[newzooreview]

I'm re-posting this since it seems not to have made it here where I intended 

Speaking of websites, I noticed yesterday that the dB Audio site (http://www.dbaudiolabs.com/) has a new section up on "Tech Talk" that summarizes some of the electronics design info that Eric has posted here and that elaborates on a few things that haven't been mentioned in this thread. Better check it out soon before the hacker extortionists get there! 

[ctviggen]

Now that will be a great comparison - keep us posted!

Just make sure to use the same interconnects, to remove one item that could make a modification in the sound.

[el-cee]

First one on A'gon:
http://http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1270837075&/Db-Audio-Labs-Tranquility-DAC-
Will be replaced with something "much more expensive".(?)

[satfrat]

First one on A'gon:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1270837075&/Db-Audio-Labs-Tranquility-DAC-
Will be replaced with something "much more expensive".(?)

Damn that went fast, sold in just a few hours after posting. 

[pardales]

Damn that went fast, sold in just a few hours after posting. 

I'm not surprised.....it is new and there is still a great deal of excitement about it--excitement that is deserved IMHO. I am keeping mine.

[genjamon]

I'm hoping mine shows up in the mail today.  Will let you all know my impressions compared to the Peachtree Nova and Channel Islands VDA-2.

[brj]

To add to that...

1) If you want to review another product, we would absolutely appreciate your insight, but please start a new thread rather than divert this one.
2) Please try not to degrade the signal-to-noise ratio of this thread (or any review thread)... consider whether your post adds anything useful to the thread before you post.  (Hint: attacking others does not improve the signal-to-noise ratio!)
3) John and I are both actively watching this thread, so there is little need for people to keep sending us PMs.  If we haven't responded, it is simply because we really don't want to interfere any more than we must, or we're busy and not logged in at that particular time.

Thanks for your understanding.

[dBe]

If we haven't responded, it is simply because we really don't want to interfere any more than we must, or we're busy and not logged in at that particular time.

Thanks for your understanding.



***********************************
Cool.

 

I am personally interested in all kinds of USB DACs at the moment so another open thread would be a good thing.  OTOH, the dB AudioLabs DAC is getting really great reviews and it is good to keep this thread on topic.

Eric, I'm still saving my shekels.  The remodel is kind of kicking my USB dreams to the curb right now, so I bought an ebay cheapie to tide me over... I can hardly wait to get my Tranquility!

I love this hobby/profession/obsession.

Dave

[dBe]

This thread was suggested to me when I asked about newer NOS USB DAC offerings. 

Glossing this thread that is filled with adhomenim attacks/distractions, I will refuse to do business with company that doesn't honor their refund policy. 

Moderators, please think of this post as a positive addition to this thread.  I, for one, do think both good and bad word of mouth are important.

This is why forums such as this one is important.  Basically, if you start deleting threads such as these, you're only hurting this forum's integrity.

I think the point of the moderator's stance is that the posts in question have no relevance to dB Audio Labs and Eric Hider.  That is an apples and oranges comparison at best.  I have heard the DAC, it rocks, people have nothing but good to say about the business practices of dB Audio Labs and that is what is important.  As another small audio business owner, I rely upon word of mouth as much as any other form of advertisement to help sell my products.  If a someone decides for what ever reason that I am the antichrist, there is little that I can do to quell his or her statements.  I have been slimed on another forum because my business addresses a portion of the audio equation that some people deem irrelevant.  It is hard to emerge from the goo when someone has a vindictive bent to their posts.  It is not in anyones' best interests to diss someone for a he said/he said disagreement that is not pertinent.

My buck twenty.

Dave

[viggen]

I think the point of the moderator's stance is that the posts in question have no relevance to dB Audio Labs and Eric Hider.  That is an apples and oranges comparison at best.  I have heard the DAC, it rocks, people have nothing but good to say about the business practices of dB Audio Labs and that is what is important.  As another small audio business owner, I rely upon word of mouth as much as any other form of advertisement to help sell my products.  If a someone decides for what ever reason that I am the antichrist, there is little that I can do to quell his or her statements.  I have been slimed on another forum because my business addresses a portion of the audio equation that some people deem irrelevant.  It is hard to emerge from the goo when someone has a vindictive bent to their posts.  It is not in anyones' best interests to diss someone for a he said/he said disagreement that is not pertinent.

My buck twenty.

Dave

Dave, I agree with you.  It is apples and oranges until the proprietor of this thread initiated the attack on someone who wasn't even a participant in this thread.  Not only do I find this fishy but when the person being attacked attempted to defend himself, he is considered out of line.   

Sorry, but I find this fishy and no longer think apples and oranges metaphor applies.

Ed

[viggen]

I'm the proprietor of this thread so I think you are a bit confused.

Sorry I meant the proprietor of the company this thread's product is about.

[newzooreview]

Sorry I meant the proprietor of the company this thread's product is about.

