The One and Only Big D Thread

Tfw the DAC finally costs more than the power cables:

 

Watch out, he's gonna drop his mike on you.

 

Cool stuff. I cut my teeth having fun in bars just like those nuts in the MTV show Jersey Shore. It was like that. I just wasn't Italian and I lived there year round in the quiet town next door called Seaside Park. But going out to those bars... the stories I could tell. It was a free for all. Girls in heels everywhere in their best outfits. Many of my friends didn't have the balls to get dressed up and go to the big Dance Clubs. But that was where the hottest women were. Wild nights. Seaside Heights at night in the summer is filled with up with more energy than any other place I have ever been in the country. Kind of electric when you step out of the car. Some find it not to their liking, and I can understand that, for sure. But diving in and getting involved in it was a roller coaster ride that sometimes yielded a smile for weeks.

I used to see the cast of Jersey Shore out there. There was a mob of people following them everywhere.

Back to the system build.....
I cut the initial platform today to hold the CD Transport, Freya, and Modi Multibit out of 1/2" Pine wood and sanded it. Went to Home Depot and shopped metal to build the bridge I was talking about. Got some great metal pieces and bolts. It's gonna be good. Just like I explained it. $35.00 worth of parts. Could have built it differently for really cheap, but I think this will be worth the trouble. I might not have to use the plexiglass like first thought. The Taccam CD Transport is going to hide quite a bit of the platform itself, and may be a waste to spend $50.00 on the plexiglass piece. Time will tell. Metal pieces look just like bridge girders.

The object is to suspend the equipment about 6" above the amplifier so the amp gets proper ventilation,

 

@Marvey
I didn't see any other CD Transports at the price point of $200.00. The NAD was $299.00. I think the Marantz is like $499.00. I went bang for the buck. I should have consulted you, of course. I had a credit with a company, and it cost me $39.00 shipped.

Man.... I was trippin' last night. Just read thru some of my posts. I'm getting way too tired without my nap.

 

@Marvey what would be a respectable modern cd transport? It seems the well regarded stuff of yesteryears are getting harder to find, and when you do find one, their condition is disappointing.

 

Buying a used CD transport could be problematic, you would think. There is a laser that could have some damage or is getting weak, dirty etc.

 

There's a DVL 90 sitting in the other room. I guess I should drag it in here and hook it up.

 

@Marvey
What is the CLX? Tried to look it up.

I have always found Pioneer as good stuff. I actually only use Pioneer for Blu-Ray burners on computer. They are my only choice for head units in Car Stereo as well. I rip to FLAC on a Pioneer Blu-Ray burner.

 

https://www.martinlogan.com/products/clx

 

I recommend this to improve your system:
http://www.yuengling.com/lager?gclid=CIe8tOPSvtICFQsQgQod6nIB5Q

Along with the Schlitz 1960s recipe, the best mass produced beers (okay the craft in craft beer is mostly bullshit and they're industrially produced too but keep reading) in the US. Costs less than 20 for 24 and will improve your sound way more than any cable after about six of them.

 

Ok. That CLX. The cream of the crop type Martin Logans.

I was looking at a used pair of the Summit X. They would fit my room much better and have the larger panel. https://www.martinlogan.com/products/summitx They were on sale used here in Florida for pickup for $3,500.00 used in Mint Condition. Boy did I have to hold myself back on that deal. Pickup only,,,, in Miami condo. Danger Will Robinson. No boxes. You would have to rough it to get them back 3.5 hours to driving back to my house. My girlfriend would probably have disowned me and left if I bought them.

The existing Martin Logan ESLs that I have really work well with the room I have them in. It is pretty tight for a bigger setup. And the Xstat transducer is the same as all the new models. They have a new model now called the ESL-X. They added another 8" woofer that fires out the back and made the transducer the size of the Theos model (10" inches taller than the ESL). It is $2,000.00/speaker. The ESLs like mine are $1,249.00/speaker. $2,500.00/pr vs $4,000.00/pr is a large amount of money to pay for a speaker that will give only so much more in terms of pleasure in certain size rooms. A bigger room will realize the upgrade. A smaller will not, IMO.

