I'm dyin' here!!! The Great DAC Shootout...

Alwayswantmore · « **Reply #180 on:** 17 Apr 2010, 07:49 pm »

I've been interested in the Wavelength Cosecant v3. Anyone watching this thread have any experience with this DAC, especially in comparison to those reviewed? Thanks, Kent

jtwrace · « **Reply #181 on:** 18 Apr 2010, 02:24 am »

Quote from: Alwayswantmore on 17 Apr 2010, 07:49 pm

I've been interested in the Wavelength Cosecant v3. Anyone watching this thread have any experience with this DAC, especially in comparison to those reviewed? Thanks, Kent

I have a lot of experience with the Cosecant V3 but none of the others that are part of this thread. The only other one is I bought a Valab and did the mods to it and gave it to my dad. I've sold the Cosecant and now have a Crimson with the Denominator module.

Dracule1 · « **Reply #182 on:** 26 Apr 2010, 06:34 pm »

Just to be fair to PS Audio, take a look at what they are saying about this thread. I have no ties to any of these DACs.

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/forum/viewthread/826/

Dracule1 · « **Reply #183 on:** 29 Apr 2010, 09:31 pm »

Well, I guess I spoke to soon.

I'm getting the Tranquility DAC. I ordered the Mac Mini and looking to get external 1 or 2 TB firewire hard drive to store my music. Can anyone recommend a QUIET, RELIABLE external hard drive for the Mini?

roscoeiii · « **Reply #184 on:** 30 Apr 2010, 01:10 am »

Didn't research it as obsessively as I do most things, but got a Cavalry drive because reviews said it didn't make much noise. And that has been my experience

Danny Richie · « **Reply #185 on:** 30 Apr 2010, 02:48 am »

I think that the Western Digital drives have been a favorite for most.

Dracule1 · « **Reply #186 on:** 30 Apr 2010, 03:31 pm »

Thanks for the suggestion. Seems like the Iomega drives are popular too. Danny what drive do you use?

Danny Richie · « **Reply #187 on:** 30 Apr 2010, 03:42 pm »

Western Digital on Eric's recommendation.

Jon L · « **Reply #188 on:** 30 Apr 2010, 09:07 pm »

Quote from: roscoeiii on 30 Apr 2010, 01:10 am

Didn't research it as obsessively as I do most things, but got a Cavalry drive because reviews said it didn't make much noise. And that has been my experience

The Cavalry e-SATA/USB external boxes are great, and they come with Western Digital "Green" hard drive inside

Dracule1 · « **Reply #189 on:** 30 Apr 2010, 10:46 pm »

Thanks Danny. Can to give me the model of your WD drive? Are you satisfied with its quietness and ease of use?

Danny Richie · « **Reply #190 on:** 2 May 2010, 02:33 am »

Quote

Thanks Danny. Can to give me the model of your WD drive? Are you satisfied with its quietness and ease of use?

I don't know. It is an older firewire 400 version that Eric Hider got for me. I think it is a 1T drive.

cfcmick · « **Reply #191 on:** 2 May 2010, 10:42 pm »

Quote from: Dracule1 on 30 Apr 2010, 10:46 pm

Thanks Danny. Can to give me the model of your WD drive? Are you satisfied with its quietness and ease of use?

Their latest drives look pretty interesting.

1 TB:

http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.1300400/categoryID.13093300/subCategory.13433600/parid.13092300/catid.13092800

2 TB:

http://store.westerndigital.com/store/wdus/en_US/DisplayProductDetailsPage/ThemeID.1300400/categoryID.13093600/subCategory.13458600/parid.13092300/catid.13092800

Mick.

jhm731 · « **Reply #192 on:** 3 May 2010, 02:12 am »

Had a chance to try the PWT/PWD combo in my system.

Connected the PWD directly to my PMC AML1 monitors via Au24e balanced
cables.

PWT/PWD were plugged into a RSA Haley, the AML 1s were powered from a RSA Duke. All PCs were DIY Supra LoRads.

Compared the PWT connected via .5M I2S 12 and my Macbook(4g ram, SSD, WD HD FireWire)'s USB output. Used iTunes and set the audio midi output to 44.1K.

Used Kurt Elling's new live CD Dedicated to You. PWD was set to native and filter 1.

IMO, the PWT was better than the Macbook. Wider deeper soundstage with more inner details and focus.

Looking forward to trying to PWD with the Bridge.

gprro · « **Reply #193 on:** 4 May 2010, 12:22 am »

Hi Danny,

Just a couple questions about the mac and a couple dacs.

I'm going to order a mini soon, and am wondering if I should get the base model or the next level up with faster processor and 4G ram. I think I remember you saying the upgrade in ram made a difference.

