The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.

mindhead1 said:
Which is your favorite DAC ($850) at the moment?

I want to try and R2R DAC and have been considering the Cyan 2 or the Ares 15 or Pontus.
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I have had the Cyan 2 but that will be $1200 plus shipping it sounds fantastic
For around $850 you can get the Denafrips Enyo 15th or Musician Draco
Those are both good R2Rs and what I would get at that price-point
The Pontus 15th at $2k -ish is an incredible DAC
The new Topping R2R at $1,000 with the Holo R2R ladder looks really nice
The Denefrips Aries 15th is very nice as well for $1,200
The FiiO K11 R2R at around $160 is a good place to start in R2R but the resistor tolerance is .1% compared to .01% for the Aries 15th so it is not going to be resolving but it is enjoyable I have one on my desk
 
Middle Earth said:
I have had the Cyan 2 but that will be $1200 plus shipping it sounds fantastic
For around $850 you can get the Denafrips Enyo 15th or Musician Draco
Those are both good R2Rs and what I would get at that price-point
The Pontus 15th at $2k -ish is an incredible DAC
The new Topping R2R at $1,000 with the Holo R2R ladder looks really nice
The Denefrips Aries 15th is very nice as well for $1,200
The FiiO K11 R2R at around $160 is a good place to start in R2R but the resistor tolerance is .1% compared to .01% for the Aries 15th so it is not going to be resolving but it is enjoyable I have one on my desk
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When I decide to pull the trigger on an R2R DAC I’m likely going to get something in the $1K - $2K range.

The Cyan and latest Denafrips Ares and Pontus options are on my radar. I’m not familiar with this new Topping R2R DAC.

I only have a single digital source I’d be using at any given time so I think I can live with the Cyans lack of input selection. That said the Spring 3 looks really cool and might be an interesting option as well.
 
mindhead1 said:
When I decide to pull the trigger on an R2R DAC I’m likely going to get something in the $1K - $2K range.

The Cyan and latest Denafrips Ares and Pontus options are on my radar. I’m not familiar with this new Topping R2R DAC.

I only have a single digital source I’d be using at any given time so I think I can live with the Cyans lack of input selection. That said the Spring 3 looks really cool and might be an interesting option as well.
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Sounds like you are going to end up with a great DAC
Since you mention more expensive DACs
The LAiV Harmony at $2,700 is going to be the best R2R DAC that is currently available under $3K
Right now I would pick the Pontus 15th and be done with it for me as an end game
 
I'm not sure if this is the thread for it since I'm talking audio for a video projector and not a vinyl set up (I bounced between Home Improvement, Movies, and the main Equipment Recommendation thread; please let me know if you think there's a better spot for this question):

I'm looking for a soundbar to go with my home projector setup. I'd be using it mainly for watching tv and movies. I don't need something that will shake my walls, nor is surround sound very important to me; my main concern is clarity, as well as ease of setup.

Some details:

  • I use a rolldown screen; it has a small shelf/unit below where the bottom comes down with a plug behind it, so a soundbar below the screen would be ideal.
  • Since the projector itself is on the other side of the room, I need something which uses bluetooth to connect.
  • I'm not super thrilled by extra speakers or a subwoofer; there is space behind the projector itself and my couch, though, so it could work.
  • My budget is around $200-$300
  • The fewer cables the better; the whole idea of using a screen is that the living room doesn't have to feel like The Television Room unless we're specifically in there to watch something.
Now, a small wrinkle: for work reasons, I can get a discount if I pick one of these bars as I can consider myself a "long-term tester" for gear we recommend:
  • Polk MagniFi Mini AX
  • Vizio Elevate SE
  • TCL S55H
Now it sounds like the TCL isn't very good, but it'd be nearly free if I picked it. I'm also looking at JBL; I have a Flip for music and as a stopgap option for my projector now, and I like the sound pretty well. But I'd pay fully out of pocket. Basically, I could get a JBL Bar of some sort for about what I'd pay for the Polk/Vizio after the discount.

I appreciate any input anyone can give here and will keep an eye out for any extra questions, thanks in advance.
 
Middle Earth said:
Sounds like you are going to end up with a great DAC
Since you mention more expensive DACs
The LAiV Harmony at $2,700 is going to be the best R2R DAC that is currently available under $3K
Right now I would pick the Pontus 15th and be done with it for me as an end game
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Just checked out the Topping Centaurus DAC. It checks the right boxes. I’m definitely interested in the reviews. We are in the golden age of DACs.
 
Bull Shannon said:
I'm not sure if this is the thread for it since I'm talking audio for a video projector and not a vinyl set up (I bounced between Home Improvement, Movies, and the main Equipment Recommendation thread; please let me know if you think there's a better spot for this question):

I'm looking for a soundbar to go with my home projector setup. I'd be using it mainly for watching tv and movies. I don't need something that will shake my walls, nor is surround sound very important to me; my main concern is clarity, as well as ease of setup.