I'm a Martin Logan nut because I grew up on that being my favorite sound with the type of music that I listen to when sitting down in an easy chair. My music taste changes in the livingroom. It's not the same as with headphones or the car stereo. I want music with depth, stuff I can feel the texture of the keystrokes of the piano and instruments that sound like they are in the room with you. Martin Logan does that for me in spades. The music is in the air. One day I will have a better set of Martins. Probably after my collectable car goes to the Palm Beach Auction. I have to spread some of this stuff out.

I prefer PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) with real Bourbon no shaking or stirring. Just direct from bottle.

I'm hoping maybe the Schiit guys could chime in about my idea with my Krell KST-100 and Mark Levinson No.331 using balanced input. Do you think that there will be an improvement with using the Freya Preamp? I would be willing to get Morrow Cables made instead of the Canare L-4E6S Star Quad that I own now if there was some improvement. I have read that distortions will be removed in the signal with the XLR balanced in these amplifiers. Now that I have the REL S3s both working in stereo output with the Speakon Connectors there is a chance that my problems of the past with the Freya preamp and subwoofer integration is a thing of the past. Thanks Shiit if you read this. Any others with thoughts on this chime in as well.

@Psalmanazar
Ok big guy, tell me where I should take this other than Yiggy. I will buy one. Now tell me how I fix my USB.

SingXer X1 or F-1?

I really respect your opinion. Please chime in.

 

A PCIe soundcard like the Lynx E22 or the older AES16/16e are good options, especially used.

 

I'm not going to put a PC in the livingroom. So that is out. I need my tablet running Win10, not a PC. I could not fit a PC without running a power cord across my livingroom floor. Wouldn't work.

Something like the SingXer could sit on top with preamp and the other equipment. And I could run from my tablet a USB cable to it. Then Coax or AES/EBU to Yiggy. That is the best I can put together at my side. If there is any cost effective alternative, please let me know.

Here is a personal review from a user of the SU-1 with Yiggy.....

"SU-1 is the real deal.
I’m blown away at the performance increase with my Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil I’m using the AES/EBU output for best results"

Sounds like something good to me with USB from tablet across to system. Seems worth the $354.00 if it does the trick. Don't know how much a AES.EBU cable costs though. I would think not much.

 

If you're a cool dude who wants to party in the club, then get a Mytek. Really adds some great bite to hip hop tracks.

If you love skiing more and need a smooth ride to get that non-stop adrenaline buzz check out the Perfect WAve DirectStream DAC. The PW DAC Mk II is discontinued and you don't want to be distracted from the slopes and crash into a tree like that one dead Kennedy or Liam Neeson's wife. Don't kill your buzz that way and keep it fresh like deodorant.

If you live in a castle, then the TotalDAC is a MUST to light the cavernous interiors. If you are really a big dude, you will get the Total DAC. It's made in France like the Utopias. Best headphones around, highly recommend them. Will be great out of your Mjolnir 2 and the TotalDAC will make your experience that much better.

If you're made of metal and your circuits gleam buy Schiit. Schiit is for Vikings; their gear is a sign for the Norse hordes to ride. Schiit gear is for men who when they watched Conan the Barbarian and Darth Vader burned down his village of thatched huts, cried tears of woe to Crom. Schiit's gear is for real recordings of real people playing real instruments like how 80s movies had real gore people had to make and no animated blood. It is not for refined Daft Punk DSD engineered by a guy who made Celine Dion, Flo Rida, ,MacBook Garageband whiney music, or club thumpers. Neither are the other DACs I talked about as alternatives in that thread I made. Those DACs are for raw power, not what is best in life. They are symphonies of supreme sickness played by exceptional conglomerations of talent that will treat Flo Rida like Conan treated that camel's head. Schiit gear is not for colored lights; Schiit gear is for natural light like Barry Lyndon, not Marvel movies. Hope you get what I mean. Schiit would not fit your rig like the TotalDAC or Myteks would.

 

Lol that was fast! When did you get the Yggdrasil? (Probably overnight shipped it too?)