Hello! As I’m new to this forum I thought I’d start this thread outside of the existing Audio Note threads (which I found to be very informative!) in case this subject matter was not befitting. When it comes to my music playback sources I’m “all in” digital- I haven’t owned/used a turntable in over 35 years. Over the last couple of years I’ve been wondering if adding a Audio Note Dac to my system would be an improvement. I now use an Aqua La Scala Optologic MKII with a Naim Uniti Core/SS drive as the source. While reading the AN threads I came across a couple of posts I found intriguing. One being from @NapaBob stating that during a test he performed a Mytek Manhattan II was equal to his AN Dac 4 (don’t recall which level). In another post @Gjo reports that his Bricasti M3 was equal/better than the AN Dac 3.1 he had tested ( sorry if I’m missing model details). I realize these comments were made within the context of a “streaming” comparison but it made me question whether these observations would carry over to Redbook playback as well. I’ve conversed will other AN owners that absolutely love the qualities of AN Dacs and I was always under the impression that they offered something very unique when it comes to digital playback. These observations have made me question that. I’d be interested in tapping into the knowledge of this group with regards to comparisons made when it comes to AN Dacs. I don’t own an Audio Note system (I hear they are fantastic!) so my questions would be based on how well the Dacs stand on their own outside of AN systems. Any experience/knowledge/advise you could share would be appreciated.
People will chime in and offer pretty good advice that can help guide your decisions. However, your ears are your ultimate guide.
Thank you and I understand all too well! The problem I’m having with this is lack of representation in my area and time. The nearest dealer is 7hrs away by car- no home demos.
Here's what I would do. Crutchfield, Amazon and others allow for 30 day returns. I would buy a few of the better reviewed Dacs that are offered on those sites (Gustard, Denafrips for example), and keep the winner. After that, buy the AN DAC and compare. You can return the ones from Amazon, Crutchfield, etc, and keep the AN, or keep one of the other two and resell the AN for about what you paid for it.
@hman- I appreciate your thoughts and response on this but given the equipment I’m currently using I’m a little beyond what Amazon and Crutchfield would be offering. But you may be right when it comes to having to just purchase one in order to find out! Sadly, due to the cost of these items I find it to be a difficult move especially when the level of performance I’m looking for might only be realized with the higher $$$ AN products. I check the various adds on the web daily thinking I may find something to move on but to be honest I would prefer to have the input of others experience to compare against before making the investment (not to mention the risk of buying used sight unseen- we’ve all heard those stories!).
Hi DesignsFX, Nice to see you on this forum. Regarding streaming, AN DACs are sensitive to the quality of the incoming signal; eg, jitter. I've found that my Bluesound Node2i doesn't provide a jitter-free stream and performance of the Dac suffers. In my situation, a better source is needed. Whereas, my bit-perfect transport with AN DAC sounds wonderful. Your Naim Unity is at a high level where I would expect it to generate a stable bitstream to the dac. Plus, the higher level DACs may perform well with streaming. I'm sure someone else will chime in. I must say, there is something special about the sound of an AN DAC.
I use the same, and am very happy with it. I cannot compare it with Audio Note products, but I do use it with a Redbook CD transport (C.E.C. TL-5).
In my opinion, AN DACs do indeed sound musically coherent, which is supposed to be a trait for ladder-type DACs in general AFAIK. As @Lowrider75 writes, they (and every other DAC I have heard) are sensitive to the bitstream--or more precisely, analog sqúarewave form--they are fed. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that the attention and money that you put into what comes before your DAC matters at least as much as the DAC. Other threads on this topic have been quickly derailed in this forum, so I won't go into details but you can PM if you're interested.
I understand CEC to be a well performing device- must do well when paired with your Aqua. It sounds like you have a nice Redbook setup!
@Encore - I definitely will, look forward to knowing more about your experience with the AN in a digital system
Also remember that AN DACs derives the clock from the incoming signal (a 'slave'). A CDT will provide a strong signal, but some streamers are not so good and may not sound as good as they would through a DAC that supplies its own clock (a 'master').
@NapaBob I’m intrigued by your comment. As most DAC’s derive their clocking from the data passed to it from within the signal (and we can leave out the details of receiver chips and PLL circuits for better or worst) how would an AN Dac perform differently as long as the SPDIF signal was within spec? Do you know of a tolerance that exists with regards to this (on the dac side) or does this play more into the data transmission of certain manufacturers transmitters/transceivers?
I got the PM. I just responded on the forum. Actually it might not be a thread, I think you made a conversation. If so, copy and paste the content to this thread.
Brand new, is he a dealer? AN has raised their prices (hasn't everybody) due to supply chain issues, $10,000 might be about right. A 2.1x Sig was about $5K new, now it must cost more. There are AN owners here who would know better than me.
Stay with one person only in a PM, aka conversation. There is an option to add a person but you're not going to do that. Click Alerts > conversations. BYW, I know there is an AN dealer in LA.
I tend to feel you buy into the company's design team not just the product. Peter Qvortrup (Audio Note's boss) HATES, LOATHES, and DESPISES computer-based audio and streaming. He does not design the gear for those sources - if it works well then great - but his DACS are purely designed for Redbook CD. The only DAC he sells that even remotely caters to computer audio is the DAC 0.1x which is entry-level. Thus, Audio Note is a square peg into a round hole sort of scenario. Don't get me wrong AN DACs can sound fantastic feeding from Computer-based audio but I suspect that's due more to their very good output transformers and generally the entire analog stage and to the varying quality of what is feeding the DAC. When recommending DACs - it's always tough because it's just one part of a stereo - but if somebody is a majority CD listener then AN IME is at the top of the food chain for DACs and CD players. But as always it depends on the sound you like - for instance I have never liked anything from Bricasti - I have to shut it off after a few minutes - hurts my head. But then maybe someone who likes that sound would find the AN too laid back and delicate or something.
What you might do is contact Audio Federation in Palo, Alto - they are the US Distributor I believe. Tell them what you want to audition. Maybe they can hook you up with customers in LA who would be willing to let you listen to their system. This is what I did - I wanted to hear level five but the dealer didn't have one but a customer did - so he was nice enough to let me try it out at his house - he even picked me up (as I had no car - just a student at university at the time). Geez, that was nice. Note: this was in Canada. Hopefully, they'll have someone willing to let you hear one.
Richard, well stated. I'm Redbook only and love how my AN dac performs. I started streaming with a Bluesound and not so great. A high quality streamer is needed to pair with the AN dac. Due to the popularity of streaming, my AN dealer/service center is now a Mutec dealer and his clientele has been buying master word clocks with the DACs. On his recommendation I now use a Mutec MC-3+ and the improvement in digital playback is astonishing. I use a Level 2 dac and a Level 3 phono preamp.
Thanks for that - I have not heard it - but a good dealer tends to have far more time than consumers or reviewers to try these devices out. And it looks like it is not idiotically priced too which is a bonus.
