State-of-the-Art Digital

rgmd11

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2017
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Olá RGMD11,

Nice to hear that! I know Ultimate Audio, I was there with Rui Calado and Miguel. Great dealer with amazing brands.

My APL dac and the streamer, with an special NAS with LPS did by APL, was collected yesterday and will ship to Brazil on the 30th from Amsterdam.

I am very happy with my purchase, and your report about the entry level dac made more confident on my decision.

Do you live in Lisbon? I love Portugal, the land of my family.

Abraços

João

Oi João,

Yes Miguel, Rui, Jorge and Mesquita are great guys and very friendly and helpful and as you say Miguel always has some of the very best Brands available, easily the best high end audio store in Lisbon.

I am sure you will not be disappointed, I had never heard of APL but I was very surprised as were the guys at Ultimate Audio, hence Miguel taking the decision to be come a dealer, he is a smart guy.

So after leaving the UK in 1990 I lived in Salvador BA for 17 years and now I have been in Lisbon for 12 years and just obtained Portuguese citizenship (I also have Brazilian permanent residency) and have a small apartment in João Pessoa PB where my wife is from, where you also live If I remember correctly.

Bom fim de Semana

RGMD11
 
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joaovieira

Well-Known Member
Feb 16, 2013
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Brazil
Oh yes! We chat here already!
I moved back from João Pessoa to Fortaleza two weeks ago. But still have the apartment for summer there.
Please get in touch if you come here anytime.

João
 
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jvvita

Well-Known Member
Jul 2, 2019
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One more for Nagra. Currently using Nagra HD X Dac, on an all Nagra HD system. Beforehand, had a full Vivaldi system. The Vivaldi is great, but Nagra definitely better. Much more nuanced and musical.

Waiting now for the Nagra streamer.
 

Khalondir

New Member
Aug 28, 2020
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Oh yes! We chat here already!
I moved back from João Pessoa to Fortaleza two weeks ago. But still have the apartment for summer there.
Please get in touch if you come here anytime.

João
Olá João, sou de Santa Catarina.

Have APL equipment arrived? How has the experience been? I'm doing research to build my system as well.
 

joaovieira

Well-Known Member
Feb 16, 2013
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Brazil
Olá João, sou de Santa Catarina.

Have APL equipment arrived? How has the experience been? I'm doing research to build my system as well.

Hello Khal!
sorry for the delay on answering you.

yes, my APL gear arrived last Monday. Since then I’ve been playin and listening to it.
all I can say is that this is the best digital I have ever heard . The most natural sound, it is captivating. I am so happy with my choice, that I have been listening to old stuff I don’t listen for years.
 

Alrainbow

Well-Known Member
Dec 11, 2013
3,189
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Same on the Lampizator not being state of the art. It's state of the manipulation. Everyone knows it's all about curtailing a sound, it doesn't have any new tech in it what so ever. You buy it because you like the different type of sound.

MSB pushes pretty good on trying to be at the cutting edge.

But overall I'm not satisfied with any existing DAC yet.

Maybe the question isn't the right one? If you want a DAC, Ron, why are you concerned with which is the most technically advanced and not what one will suite your preferences?
Not to push back on sota as a 26k dac compared to a 125k is a tough compare and I wonder if blindfolded would we pic ours . but having said this I do like dcs too. but a Lampi uses tubes and many to pic from. So while some feel it’s NOT sota. It has an advantage over all the rest buy using tubes. we each want a sound we feel gets us there and how we get there should be part of the journey. Lets say I have 1 M to spend now just what wound I do ? who would help me pick things out. Does this person hear like me ? this hobby is nuts enough and we each should enjoy getting there. But just one post can set us back so far. it’s all tippy top gear for each of us as an individual.
 

caesar

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2010
4,290
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Maybe the question isn't the right one? If you want a DAC, Ron, why are you concerned with which is the most technically advanced and not what one will suite your preferences?

Hi Folsom,
Good to see you come to this point of view.

High end audio isn't about the best engineering. It's about winning the battle for influence of one's preferences.

A good number of guys online really like the Lampizator and are very passionate about Lampi. The "media", on the other hand, has pretty much ignored it. It's sold only direct. Audioshark used to sell it, I think, but I think went all in on MSB.

The Wilson guys and Stereophile guys really push dCS hard. But dCS is pretty analytical, and one needs a really musical system to make it listenable.

The Magico guys really like MSB. Valin gave MSB a huge assist with his product of the year recently.

Robert Harley and Computer Audiophile geek have been pushing the Berkeley Reference DAC as the BEST, but Berkeley Ref is hang-yourself-from-the-chandelier analytical. Swing... Swing.... Swing...

The measurement guys are happy with something like the benchmark DAC for a several hundred bucks.

So yes, in this hobby, state of the art has nothing to do with superior engineering. No one can prove they have superior engineering. Instead it is all about influencing the crowd and influencing the influencers - that their DAC is state of the art .
 

gestalt

Well-Known Member
Aug 3, 2019
189
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Nashville, TN
gestalt.audio
A good number of guys online really like the Lampizator and are very passionate about Lampi. The "media", on the other hand, has pretty much ignored it. It's sold only direct.
I carry LampizatOr with demos available locally in Nashville or in the comfort of your home/system via freight. Agree with the rest of your post and I hope this info improves accessibility if one is curious about the sound.

