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Oval shaped USB card - only 2mm thick and printed on both front in back in full colour with print right to the very edge of the card
Audiosector USB DAC, Eichmann silver bullet plugs
A collection of snippets from posts that helped convince me:
With respect to the DACs that you've listed, I own both the AudioSector USB and the Red Wine Isabellina.
When paired with the Red Wine Audio Signature 30.2 Integrated with 20Kohm input impedance, the RWA Isabellina has a lower noise floor, is more dynamic, and more transparent. The AudioSector is more romantic. Both are very musical, and neither is edgy or bright in any way whatsoever.
With an active preamp like, say, the Modwright SWL 9.0SE in the chain, to my ears the differences diminish, but the Isabellina remains clearly the better DAC. The premium that the Isabellina commands is not wasted, but the AudioSector is *very* competitive, and remains one of my favourite DACs.
In short, the AudioSector isn't as good, but it's very very good indeed.
$2500 for Isabellina
$280 for Peter Daniel USB
In a previous post in this thread, I compared the AudioSector USB DAC to the Isabellina. I said the Isabellina was better, but you know, the Isabellina is also 4x-5x the price of the AudioSector.
I've heard a lot of DACs over the past couple of years. The Wavelength Brick, the Electrocompaniet ECD-1, the iRock, the built-in DAC of the Bel Canto S300iu, the Benchmark DAC1, the CityPulse, the Zhaolu, the Channel Islands VDA2, PS Audio DLIII. A lot of DACs. I haven't tried them all, but I've tried an awful many of them.
I've had the pleasure of recommending the AudioSector USB DAC to a number of people, and so far the praise is effusive. Here's part of an email that someone wrote to me a number of months ago regarding the AudioSector USB DAC recommendation I made:
"Peter was very helpful and built the DAC in a few days. The DAC looks even better than pictured. Fit and finish are first rate. I like the compact size and that it runs fairly cool to the touch. And the sound is truly amazing!!!!!. Right out of the box, this DAC is stunning. Music is much clearer and better resolved with excellent tonal quality. I didn't know my speakers were capable of such awesome bass response. And nothing bright or edgy about the sound either....... just nicely balanced.
"My system has never sounded better, and I have total control over music selection with some great looking, new gear. Thanks so much for your suggestions and help along the way."
Peter Daniel is without question an exceptional designer. I have his TDA1543 NOS DAC and for the pricepoint it is very good.
btw, this dac has thunderous bass.
I'll also second the recommendation for the Peter Daniels AudioSector USB DAC. It represents an incredible bargain at ~$400, and is a personal favorite of mine amongst DACs below $2K.
The Audiosector is an unqualified bargain
My experience with oversampling, upsampling DACs is that they're either overanalytical, or too edgy, too harsh, which makes my ears bleed.
To my ears, the Peter Daniels DAC is neck and neck with the Brick, and better than the iRoc.
Its got a ton of "PRAT" = Pacing, Rhythm, Acceleration and Timing
Voices are more palpable/real through the Audiosector
Audiosector is slightly more forgiving on mediocre recordings
Audiosector has a more engaging presence
The non-oversampling filterless DAC-1 is outwardly nearly identical to the version I reviewed previously. However, I understand there are subtle changes to the circuitry to further boost performance. The venerable TDA1543 converter and CS8412 input receiver remain as does the completely passive I/V stage. There are no op amps in sight.
the non-oversampling filterless concept is winning in my listening room.
For the price, the Audiosector is hard to beat (I have not heard all the DAC's in this price range either though). As you can see from my comparison above, I believe the Audiosector and the Altmann share many great strengths.
PD USB has a bit more 'edge' or 'detail' but not bright. More 'PrAT' and 'slam' if that makes any sense. Very musical and hard to ignore...
Also I think a lot of DAC opinions are subjective. I think often people are looking for the right kind of coloration and fray away from neutral things. Just to put some perspective on opinions where I would not vouch that any DAC at any price is really that much better that the PD NOS DAC. Look at the components, there are only a few options in the world for improvement.
btw, this dac has thunderous bass.
If you would like that perception changed, try changing that Belkin USB cable with something more high end,,, I know of what I speak as the change can be mind blowing depending on what you're willing to spend
I recently purchased the Locus Design Polestar USB cable am giving it a try.
the kit I offer here is exactly the same as Audiozone DAC featured in 6moons review
treble softening is a result of jitter issues or unfiltered digital artifacts is unknown. Interestingly, a couple of recent emails from readers have reported excellent results using a jitter buster or reclocker such as Monarchy's DIP with their non-oversampling DACs.
Wow - thanks Sian for the photo it really does show off the wooden USB sticks we supplied you with incredibly well.
This a USB key chain of the Valley Line Protos trainset. More about it:
The Protos is a trainset designed by Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau.
It is a very standardized and simple set, consisting of two technically identical cars. Only the interiors of both cars are slightly different.
It rides on 1800 volt DC. The comfort is good.
6 sets have been built by Dessau. One prototype and 5 custom sets for the Dutch public transit company Connexxion.
Connexxion is mainly a bus company that tries to get hold on the train transit market with this Valley Line project.
The Valley Line (Valleilijn Ede-Amersfoort) is a line for which the Province of Gelderland holds the concession. Connexxion got the exploitation rights for this line after a competion in which they offered best, though commercially disastrous. Obviously Connexxion made a severe mistake in their offering, but the province refused to alter the agreement.
Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau is an small factory with a very long history in German trainset design and building.
This Protos was there "live or die" project. Dessau didn't make it though. The Connexxion order for 5 trainsets was a cheap offering to enter the market, but the factory got broke right after the delivery.
Dessau was bought by the Russian train builder Transmash, but only for the technological experience. The production facilities were sold to a Rumanian investor, december 2008. There are still 120 people working in Dessau.
The prototype Protos still exists. Connexxion tryed to buy it for the Valley Line, but failed. They bought a Stadler GTW instead.
'Modding' heet dat in de volksmond.
Sorry, no documentation on how I made the USB key. But I guess anyone can figure that out for themselves...
How to change USB device permission permanently on Linux
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