Viggen, have you had poor customer service from dB Audio Labs?

[TheChairGuy]

Great - the topic has been properly swiss-cheesed now with most of the offending posts taken out.  I hope there's a semblance of flow to this topic now...I tried to prune carefully.

Let's back to the subject at hand...a review of the db Audio Labs Tranquility DAC.

Larry Moore, and or former company policies seem to have no bearing on this topic.

Please get back to the topic, guys 

John

[timztunz]

So, how about that DAC?  Isn't it just the bomb!

[genjamon]

Ok, I've had the Tranquility in my system now since Wednesday evening (now Sunday morning).  It's played mostly continuously, logging somewhere in the low 80's of hours at this point.  My computer is using linux (Xubuntu) running Rhythmbox as the music player, files are FLAC on an external hard drive.  Virtue USB cable between hard drive and computer, Ridge Street Audio Alethias from computer to Tranquility.  I've had the Alethias for about a year now, so it's well worn in at this point.  Peachtree Nova as preamp (and USB DAC comparison), and Wyred4Sound SX-500 monoblocks.  Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Monitors.  You can see cabling in my system description through my link.

Now for my impressions.  When first installed, I heard a little more air in the recordings than I was used to, but the overall separation of instruments, etc was pretty much on par with the Peachtree Nova performance.  This was probably true again after about 15 hours of use when I listened again with some friends.  We swapped back and forth on a couple tracks between the Nova and the Tranquility.  I thought there was a bit of a difference balanced toward the Tranquility, but it was subtle even for me. 

Fast forward to around the 40-45 hour mark (next time I really listened), and I was beginning to hear more instrumental separation and overall clarity.  Seemed like some haze/hash was leaving.  Some of my favorite tracks had more instrumental definition.  I like to use Barfly by Ray Lamontagne as one of my test tracks.  It's a slow paced song with breathy male vocals (like only Ray can do) and has good subtle brush percussion along with a great bluesy guitar.  Late in the song, the whole band kicks into another gear, and the percussion is key to this transition.  I like to listen to the emphatic tom tom strikes as the drummer goes from brushes to sticks (or at least using the solid end of the brushes).  My previous comparisons between the Channel Island VDA-2 (with VAC-1 and good cables) and the Peachtree Nova DAC were that the CI DAC delivered a more solid and fleshy embodiment of these drums.  The guitars were also more bluesy.  And the rhythm (PRAT) was better too.  With the Tranquility on Friday night, I could hear much further into that transition than ever previously.  I could hear that it was probably not moving from brushes to drum sticks, but probably more like hitting the toms with the solid end of the brushes.  It was a little surprising revelation.

Fast forward to about 65-70 hours (last night's listening session).  I was hearing more vocal nuances on several recordings than ever before.  The overall presentation was quite a bit more relaxed than before, especially compared to those first hours.  Dimensionality had probably increased a bit more.  I'm beginning to really hear why people think this is a special unit. 

At first, I was doubting it was going to be better enough to justify the expense beyond what I already had.  The progress in these last two days has been pretty impressive.  I'm not prone to hyperbole when doing critical listening, so I'll stop short of saying it's remarkable.  However, as a careful listener, and as a fairly cash-strapped and bang-for-the-buck audiophile/enthusiast, I'm almost certain the unit is here to stay. 

I'll probably follow up once more after 100 hours has been reached.  I wanted to share my thoughts here, as I didn't think previous posters really laid out impressions over the progression of break-in.  I, for one, had the impression things were pretty locked in from the beginning, based on previous posts.  Based on this, I wasn't that impressed initially and thought I might be sending it back.  I'm happy to say the changes over the course of these hours have been quite substantial in terms of increasing instrumental separation and clarifying all those subtle sonic qualities of instruments and voice.  I could tell the sound was dense initially, but I wasn't getting anything like clarity.  I'm happy that clarity has been coming forth in the last listening sessions.  If it continues to improve at this pace all the way through 100 hours or so, this will have been a very special purchase - the foundation for some other needed improvements in my system.

~Ben

[pardales]

Ok, I've had the Tranquility in my system now since Wednesday evening (now Sunday morning).  It's played mostly continuously, logging somewhere in the low 80's of hours at this point.  My computer is using linux (Xubuntu) running Rhythmbox as the music player, files are FLAC on an external hard drive.  Virtue USB cable between hard drive and computer, Ridge Street Audio Alethias from computer to Tranquility.  I've had the Alethias for about a year now, so it's well worn in at this point.  Peachtree Nova as preamp (and USB DAC comparison), and Wyred4Sound SX-500 monoblocks.  Tyler Acoustics Linbrook Monitors.  You can see cabling in my system description through my link.