Cheers,
Colin
 

Symphony

New Member
Sep 26, 2020
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Maybe often overlooked is the top Ayon DAC, the Stratos, I'm using it with their CD-Tii transport only, it keeps me very happily entertained :) It's hard to tell apart from really good sounding analogue here..
I completely agree with you....been using it last few years. Changed few DACs on my secondary set up but never felt like doing away with Stratos
 

Joe Whip

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2014
1,733
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Wayne, PA
SOTA digital is in the ear of the beholder. People like a certain sound, which is fine, but too often label what they like as SOTA. Won’t get into names but I have heard SOTA dacs that leave me cold. Some are too soft a few too analytical. put a soft DAC in a bright system and you can have a good result and visa versa. There are some dacs I wouldn’t consider because of price and others due to Other issues I have with their ownership. There is great really affordable digital out there and with careful system matching, you can achieve really great results. Buy what sounds good to you.
 

joaovieira

Well-Known Member
Feb 16, 2013
390
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970
Brazil
SOTA digital is in the ear of the beholder. People like a certain sound, which is fine, but too often label what they like as SOTA. Won’t get into names but I have heard SOTA dacs that leave me cold. Some are too soft a few too analytical. put a soft DAC in a bright system and you can have a good result and visa versa. There are some dacs I wouldn’t consider because of price and others due to Other issues I have with their ownership. There is great really affordable digital out there and with careful system matching, you can achieve really great results. Buy what sounds good to you.

that is how I felt listening to most SOTA dacs. Complete lack of naturality.
 

DoctorWhy

Well-Known Member
Dec 5, 2020
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It's very likely, Howie. The price uptick from Aussie on Tao's Antopodes gear is a little stiff, and I may regret lack of Roon Core if I go Lumin or Fidata etc.
And there is not one poor review yet on Innuos...it's the streamer at that sweet spot in the market that likely outperforms it's price point.
The issue in the UK is lack of choice of dac under £5k. Zenith and Chord Qutest or Hugo TT is reasonably easy to line up at multiple dealers. Exogal Comet and Lab12 dacs can be demoed, but not on Innuos. But choosing from MHDT Atlantis, Holo Springs, Schiit Yggy, APL DSD-AR, is more of a punt.
Anyhow this is kinda OT. No doubt I'll whittle choices down. Right now if I was gonna choose w no further ado, it would be Zenith w Yggy Unison 2 and a Sablon 2020 USB cbl, Innuos Phoenix reclocker and maybe EtherRegen at later date when the upgrade bug hits.
In My experience the Schitt Yiggy is mediocre. I have found the PS AUDIO Direct stream dac to be much better. The Luxman DA-06 is a close second. Yiggy a distant third.
 

Steve Vu

Well-Known Member
Oct 26, 2020
191
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113
The best is Wadax Reference Dac + Server. I haven't heard them yet but you get what you pay for.
 

the sound of Tao

Well-Known Member
Jul 18, 2014
3,620
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The best is Wadax Reference Dac + Server. I haven't heard them yet but you get what you pay for.
Ah... but then sometimes you don’t.

Also determining best in whole and in absolute ways makes this not at all a concrete notion and way more of an assumption.

Among the best is probably more reasonably valid or perhaps the very best for me... but if you haven’t heard these then that wouldn’t reasonably be that valid either.
 

Steve Vu

Well-Known Member
Oct 26, 2020
191
121
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Ah... but then sometimes you don’t.

Also determining best in whole and in absolute ways makes this not at all a concrete notion and way more of an assumption.

Among the best is probably more reasonably valid or perhaps the very best for me... but if you haven’t heard these then that wouldn’t reasonably be that valid either.
Ok. Although I haven't heard many products but I am sure they are very good if they are put on the high price. In the hiend audio world, the price is a decisive factor especially in their level. You hear them bad because of your ears or your systems.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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In My experience the Schitt Yiggy is mediocre. I have found the PS AUDIO Direct stream dac to be much better. The Luxman DA-06 is a close second. Yiggy a distant third.

Can you please elaborate so we can understand the comparative sonic impressions you have of the Yiggy versus the PS Audio versus the Luxman? What were the associated components in the system in which you heard each of these three DACs?

In what ways was the Yiggy "mediocre."

How was the PS Audio "much better"?

How was the Yiggy a distant third versus the Luxman?

Thank you.
 
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
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Beverly Hills, CA
The best is Wadax Reference Dac + Server. I haven't heard them yet but you get what you pay for.

If you haven't heard these components how in the world could you possibly report to us that they are the best?
 

Lagonda

VIP/Donor
Feb 3, 2014
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2 brand spanking new member with strong opinions over several digital threads:oops: Im waiting for the other shoe to drop, and hear what amazing product is going to be promoted soon !;)
 

Steve Vu

Well-Known Member
Oct 26, 2020
191
121
113
If you haven't heard these components how in the world could you possibly report to us that they are the best?
I heard Reference Dac and it is better than my Dcs Vivaldi components clearly. So I think Server + Dac is the best. At least for me like you said.
 
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Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
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Beverly Hills, CA
I heard Reference Dac and it is better than my Dcs components clearly. So I think Server + Dac is the best. At least for me like you said.

Thank you for explaining, and for properly limiting the broad declaration to your own experience.
 

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