
for Channel Islands products is something special altogether.   as far as i can tell, they are the only firm to make these umbilicals.

the beauty of my suggestion is the $ back guarantee that RAL offers.

If you search this cable on the AC archives, you'll read a # of very recent posts from folks here who share
similar views as you but have been dumbfounded by the effects of the RAL umbilical when compared to ANY other cable purchase, whether speaker, IC or power.  

i can't stand snake oil either....     I had owned and revered my VPP-1/Vac-1 combo for over 12 months when i accidentally ran across RAL and figured that since i'd invested so much into Dusty's products, and truly enjoyed them more than most audio purchases i'd made, that a $ back trial was in order for the 1 final upgrade possible.   i'm SO glad i made the jump.

i don't do measurements...what kind of laws are in place for audio mfgrs to tell the truth???   However, the quality of CD's i make from my LP collection took such a gigantic leap forward in terms of musicaltiy & overall enjoyment due to this $100 upgrade that its hard to deny the effect the RAL umbilicals impart.  even my mom can tell!  She made me re-do all the Diana Ross LP's i'd converted to CD for her.

sometimes you gotta take a leap.  nice to know it'll only cost you postage on a tiny cable if I or any other poster are pulling your leg.

just check out 'the Chair Guy's' comments on this cable in the archives...

Also, you guys are talking IC's...i'm mentioning an umbilical to run between the VDA-2 & the external PSU.

just my 2 cents!   silly to discount something you've never tried...

[CIAudio]

OK I've made a decision: I'm going to buy the VDA•2 and the upgraded power supply. I'll get the balanced cables at a later date, when I actually have components that accept a balanced XLR input. What is the best way for me to make payment?

see http://www.ciaudio.com/ and click "ordering"

[elg2001]

OK thanks. I'm looking forward to doing business with you. aa

[Psychicanimal]

I've done a TON of research on cables. The short of it: fancy cables are the same and in many cases worse than a well made copper cable. At least this is what I believe. You're entitled to your own opinion.

I'm basing my opinion on the fact that I've seen scientific measurements and bench tests that can repeatedly reproduce the fact that an excellent copper cable (I get mine from blue jeans cable) will match or outperform expensive "audiophile" cables. If you can give me an argument that contradicts my point, then I'd like to hear it. But I do appreciate your opinion.

I've done a TON of listening to cables.

This is what I use--and there's no turning back:

http://home.comcast.net/~ridgestreetaudio/Midnight_Technical.html

Naturally insulated,  silver ribbon interconnects (medical grade, cryo treated & highly polished ).

[SatoriGFX]

I've done a TON of research on cables. The short of it: fancy cables are the same and in many cases worse than a well made copper cable. At least this is what I believe. You're entitled to your own opinion.

I'm basing my opinion on the fact that I've seen scientific measurements and bench tests that can repeatedly reproduce the fact that an excellent copper cable (I get mine from blue jeans cable) will match or outperform expensive "audiophile" cables. If you can give me an argument that contradicts my point, then I'd like to hear it. But I do appreciate your opinion.

I'm not one to fall for just anything.  Any quality cable "should" be about as good as another.  But, that's not the case in my experience.

Firstly, all quality cables do not measure the same.  Impedence and capacitance, for starters, do vary.

Double Blind tests don't impress me.  It's easy to fool someone with a 15 second snippet of music.  And many people, even those apparently qualified like trained musicians, have rather horrible hearing.  A recent study showed a group of trained musicians could not tell the difference between a Strad and some other mediocre violin.  If you believe they sound the same, you are nuts.  Sit back and listen to 2 components for a longer period of time and the differences become obvious.

Cable doubters always talk about the "placebo effect".  They say that you hear a difference because you want to.  They say that when you go and buy brand new expensive cables, you "want" them to be better.  None of these doubters have been able to explain to me why when I went and spent my hard earned money on a pair of Cardas bi-wire jumpers to replace my less exotic and less expensive Unity Audio jumpers (obviously hoping to improve the sound of the Totem Sttafs I owned at the time), I ended up prefering the latter and the former sat unused.  The placebo effect should have made me prefer the Cardas jumpers.  And the difference between the two was quite noticable, the Cardas being warmer and fuller, the Unity Audio's being leaner and more resolving in the highs (which also goes against the bi-wire doubters who say there is no difference in bi-wire jumpers to be heard).  These doubters also claim that most tweaks are useless, including various component isolation devices.  Again, I have had a different experience.  I tested two different isolation tweaks under my cheap DVD player (Goo Systems Gooeys and Boston Audio TuneBlocks)  and each sounded distictly different.

