All I can say is you are dreaming. We will see the reviews when the updated boards come out for the Resonessence lab's Mirus. Your post will still be here, I'll quote it beside the copy and paste of the review.
It's finally here guys. The new ESS 9038PRO. Game changing DAC chip!
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All I can say is you are dreaming. We will see the reviews when the updated boards come out for the Resonessence lab's Mirus. Your post will still be here, I'll quote it beside the copy and paste of the review.
Well it's true for Resonessence labs owners who will be getting the new chips fitted soon in their 4 year old DAC's. The competition can barely build a DAC as good for the price to date with the old chips, now the updated Mirus will likely be the best sounding DAC under $10000. So not gonna sell me on modularity not being good.
I would love to compare them. But lot's of cool tricks in the Mirus. Most hidden in the FPGA. There's advantages to being the one who designed the chip, when building a DAC. He's the only one who knows what's really going on in that black box. All everyone else knows is what the diagram says.
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It's not a very well know brand, simply because they don't put much into the marketing. It's more or less just a side project for the ESS guys to play around with. But you don't see too many used Mirus's for sale because unless someone wants to downgrade, it costs quite a bit more money to upgrade to a better DAC. But now with the new chips, a simple low cost upgrade will take it up with the best of the best under $10K circa 2016-2017. Who else can pull this off with a circa 2012 DAC?
Well that won't answer the challenge, not that we'd ever be able to actually do it.
Are you seriously trusting reviews about sonics? I seriously wouldn't.
I don't trust reviews, but most people do, which was why I mentioned it. Anyways it won't even be a debate once people hear the first DAC's using this chip. Audiogon will be flooded with ESS9018 DAC's nobody wants.
I had a Resonessence Invicta in for a bit. I don't think I have heard a DAC I have liked less. I hope for the sake of the owner's it does give it a lift!
Here it is... a top a Parasound A21, which is a very good SS amp for the money.
I had a Resonessence Invicta in for a bit. I don't think I have heard a DAC I have liked less. I hope for the sake of the owner's it does give it a lift!
Here it is... a top a Parasound A21, which is a very good SS amp for the money.
View attachment 24871
That's the Invicta. It only uses a single chip rather than dual like in the Mirus. Did you give it a try with HQplayer bypassing the SDM/SRC section of the chip? If so, you would have a different opinion. One of the weak areas of the 9018, was the internal SDM/SRC. Much improved SDM/SRC in the new chip.
But that DAC is a DAC designed for lack of coloration. So those who like coloured tube DAC's or other DAC's designed to colour, it may not be for you.
its all very'matrix' you make it perfect and every one kills them selfs
You make it perfect, and let everyone tune to their tastes with DSP. Simple concept. Now the artists who paint pretty pictures with their tubes, can develop DSP profiles instead.
It's called keeping up with the times so you don't end up like poor old Cisco Clifton
they cant be trusted mike.. these humans. better to stick to what works, making dissions for them
Well surely they can press a button on a mobile app GUI that enables a filter that grips their soul. Once it's found with that particular album, hold finger on album until "embed filter tag into album" pops up and enable. Now each album is like listening on a system perfectly optimized for it, and your tastes.
I know sounds like a horrible world. Might have to go hide out in a cabin deep in the mountains to isolate from all of the horrid innovation and technology
Well surely they can press a button on a mobile app GUI that enables a filter that grips their soul. Once it's found with that particular album, hold finger on album until "embed filter tag into album" pops up and enable. Now each album is like listening on a system perfectly optimized for it, and your tastes.
I know sounds like a horrible world. Might have to go hide out in a cabin deep in the mountains to isolate from all of the horrid innovation and technology
knock three times and wait a sec then knock twice more and i will let you in
That's too much to remember. Tooooo hardddd!! Can we go back to the old way of just 3 knocks and you open the door?
No I didn't try HQPlayer. Whilst I just didn't like the Invicta at all do like some solid state digital quite a bit. EMM Labs and MSB to name two.
Yeah the Invicta passes through the sound of the stock SRC/SDM of the 9018 chip quite transparently. The AD797 based output stage can sound a bit cold as well. So HQplayer can do wonders in combination with that DAC.
I say just crank this up to 11 on the turn table and don't worry about it. But make sure you have the latest $38000 isolation platform so it doesn't skip!!
bugger i burnt all the vinyl to stay warm...
There's nothing like the sweet smell of burning vinyl on those chilly mountain evenings
all the sweeter with the tunes playing through my dac....
oh ..we will get in trouble again
No those times should be over. They are probably over here dealing with their issues:
http://www.drphil.com/speak_main/
umm there is more to making a musical dac or cdp than a dac chipset mike a lot more in fact. thats not to say its moot but hard to get excited about.
whats really exciting is a few vinyl guys with dcs stacks are saying they have not used thier tt for some time
Sir you're correct. The chip never seems to be the determining factor. The biggest expression of when a chip matters is in cheap DAC's because the rest of device isn't any good so the chip shows itself more.
I'm UTTERLY itching to develop a DAC... But I can't say when it'll happen. To be frank I believe any chip I use will result in being something special. But this DAC has appealing features for a builder.
The rest of the DAC is extremely important, however this chip used in conjunction with the companion LDO makes it much cheaper and idiot proof to make an incredible sounding DAC. It has features never before available in a DAC chip. So standard rules that applied to DAC chips from the past, no long apply with this chip.
Use a dirty SMPS with this DAC/LDO and no problem. High end power supplies don't matter anymore. Expensive components and layouts, don't matter as much either.
Actually I'm not interested in it having an LDO necessarily. I need to check its sheets, if it has a bypass I may need to use it.
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