Chord DAC 64

I am not impressed. Agreed with HF+ review. It may be OK for $3K, but ears tell me otherwise. Definitely don't buy it unless you hear it. However, there are a LOT of not so great DAC's out there, some of them highly promoted that I am also not impressed: (Kxxx, Dxxxxx, Pxxxxxxxx, Sxxxx Fxxxxxxxx, Mxxx Lxxxxxxx, etc) If you read my other post, I like the accuracy and musicality of pro gears like dCS and Apogee.

I don't know about you guys, but my system is worth less than that dcs.

Just a word of caution, not directed at the DAC64, but at mating transports:

I found out the hard way that there are "a few" transports that apparently are not compatible with the Chord, among them the CEC TL-1X which I was going to use until I encountered what I can only describe as "breakup" on some high notes of clarinet and solo violin, along with the "clock" ticking occasionally. I also heard something akin to faint LP surface noise on the leading edges of notes in a quiet passage of a piano trio CD (perhaps this is what another Forum member called "digital dust"?). I was told that the incompatibility, at least with the CEC, is in the clock relationship between it and the Chord. I was also told that the digital specs of the CEC are simply not up to snuff. Damn shame, too, because the CEC sounded great on most CDs (opening yet another window on the listening experience. The DAC64 was the first.)----only took a few bad apples to spoil the barrel, however. Sure would like to be able to use a belt-drive transport---there's some kind of magic in that belt, although I can't figure why it matters that much.

I'm a retired EE, but must admit that all of this digital lingo is way above my old gray head. I'll leave that to the young Turks out in 'puterland to sort out. I simply want a CD system that approaches the lack of grain I get with analog playback.

I'm presently using a bottomfeeder Sony DVD/CD player ($160 retail!)with excellent results (no "breakup"; no "digital dust"; no "clock ticking"), although I'm on the lookout for something a bit more in keeping with the quality of the Chord.

914nut,

thanks for the very important headup !
I was not aware

Matt

A couple of things stopped me from buying the Chord. First of all, it only has RCA, Toslink, and BNC inputs. Toslink sucks, and very few transports have BNC. That leaves you with one usable input. The second reason was a consumer review of an X-Ray CD player on www.audioreview.com. The writer says his X-Ray sounded better than the Chord. Who knows, since we all have our own listening biases, and everything is system dependent. But that was enough for me to buy the Camelot Uther V2 Mk IV. I go directly in using the onboard volume. It's terrific, and sounds MUCH better than my X-Ray CD player.