Cable doubters claim that "if" there is a difference (see, they still leave room for the possibility) that the cables are simply acting as tone controls.  I don't think it's quite that simple, but I don't care.  The differences are there and as long as the sound gets better, I don't care why or how it does.

Millions of people (many of whom are the same people who are against fancy cables and such) also claim that an MP3 encoded at 320kb/s is indistinguishable from a cd.  I'll admit, it's somewhat close.  But on a quality system, the differences exist.

Natural and synthetic indigo dyes are chemically identical according to scientists yet they do not quite look nor wash/age the same.  Explain that.

We all hear differently as well.  Some people simply can't hear the differences.  A co-worker of mine can hear up to about 16Khz but has problems telling the precise volume of sounds in that range.  He's an electronic musician and must use his meters to make sure he doesn't make the highs too hot.  Interestingly, I still find most of his music that he brings in for me to listen to hard to listen too because I find his mixes heavy in the mid-highs to highs.  Many classical musicians, interestingly, have some of the worst hearing (more so than rockers) because of the environment they work in with huge orchestras and someone behind and beside them playing loudly.  I recently have had some hearing problems (related to an ear infection and fluid buildup in the ear) and I can tell you that quite small differences in ear pressure and fluid buildup have a major effect on hearing.  Hearing loss can also be quite frequency range specific, you can lose hearing in any part of the spectrum.  We "all" have some hearing loss however minor.  My experience, and my research becuase of it, has made me not trust just one persons opinion on how something sounds.

The good thing is, if you can't hear the difference between cables, you just saved yourself alot of money.

Adam.

[Eduardo AAVM]

OK thanks. I'm looking forward to doing business with you. aa

You won't be dissapointed.

[elg2001]

Many people's opinions on sound quality differ. To me, the best sound quality comes from a flat frequency response, i.e. what goes in is exactly what comes out, only amplified. Expensive cables tend to color the sound alot like tube amps. Some people prefer this. I don't. Very well insulated, low impedance and low capacitance cables do just what I'm looking for. The CIAudio DAC does just that. UcD amp modules do just that. So that's what I'm buying.

[mfsoa]

What about the time domain?

If I delay everything under 300 hz by one second in a system with perfect frequency response, I don't think that would sound good.

We are a looong way from being able to accurately model and measure every facet of the ear-brain system.

The frequency response alterations induced by the room (and our our ears) are probably orders of magnitude larger than any FR imperfections in our gear, to the point that the FR of the gear is most likely completely irrelevent to what your brain ends up hearing.

[SatoriGFX]

Many people's opinions on sound quality differ. To me, the best sound quality comes from a flat frequency response, i.e. what goes in is exactly what comes out, only amplified. Expensive cables tend to color the sound alot like tube amps. Some people prefer this. I don't. Very well insulated, low impedance and low capacitance cables do just what I'm looking for. The CIAudio DAC does just that. UcD amp modules do just that. So that's what I'm buying.

Well, then you are lucky.  Perfectly flat hearing, components that measure perfectly flat and a perfectly flat room response.  If only it were so easy.

Adam.

[elg2001]

Well the flat room response is the only thing I don't have. But no one does unless they remodel their house around their home theater room.

I want to hear the sound exactly as it was recorded. I don't like equalizers. I want as few things as possible between the audio source and my speakers. To me, that's good sound. But I know everyone has an opinion, and I respect that. I also know what I like, so that's what I'm buying. I've listened to quite a bit of "classy" audio gear, and it has never sounded as good as I have right now (and what I have now isn't even all that it could be). Just wait till I get this DAC and a new amp and preamp, then use SPDIF out from my computer to the DAC I can't wait.

As for "alot", I guess I just got used to it from IMing so much, so it's a hard habit to break.