Eastern Electric's new tube DAC using ESS Sabre??

Doug - The 24/48 or 24/96 files I play through my EE dac sound significantly better than redbook. I just don't see how the dac can create additional data simply because it's 32 bit. Calling for the death of high-rez digital because we have 32 bit dacs now is just silly, IMO.

Mr T. - In your review I think I saw that you use a passive pre - The dac has a very high output impedence from the tube stage (22K) - I was wondering if you tried it with an active pre, and if not I suggest that you might not have heard all that this little wonder can do.

-Mike

Doug,
No, nothing that I could know came from the same master. I'll have to reread the review to see if/how you accomplished this. It just seems like most everything I have in high-rez has a walk-around/walk-through soundstage that I rarely if ever get from 16/44 sources. Tonally they are very close but spatially far apart, no idea why.
I still don't understand how the use of a 32 bit dac can add info to a 16/44 file that is present in a higher bit rate/bit depth source. I appreciate your reporting your experience as you experienced it.
Great dac, though, that's for sure!

OK, just quickly reread the review. I see that you were simply playing redbook material that had either been upsampled to 24/192 or left at 16/44. This is completely different from comparing 16/44 vs. higher-rez data. No suprize to me that 16/44 that is internally upsampled in the Sabre sounds the same as 16/44 upsampled to 24/192 and then further upsampled by the Sabre sounds the same. It's essentially the same data.
On my quick re-read, I did not see that you actually listened to any hi-rez data, yet you surmize that hi-rez has now been rendered moot by the existence of 32 bit dacs.
You should really listen to hi-rez through this thing before commenting that there is no advantage to using hi-rez files vs. 16/44.

-Mike

Hi Doug, Thanks for the reply,

You are correct that I haven't been able to compare redbook vs. hi-rez directly, but I have heard many hi-rez sources and they certainly do things better than most any of my redbook sources, which clearly sound better than the lossy MP3s I listen to frequently (the Linn Jazz/Radio/Classical streams at 320 k sound very good). None of the 256 K or 128 K stations I frequent sound as good as the 320 Linns. (through Logitech Touch into EE dac)

IMHO I feel that you overstated the similarity of lossy MP3 vs. redbook vs. hi-rez sources.

Great dac though, that's for sure. I'd encourage you to seek out some true hi-rez material (there was a free download of Stravinsky's History of a Soldier (sorry if that's not a perfect translation) and it's superb).

As good as you think you've heard from the dac, I can assure you there's more to be had if you try some hi-rez material.

Thanks for the friendly banter!

-Mike

My bad, I thought that when you said "Alternatively, there’s a lot of incentive to gravitate toward music websites like Rhapsody, or one of my new favorites, Lastfm.com; the final outcome as treated by the Minimax is theoretically better than your typical Hi Rez sound!" that you meant that the final outcome (of listening to lossy mp3s from Rhapsody or Lastfm)as treated by the Minimax is theoretically better than your typical Hi Rez sound.
-Mike