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Reference DACS: An overall perspective

There has been many threads the last few months regarding the sonic signature of some of the highest regarded reference DACS (Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) here on the GON. I have been very fortunate to audtion many of these wonderful pieces in my home or friend's systems. I wanted to share, in a systematic way, my impressions/opinions with you GON members for a two reasons: 1)That my experiences might be helpful to fellow members interested in audtioning these DACS. 2)Starting an interesting discussion regarding the different "sonic flavors" of these reference digital front ends. I totally agree with the statement, "if you have not heard it you don't have an opinion". Therefore, I have no comments regarding DACS from Weiss,Goldmund,Audio Aero and Burmester because I have never had the pleasure of audtioning them. I would love to hear from members who have and share their experiences with us. My overall impression is that these DACS(Dcs,Meitner,Ensemble,Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts) can be grouped into two molar categories regarding their overall sonic signature. By the way, all of them can throw a large/deep soundstage with excellent layering in the acoustic space with "air" around individual players on that stage. However, than they start to part company into two major categories. Category #1) These DACS "flavors" revolve around pristine clarity, fine sharp details,speed,very extended top/bottom frequencies,and great PRAT. These DACS never sound "etched" or "in your face" but are more "upfront" then "layed back" in their presentation. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Dcs,Ensemble,Meitner. My personnal favorite in this group is the Ensemble, which I owned for two years. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Wilson,Thiel,Dynaudio, Focal/JM Labs. Category #2) These DACS "flavors" revolve around a "musical/organic" sense, natural timbres,and an easy flowing liquidity. Their "less forward" presentation my give the impression of less detail, but I think in this case its an illusion fostered by their more relaxed/organic manner. The DACS, to my ear's, that go into this bracket are Audio Note,Zanden,Reimyo,Accustic Arts. I did find that the tube DACS did not have the top/bottom frequency extenstion and PRAT of the SS DACS in this bracket. For me, the Accustic Arts DAC1-MK3 gave me the best of both categories, therefore it is now the resident DAC in my system. These DACS remind me of the sonic signature of speakers such as Magnepan,Von Schweikert,Sonus Faber. Well, it's all just my opinion regarding these digital pieces, but I hope this post was at least informative/somewhat interesting and would lend itself to other GON members sharing their impressions, not about what DAC is the "BEST" in the world, but your personnal taste and synergy with your system.
teajay
teajay OP
1,655 posts
 
Exlibris, your experience so far is very similiar to what I heard, but I would describe it as being "closed in" before the DAC blossomed into giving its best performance. I used to use the Acoustic Zen cable and found it to be smooth and warm, but not giving great details or "air" around the players in a smaller sound stage. Its a good cable at its price range, but could some what get in the way of the performance of the AA gear. When I got my AA DAC I had a fully broke in transport and digital cable (Ensemble,Artistic Arts) which might have lead to a more positive experience in the first 40 hours, less fog as you would say, then your getting right now. Well, thanks for getting back on whats going on right now, and I expect that what you hear well be much more pleasing as time goes on with your home audition. The Acoustic Zen cable is good enough to let you know, after the needed burn in, if the sonics of the AA will float your sonic boat.
branimir
236 posts
 
Treemed67-Rajko, I have Esoteric DV50s almost one year now. I am enjoying it very much in my office system, it is good #1 flavor player. But, it is not the best RBCD playback for the money. Weiss combo and ARC REF CD7 are a lot better then DV50s with RBCDs! There are IMO only two players(universal) that are better then DV50s in $5-8K region. These are: Ayre C-5xe(universal stereo music player, NO DVD-V or without video section!) and Esoteric UX-3. Accustic Arts Surround Player is little bit to expensive($9K)... Esoteric UX-3 is better then DV50s in every respect so, if price is not the issue go for UX-3.
Esoteric gear benefites very much from after market power cords and all of them have very long break-in period(up to 1000h!!).
Exlibris, I audition Reimyo DAP-777 and Audio Aero Prestige SACD player is currently in my system. My findings are that ARC REF CD7 is better then both of them.
AA Prestige is very good and is sounding very best via its internal preamp but, ARC REF3 and ARC REF CD7 together are IMO a Lot better... More midrange magic, better bass(big suprise!) and more natural high frequency, to my ears.
Prestige is at $13K very good choice(internal preamp-a good one) but, its preamp section is not in the same league as ARC REF3 and even just as a players I like ARC REF CD7 more. Prestige player is also not very user friendly... I did not audition Zanden in my system( just at hifi shows) and Kondo KSL-DAC is very interesting dac...
Audio Note(UK) gear do not interest me. Need to audition Accustic Arts combo that you are currently break-in in your system.
philnyc
162 posts
 
Exlibris,

The AZ MC-squared is a 110 ohm cable best suited for an AES/EBU digital interface. If you're using RCA and want to stay with Acoustic Zen, you should use the AZ Silver Byte digital cable, which is 75 ohms (or at least as close to 75ohms as an RCA cable can be...ideally, you'd use it with a BNC connector)...
teajay OP
1,655 posts
 
Exlibris, was thinking about how your auditioning process is goning regarding the Acoustic Arts gear. Last night a friend wanted me to bring over my AA DAC/Stealth Sextet cable to try in his system (Electrocompaniet ECI integrated amp, Electrocompaniet EMC UP CDP, Acoustic Zen wires, and MG-1.6's). We used the EMC UP 1 as the transport with the AA DAC, and we both agreed it sounded wonderful with this gear. The EMC CDP is still a very good sounding player, but my friend agreed it was not in the same league sonicly as the AA DAC. So, it's performance was very similiar in this system as it was in mine. True, we both use planar speakers, but very different electronics, so it somewhat rules out just some type of special synergy in my system regarding the sonics of the AA DAC. I'm still very curious about what's happening in your system, so let us know what's going on, as I'm sure you will.
fcrowder
191 posts
 
Over the weekend, our local audio group compared the following: Audiomat Reference DAC/CEC Transport ($9k/$2k), the Esoteric UX-01, the Exemplar modified Denon 3910, the Ayre 5 (?) and the Bel Canto Reference Player ($7500). (Prices are quoted strictly for identification purposes when I was unsure of the model.) The results were clearly along the lines suggested in this thread with the Audiomat, Bel Canto and Denon falling into the more liquid/emotional camp and the Esoteric and Ayre falling into the hyper detailed camp. All were sited on a Finite Element Pagode Reference stand and on Cerabases. A number of different power cords were tried. some units preferring one over the other. All units benefitted from the Cerabases, some more so than others. Of the hyper detailed group the Esoteric was significantly better than the Ayre which in comparison was bright, forward, grainy and generally hard to listen to for long periods. The Esoteric seemed much more natural tonally with excellent imaging and detail but was the slightest bit bright. Of the second group, the Denon was the clear winner offering substantial detail while retaining musicality. In comparison to the Esoteric the Denon was not quite as extended at the frequency extremes sounding just the slightest bit dark. The Bel canto was also good but not as neutral as the Denon. Given my particular priorities, I would probably choose the Denon over the Esoteric as it is an unit that you can listen to for extended periods without getting fatigued. I would like to hear the Esoteric with a Shunyada Anaconda power cord which is supposedly an idael match.
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