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SACD Player vs SACD Transport to use the D. Bob a/k/a Digital Breakout Box

Seeking the ability to hear the DSD layer of an SACD.  The current standard is PCM.  I have read that there is a legal invention called the Digital Break Out Box which allows the user to hear but not copy the DSD layer. Only interested in listening, not copying.  It is called the D. Bob and the seller sells same at geerfab.com. My reading says if you wish to use a SACD transport and hear the DSD layer and you wish to connect to an external DAC then the transport must have an HDMI out. Do any SACD transports have this HDMI.  Thought HDMI was only for televisions and not high end audio. I f I purchase a SACD player, do I still need the Geer Fab Box in order to hear the DSD layer of the SACD. In short, will I need the box in all cases? IF I am incorrect about any of my assertions, would welcome any constructive criticism.

 

kjl1065
yyzsantabarbara
5,550 posts
 

I just learned about the Briscasti m19 SACD transport. I will get to hear in on January 10th with I hope my Imversiv D-1 DAC and a couple of other great DACs.

Bricasti Design

It seems to me that the m19 can do what the D.BOB can do. That is DSD over DoP via SPDIF. Not 100% sure but the Bricasti rep is bringing it to a meet in the 10th.

I am taking some SACDs to test it out. I have failed getting the D.BOB to work with the Imersiv DAC. Giving up on that for a while.

kr4's avatar
kr4
3,782 posts
 

Have you tried the AudioPraise VanityPRO HDMI audio extractor?

yyzsantabarbara
5,550 posts
 

I have the Meitner MA3i DAC in my house today before it gets shipped out for a headphone meet in Denver.

The following were tested with the D.BOB on my system:

  • Imersiv D-1 (I own this one)
  • Allnic D-15000 Signature OTL/OCL
  • Meitner MA3i 
  • RME DAC
  • Benchmark DAC3B

The Imersiv and Allnic did not work. The Allnic should have worked after emailing the D.BOB designer. I will meet with the Imersiv designer next weekend in Denver and ask him if they can make it work with the D.BOB.

benzman's avatar
benzman
446 posts
 

How does the MA3i compare to your Imersiv D-1?  My dealer raves about the recently updated MA3i compared to the MA3 which I thought was a toss-up SQ wise with the T+A Dac 200. 
Not familiar with the Imersiv but pretty impressive specs especially with the sub Bob. Would solve a lot of problems with sub integration. 

yyzsantabarbara
5,550 posts
 

The Imersiv is a better sounding DAC, but I have 100+ hours on it. Now one of the things I hate about the Imersiv is that the RCA are for show and not to be used. The fact the DoP does not work via SPDIF is also something that is annoying me.

I actually paid the $12k for the Imersiv yesterday after having it on demo for a while. However, the dealer is my friend, Danny McKinney from Requisite Audio, and I have some options. I was telling him how good the Meitner MA3i is sounding and that maybe I should have gotten that over the Imersiv D-1 because of the flexibility that is useful for me. He told me that I can flip the Imersiv for the Meitner MA3i if I want. 

I will send the D-1 back to Danny (he is 40 miles away) and listen to the Meitner after it comes back from Denver. However, there is a 3rd DAC that he told me about over the phone a few minutes ago. He got an email from Allnic as we were speaking. It is the new Allnic ASRA DAC for $9950. I have had the $26k Allnic D-15000 Signature OTL/OCL DAC in the house. It is a great DAC, almost as detailed as the Imersiv but very holographic. The Meitner and D-15000 maybe of similar levels of detail. The new ASRA DAC is supposed to be released for production on Feb 1, 2026. Though Danny will get a unit this month. 

The plan now after my phone conversation is to keep the Imersiv as a fallback option but and I am returning it back to him for safe keeping. I will listen to the Meitner for a couple of weeks and then the new Allnic for a few weeks after that. I will then pick 1 from these 3 DACs. I have already paid the cash, so it is time now to pick.

I also have a Schiit Byggy coming next week that I upgraded for $1500. I was planning on selling it, but I may keep it around as a 2nd DAC.

An interesting tidbit was that Danny had 4 EMM top end DACs at the New York CanJam and he was a fan of that model. He then had 3 Meitner MA3i DACs at the Dallas CanJam and he was surprised at how much he loved it. He was using Ethernet streaming in Dallas while I have been using a Sonore OpticalRendu to stream to USB. I will compare both streams later today.

- Inversiv D-1 is the most resolution of anything I ever heard. It is not really consumer friendly as most DACs folks on here are used to. What with the 50 permutations of 2nd Order Harmonic Distortion filters, recording studio features for modifying the sound, 5 top level filters (more common on other DACs). On the D-1 the common filters were actually noticeable by me on other DACs they are a joke. I love the sound of this DAC after the correct settings are used (correct depends on your ears).

- Meitner is a great sounding DAC and is plug and play (no filters) and will get better with more burn-in. I am the first person to hear the unit in my house today. I will put 30 hours on it before I ship it to Denver on Monday. I then will get it back. I also like the fact it is not tubes

- Allnic ASRA OTL/OCL tube DAC. That and the Schiit Byggy could be a great set of DACs for my gear. I also like the fact it is tubes and supposed to be similar to the D-15000 OTL/OCL.

Man, this Meitner is sounding really good as I type this.

If you are talking about the Imersiv SBB for sub integration, then I understand your last comment.

 

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