You also mentioned the Nico dac briefly. I'm curious how the tranquility sounds in comparison. The only slight shortcoming I've read or heard about the Nico is slight dynamic compression or restiction. I'm really curious if the tranquility is better in that area, or if it also gives up a little dynamic pop to the best digital sources. Dynamics are high on my list, as well as tone, weight, detail, air, staging...haha, kind of want it all.

That being said, do you think the tranquility/mini combo is as good as the other $2.5k options out there, and significantly better than the many 1k players?

I'm also a little unclear on the wiring of dac and mini. Only 1 USB cable is used? The dac connects via USB to hard drive, and hard drive to mini with a FireWire?

I'd love to know how the wyred4sound and musical fidelity vdac would fit in. A round 2 maybe... If I get the tranquility I think there should be a couple of those in the Raleigh area, I could do a similar comparison.

Thanks,
Giyan

roscoeiii · « **Reply #194 on:** 4 May 2010, 12:27 am »

Giyan,

I'd look forward to that comparison very much...

Dracule1 · « **Reply #195 on:** 4 May 2010, 06:21 am »

cfcmick, I have researched those WD drives, but they will load their "smartware" onto the Mac that takes disk space and tie up resources. Worse, you can't unload the program. You can make it invisible, but it stilll is in the background like a unwanted relative who just won't leave.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #196 on:** 4 May 2010, 02:18 pm »

Quote

I have researched those WD drives, but they will load their "smartware" onto the Mac that takes disk space and tie up resources. Worse, you can't unload the program. You can make it invisible, but it stilll is in the background like a unwanted relative who just won't leave.

I don't know anything about that, but what I do know for sure is that playback from an external drive sounds better than an internal drive even if you are using a solid state internal drive.

Ridge Street Audio · « **Reply #197 on:** 4 May 2010, 08:35 pm »

Quote from: gprro on 4 May 2010, 12:22 am

...The only slight shortcoming I've read or heard about the Nico is slight dynamic compression or restiction. I'm really curious if the tranquility is better in that area, or if it also gives up a little dynamic pop to the best digital sources. Dynamics are high on my list, as well as tone, weight, detail, air, staging...haha, kind of want it all.

Hey gprro.

I've not had any experience with the Nico but, still, maybe I can help here.

To my ears the Tranquility is, regardless of cost, one of the most dynamic DACs I've heard. Honestly, I've heard equal but I don't believe I've heard better. IMO that's saying a lot for any digital.

I judge dynamics by two criteria: Ability to startle (with large transients) and how deep I can hear into the recording (small, low level transients)

Couple of pieces of music come to mind that I use as a reference to judge this....

Having become familiar with the music and even though I know it's coming, it still startles or surprises me:

Gregorio Paniagua's "La Folia" on the Harmonia Mundi label, track 7 "Nordica et desolata / Aurea mediocritas" @ 3:59. The slap here should absolutely POP! It's subtle but there should be plenty of low end content here too.

"Further Attempts" on the MA Recordings label, track 4 "Before... After". The whole song. This is an acoustic recording and there's things happening between the musicians that are way down in the mix. Some of these things are so subtle that they almost seem like a "suggestion" while other parts of the song set up a sense of anticipation. This is a great example of low level dynamics. Lesser front ends simply miss the nuances that happen here.

Dom Um Romao's "Saudades" on the Water Lilly Acoustics label, track 4 "Lynces B". The whole song. Another acoustic recording with lots of ear candy. Dynamics play a big part in portraying the acoustic venue and the perspective of how everything relates properly. Hard to get right - the Tranquility is exceptional here.

For reference, here's RSAD's System description: RSAD Reference System

Bottom line I suppose: Within up to around $6000.00, RSAD could use any DAC I want for product development or just enjoying music with in the reference system here. I'm very content with the Tranquility.

So, hope that points in a good direction for you gprro.

Cheers!
Robert
RSAD

Jon L · « **Reply #198 on:** 4 May 2010, 08:38 pm »

Quote from: Danny on 4 May 2010, 02:18 pm

playback from an external drive sounds better than an internal drive even if you are using a solid state internal drive.

That's true IME with both OS and music on the same drive (external vs. internal).

But do you mean OS and/or music files external vs. internal in your experience?

gprro · « **Reply #199 on:** 5 May 2010, 12:57 am »

Hey Robert,

Awesome that's exactly what I was looking for. Looks like it will push me in the direction of the tranquility. Completely agree on the importance of both ends of the dynamic spetrum. Until my recenct jump into analog also, and even on my modest temporary system, I havn't heard really good low level dynamics. On my analog setup it's suprisingly good. The instant loud jumps need a little help though. Sounds like the tranq can do both. Will be interesting comparing the same albums.

Thanks