Now for my impressions.  When first installed, I heard a little more air in the recordings than I was used to, but the overall separation of instruments, etc was pretty much on par with the Peachtree Nova performance.  This was probably true again after about 15 hours of use when I listened again with some friends.  We swapped back and forth on a couple tracks between the Nova and the Tranquility.  I thought there was a bit of a difference balanced toward the Tranquility, but it was subtle even for me. 

Fast forward to around the 40-45 hour mark (next time I really listened), and I was beginning to hear more instrumental separation and overall clarity.  Seemed like some haze/hash was leaving.  Some of my favorite tracks had more instrumental definition.  I like to use Barfly by Ray Lamontagne as one of my test tracks.  It's a slow paced song with breathy male vocals (like only Ray can do) and has good subtle brush percussion along with a great bluesy guitar.  Late in the song, the whole band kicks into another gear, and the percussion is key to this transition.  I like to listen to the emphatic tom tom strikes as the drummer goes from brushes to sticks (or at least using the solid end of the brushes).  My previous comparisons between the Channel Island VDA-2 (with VAC-1 and good cables) and the Peachtree Nova DAC were that the CI DAC delivered a more solid and fleshy embodiment of these drums.  The guitars were also more bluesy.  And the rhythm (PRAT) was better too.  With the Tranquility on Friday night, I could hear much further into that transition than ever previously.  I could hear that it was probably not moving from brushes to drum sticks, but probably more like hitting the toms with the solid end of the brushes.  It was a little surprising revelation.

Fast forward to about 65-70 hours (last night's listening session).  I was hearing more vocal nuances on several recordings than ever before.  The overall presentation was quite a bit more relaxed than before, especially compared to those first hours.  Dimensionality had probably increased a bit more.  I'm beginning to really hear why people think this is a special unit. 

At first, I was doubting it was going to be better enough to justify the expense beyond what I already had.  The progress in these last two days has been pretty impressive.  I'm not prone to hyperbole when doing critical listening, so I'll stop short of saying it's remarkable.  However, as a careful listener, and as a fairly cash-strapped and bang-for-the-buck audiophile/enthusiast, I'm almost certain the unit is here to stay. 

I'll probably follow up once more after 100 hours has been reached.  I wanted to share my thoughts here, as I didn't think previous posters really laid out impressions over the progression of break-in.  I, for one, had the impression things were pretty locked in from the beginning, based on previous posts.  Based on this, I wasn't that impressed initially and thought I might be sending it back.  I'm happy to say the changes over the course of these hours have been quite substantial in terms of increasing instrumental separation and clarifying all those subtle sonic qualities of instruments and voice.  I could tell the sound was dense initially, but I wasn't getting anything like clarity.  I'm happy that clarity has been coming forth in the last listening sessions.  If it continues to improve at this pace all the way through 100 hours or so, this will have been a very special purchase - the foundation for some other needed improvements in my system.

~Ben

Great post. Regardless of what it is attributed to (break-in, warming up, getting used to it) I too found the DAC to come into its own more at about the 150-200 hour mark.

[newzooreview]

Same here--200 hours break-in will really reveal what it's capable of.

The three major improvements with sound on the Tranquility DAC came with a) break-in,  b) getting an Alethias USB cable, and c) getting it plugged directly into the wall. I now have it plugged into a laboratory-grade surge protector that provides some EMI/RFI filtering (made by elec-spect.com) and that seems to have cleaned up a little graininess as well (and gives me good surge protection, which I wanted).

[genjamon]

Well, after about 100 hours it's doing very well.  What would you say happens over that second 100 hours that hasn't over the first?

[newzooreview]

Well, after about 100 hours it's doing very well.  What would you say happens over that second 100 hours that hasn't over the first?

Hard to give you a good answer because I added the Alethias USB cable into the mix during break-in, and my final evaluation was for both additively. I'll be curious to hear what you find after 200 hours vs. 100. May be subtle?

[borism]

Well, I have been listening to the Tranquility DAC in my system for more then a month now. I would like to briefly share my experience. My system consists of a MacBook Pro, Virtue USB cable, BAT VK-3ix, Kimber Hero, Mac 275, Kimber 8tc, Thiel 2.4. My other digital source is a CAL Audio cl-15 CD player.
The reason I became interested in a computer linked system is the age of my CD player and the convenience factor. My only prior attempt at a separate DAC was an HRT Music Streamer+. I returned this DAC after a few weeks because I preferred my CD player for being more dynamic and, overall, more engaging. While the HRT was pleasant it did not pull me into the music. My observations with the Tranquility DAC are the exact opposite. I now prefer to listen to the MAC-Tranquility system. I can not say much about soundstage, frequency extension, air etc. except that there is nothing missing for me. However, I can say that I often listen to music while reading and repeatedly my attention has been pulled away from such activity and towards the music. I often find myself tapping my foot while listening. Even my wife who does not subscribe to this hobby, well, I have witnessed her singing along. So, this has been a very positive experience. I also want to mention, like others have before, that Eric was extremely helpful in optimizing my system.