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Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Hi All.

Putting together a reference level system.
My Source is predominantly standard 16/44 played from a MacMini using iTunes and Amarra. Some of my music is purchased from iTunes and the rest is ripped from standard CD's.
For my tastes in music, my high def catalogues are still limited; so Redbook 16/44 will be my primary source for quite some time.

I'm not spending DCS or MSB money. But $15-20k retail is not out of the question.

Upsampling vs non-upsampling?
USB input vs SPDIF?

All opinions welcome.

And I know I need to hear them, but getting these ultra $$$ DAC's into your house for an audition ain't easy.

Looking for musical, emotional, engaging, accurate , with great dimension. Not looking for analytical and sterile.
mattnshilp
denon1
329 posts
 

Matt, please update us on the foot/shelf comparison when you can. This is another important subject that worth to cover.

Thanks.

mattnshilp OP
917 posts
 
Steve - you and I are after the same thing. Best sound, period. I’ll try the other apps when I get a change. Curious to hear the differences. But I do want a nice user interface if I can have that as well, it makes searching my library much easier and more pleasant. I think many feel the same way.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
So far I have not found any sound quality problems with Roon - you may want to try it. I have known for a long time that most softwares (especially Amara Jriver and others) tend to colour the sound. I don’t know if Steve is aware but the SRC converters in Apple core audio are terrible - it is very important to make sure no conversion takes place in core audio (iTunes has its own much better SRC converter built in to the software). I used a software called Bitperfect to ensure Core Audio automatically matched the file sample rate back when I used iTunes. Even Tidal has implemented the ability to control Apple core audio to ensure good sound quality.

My overall approach is to totally avoid all SRC in software and to disable all software processing (even volume control) and filtering - perhaps that is why I don’t have all the typical problems everyone reports. Software engineers or programmers are like DAC designers - most haven’t a clue when it comes to digital signal time series processing (these are full semester courses in 3rd or 4th year engineering). Software can work one day and then an update comes along and trouble happens and one might not notice....best to turn everything off.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

Matt - I found another good playback software, Twonky. Initially it did not work with my Ethernet renderer, but they issued a new beta version that does work for me. SQ as good as Kinsky, but I think it is a bit more stable and maybe user friendly. It is not released yet, so I’m using the beta version.

I don’t know if Steve is aware but the SRC converters in Apple core audio are terrible - it is very important to make sure no conversion takes place in core audio

I know this. I avoid iTunes like the plague. I have used it in the past with Amarra as a playlist navigator. I don’t do any SRC anymore. I used Wave Editor in the past because it was the best, but I don’t find the need anymore. 16/44.1 sounds fantastic on the ODSX.

BTW, today I plan to compare on the same hardware Roon versus DLNA using either Twonky or Kinsky. The only difference will be software. I want to determine how good Roon software is. If I’m going to design a Roon interface, it had better be as good as my DLNA.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I find Roon very enjoyable and use the DSP feature to good effect with no noticeable degradation in sound quality that I could detect. I use the EQ tool as well as volume leveling and up sampling at times. Wonderful!

I did not like engaging the headroom feature that some reviewers seem to love. Just robbed the music of a little life IMHO. 
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