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

@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.

To finish of the previous question asked of me.

I put the network streamer into play just now using an old Cat5 cable. It should up immediately as a ROON Endpoint, so that was very nice. I want to listen on my earphones now since the family is sleeping and I need to see if the MA3i is good with the RAAL SR1a as was the Imversiv. The Imersiv was so good that I sold a $7k headphone amp and now using my used $400 Schiit Aegir v1 amp. 

Using the network streamer, it was terrible and I had to stop after 15 seconds. My ears were hurting. I put my Sonore OpticalRendu back on USB and it was great without any ear issues. Now nothing can be this bad from a company as good as Meitner, so I am attributing this to the Ethernet (network) input needing some burn-in. I have no time for that since I am in a time crunch to return the DAC.

I have nothing else to add on this D,BOB compatible Meitner DAC.  Serious competition to the Imersiv for my needs. 

@yyzsantabarbara 

Thanks for the info  I know you cycle thru a lot of equipment and value your thoughts!! 

@yyzsantabarbara Do you have any new updates on the DAC's you are testing?

I have the imersiv D-1 working great with my CODA #11 and Yamaha NS5000 speakers in the Livingroom. In fact, it will get even better since I sent the CODA back to the factory to get refreshed and they are going to add some new parts that they think are improvements, such as new amp speaker cable terminals.

A couple of folks on Head-Fi and Audiogon have contacted me on the D-1. I advised them on how to get a home demo, and they ended up buying the DAC. It is different from all other DACs, so resolving.

For my office, I will be buying the Meitner MA3i DAC after I sell my CODA #16 amp, I am keeping the #11 amp, and I bought a low-cost Class D amp for the office. The office does not need an amp as good as the #16. The Meitner MA3i (or the D-1) in the office makes a bigger difference.

The Meitner is not as resolving as the D-1 but is a terrific DAC nevertheless. It is incredible on SACD's with my D.BOB. The built-in streamer is also very good. The D-1 does not work with the D.BOB on SPDIF and only has XLR output. The RCA on the D-1 may not work on some systems, like mine. I need the RCA out for headphones. The Meitner is also a bit warmer than the D-1. 

At the moment I am using the RME DAC in the office and it is as functional as the Meitner. It also sounds very good, the MA3i sounds great in the office.

BTW - I heard the $10k Bricasti SACD transport with a $5k Bricasti DAC. I think the D.BOB and the Meitner are better with my $240 OPPO transport.