I've just started a new thread on CA, comparing a couple of old DACs with a modern DAC:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/digital-analogue-converter-test-old-school-vs-new-kid-31354/.
I doubt whether the thread would be of much interest to many people here (or to even those over at CA?), but it's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. However, there's something that I've just tried that might be of interest here...
Originally, I used the following chain:
Roon RAAT -> microRendu (LPS-1 PSU) -> Intona -> AR-T Legato -> BNC spdif -> DAC -> Prism AD-124 -> BNC spdif -> Tascam DA-3000 (SD card)
But I thought it'd be interesting to try the Mach II too, so I did:
XXHighEnd 2.07 -> Phasure Mach II -> Intona -> AR-T Legato -> BNC spdif -> Altmann -> Prism AD-124 -> BNC spdif -> Tascam DA-3000 (SD card)
Here are the files for comparison:
Original file:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0...0F4SXJRZmZ0UncmicroRendu -> Altmann DAC:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0...VFYWkdMTTNka2s (file is 1.5dB down on original, which will need to be accounted for during playback)
Mach II -> Altmann DAC:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0PU5LO5jVjfb1ZFc1RNMmR4NjA (file is 3dB down on original, which will need to be accounted for during playback)
I didn't want to say it over at CA, but XX2.07/MachII is
miles ahead of Roon/microRendu. But don't take my word for it, take a listen yourself.
Mani.
