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

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. 

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.

I just got the answer to the following D-1 questions from the designer.

 

Hi,

If you have the time can you answer the following questions about the D-1?

How to classify the 2nd HD filters

• It would be helpful to know what the intended sonic profile for the provided second order harmonic distortion filters. I am using Filter B at Level 2 but I do not know why I like that over A. I have only tried these 2 filters and A was only tried when the D-1 was brand new and was burning in.
  
  We don't yet have FFTs of the individual 2H plots. At some point, we hope to have them on the FAQ. Ultimately, it's all about ear-tuning -- what sounds best for the mix. But for home/audiophile use, I'm not sure you want to mess with it :-)
  
   

With a switchbox does calibrate need to be done more than once

• I am hoping to use Danny's passive preamp switchbox (it has a lot of promise for my setup). Now the idea is to connect the D-1 via XLR on the preamp and then have the other preamp XLR's go out to my 3 their systems. When I use a physical switch on the preamp to switch between systems do I need to calibrate the D-1 each time?

One initial calibration is all you need. The preamp input / buffer characteristics will not change when driving different destinations. Though, I would add, we suggest driving a power amplifier directly from the D-1 DAC, which itself acts as a preamp. This is the shortest, most ideal signal path, and will give you the most ideal sonic results.

 

Does USB cable quality affect the D-1

• I am not one to spend money on USB cables on a DAC. I use a Benchmark USB cable. Does the D-1 benefit from the audiophile USB cables?

D-1 USB input is asynchronous and galvanically isolated, meaning it isolates any incoming noise and re-establishes the signal based on its own ultra-low-jitter oscillator. That is to say, the cable won't make any sonic difference. 

We like those braided USB cables on Amazon, in the $5-10 range. 

The D-1 supports DoP only over USB.

Best,
JL

@yyzsantabarbara 

so I take it you are using the network card in the Meitner? How do files sound thru the USB media input? 
May be something I am interested in as the volume control looks pretty awesome. Bet it would sound great going to these Laiv Ganm mono blocks. 

@benzman I have not used the network card yet, I am streaming using my Sonore OpticalRendu. That is fibre optic into the USB input on the Meitner. I have about 10 hours on the unit now and wow is this thing good, no great. I am looking forward to getting this back in the house for a couple of weeks. I work from home and sometimes I have 18 hours of music playing so I will definitely know which DAC to get.

At this point the Meiter has blown up outside my speakers and is massive like the Imersiv. It is maybe a little less detailed than the Imersiv. The Imersiv is also incredible at placing instruments on the stage and also imaging. The Meitner has really improved in the past 10 hours. Definitely the second-best DAC I had had on my gear. The Imersiv D-1 is #1.

Saying all of this I would not be surprised if I went with the Meitner. A couple of reasons

- the RCA outputs can go into my Schiit Aegir v1 2-channel amp and drive my RAAL SR1a earphones. This is a super important system for me, especially late at night. I work late into the nights.

- the Meitner supports my D.BOB and I love my SACD’s and CD’s (somewhat). The RME DAC is all I have left that work with the D.BOB and the Meitner is a lot better

- the Meitner is plug and play, no filters, and it sounds great in the default setting. The Imersiv is incredible, but you sometimes need to think about it. That is what setting to use with my 3 systems

- the Imersiv cannot play the Schiit Aegir v1 directly since the RCA outputs are not usable. I need to use my friend Danny’s passive preamp, which did not restrict the Imersiv

I still like the sound of the Imersiv more, but it is still very early, and the Meitner has come a long way in 1 day. I will let it play all night and listen in the morning before I have to send it to Denver.

I have been listening to my office setup which consists of Magnepan Mini speakers, CODA #16 amp, and the Meitner. On Monday, I will listen to the better Yamaha NS5000 speakers, CODA #11 amp, and Meitner. 

I will also try both Ethernet (RJ45) streaming and fibre optic to USB on the Meitner.