Some details:

  • I use a rolldown screen; it has a small shelf/unit below where the bottom comes down with a plug behind it, so a soundbar below the screen would be ideal.
  • Since the projector itself is on the other side of the room, I need something which uses bluetooth to connect.
  • I'm not super thrilled by extra speakers or a subwoofer; there is space behind the projector itself and my couch, though, so it could work.
  • My budget is around $200-$300
  • The fewer cables the better; the whole idea of using a screen is that the living room doesn't have to feel like The Television Room unless we're specifically in there to watch something.
Now, a small wrinkle: for work reasons, I can get a discount if I pick one of these bars as I can consider myself a "long-term tester" for gear we recommend:
  • Polk MagniFi Mini AX
  • Vizio Elevate SE
  • TCL S55H
Now it sounds like the TCL isn't very good, but it'd be nearly free if I picked it. I'm also looking at JBL; I have a Flip for music and as a stopgap option for my projector now, and I like the sound pretty well. But I'd pay fully out of pocket. Basically, I could get a JBL Bar of some sort for about what I'd pay for the Polk/Vizio after the discount.

I appreciate any input anyone can give here and will keep an eye out for any extra questions, thanks in advance.
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Does your PJ (or streamer) output a signal via Bluetooth? If it does, I’d look at Audioengine A2+ in that price range. Soundbars tend to have lots of compromises, and at that price I personally haven’t heard one that sounds better than the A2+.
 
The Fosi DAC is in.
Big sound improvement over the 2021 Node N130 internal DAC. Definitely exceeds my expectation for the $130 I dropped.

Much better clarity and dynamics all the way around. Haven't messed with the op-amps that were included yet. I'll give my ears a few days to recalibrate the sound and then go from there.


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I currently connect the Node 2i to my DAC via coax or optical (currently optical because I read the Node and Pontus don’t mesh via coax)..

Is there anything to be gained by me upgrading the Node 2i to a better streamer which I can connect to the Pontus via USB, considering I’m only streaming Tidal with Roon and don’t currently have a library of music on my computer?
 
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Slimwhit33 said:
I currently connect the Node to my DAC via coax or optical (currently optical because I read the Node ad Pontus don’t mesh via coax)..

Is there anything to be gained by me upgrading the Node 2i to a better streamer which I can connect to the Pontus via USB, considering I’m only streaming Tidal with Roon and don’t currently have a library of music on my computer?
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Depends on how particular you are and how different the different inputs sound on the Pontus. My understanding is the IIS is the ‘best’ sounding connection, but I’m sure the coax sounds good as well. Only one way to find out.

If you use Roon the Ifi Zen Stream makes for a nice endpoint. I’ve had mine for 2 years with no issues and it has a USB output.
 
mindhead1 said:
Depends on how particular you are and how different the different inputs sound on the Pontus. My understanding is the IIS is the ‘best’ sounding connection, but I’m sure the coax sounds good as well. Only one way to find out.

If you use Roon the Ifi Zen Stream makes for a nice endpoint. I’ve had mine for 2 years with no issues and it has a USB output.
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By using optical, am I leaving anything on the table just by its inherent constraints, considering I’m only streaming Tidal?
 
Slimwhit33 said:
By using optical, am I leaving anything on the table just by its inherent constraints, considering I’m only streaming Tidal?
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I think most optical connections can do 24/192 and all can do 24/96. So if you are likely not much. Unless you’re planning DSD I don’t know that I’d be looking to switch my whole streamer just for USB. I agree with @mindhead1 on I2S, is the best sounding output from my CD transport.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
I currently connect the Node 2i to my DAC via coax or optical (currently optical because I read the Node and Pontus don’t mesh via coax)..

Is there anything to be gained by me upgrading the Node 2i to a better streamer which I can connect to the Pontus via USB, considering I’m only streaming Tidal with Roon and don’t currently have a library of music on my computer?
Click to expand...
I assume you use the BluOS software? Or just tidal connect?
 
Slimwhit33 said:
By using optical, am I leaving anything on the table just by its inherent constraints, considering I’m only streaming Tidal?
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Not an exact match, but I have my streamer via USB (to DDC, then I2S to my Pontus 2) and my CD Transport via coax, so I’ve at least listened to both inputs. The coax is good, the I2S, all caveats employed, is better to my ears. How much better, I can’t quantify. I think most would be happy with either.

What I can say you’d gain with USB vs S/PDIF is the ability to further upsample beyond 24/192, DSD, and (for those that care to try) the cable has less influence on the final sound. The Eversolo DMP-A6 sounded very good via USB to the Pontus. “Better” again through the Iris DDC. If you want to skip the DDC entirely you can look at the Holo Red at around a similar price point to the Eversolo to keep the box count down. The Red does require a wired connection though.
 
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