Comparson Of 24/92 vs Non Upsampling DAC's


I have Revel F 50 speakers, BAT VK 500 BAt VK 5i and Audiomecca Mephisto 11x transport and Musical Fidelity DAC. Looking to upgrade DAC and am confused about upsampling vs. not. Have been looking at Audiomecca Ekianthus and Audionote 3.1 balanced. Would like to hear opinions of the sound of these two DAC's as well as discussion as to the differences in sound quality of upsampling vs. nonupsampling DAC's.

Also would like to know if there are any potential problems going with a non Audiomecca DAC with my exisiting transport.

Thank you

Rick
128x128rickrose

Showing 1 response by budrew

I have the Audio Note 2.1x balanced DAC. You can see my review of it here on Audiogon. I prefer the zero sampling DACs to upsampling, at least in the experience I have with the digital components I've tried here at home. I've ordered a Wavelength Audio Cosine DAC to see how it compares too. It's also zero sampling with tube output like the AN, but in a smaller case. After having the AN DAC in my system I've lost any desire to upgrade, unless it's to a better AN DAC. It's just darn good, and through a quality headphone setup this becomes even clearer. Instruments sound very natural and it's smooth and dynamic.

I'm currently using it with an Electrocompaniet EMC-1 as transport, but will be receiving an Accustic Arts Drive 1 in a few days. As long as your Audiomecca has a digital out it should work fine with any DAC.