I am fortunate to have acquired a Rose RS130 to feed a 2003 Audio Note DAC5 and Synthesis A100 integrated. All were used but the sound through some custom YL based horns is amazing. The Rose is materially better in my opinion than their streamer/dac combos I heard. It is also better than the midrange Innuos or Lumin products I tested. It is flashy ing appearance but I don’t hold that against it. Happy hunting!
Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?
I have a good analogue front end. Not stratuspherically good but good enough for this comparison. VPI Prime Signature 21 turntable, Pass Labs XP-25 pono preamp, Pass Labs XP-30 preamp and Hovland Radia amp. It has a lovely, very involving sound. On the right recording, I just drop everythng and am drawn in to listen.
My streamer, on the other hand, is decent but not spectacular. It is better than my CD player, but it is not jaw-dropping like my analogue front-end. My question is this: does anyone have a high-end, tier-one streamer (dCS Bartok Apex, Lumin X2, or something like them) that can rival a good analogue system?
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- 237 posts total
- 237 posts total

