I use a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 DAC, and have a/b'd an unmodified SB3 against the DAC and a Pioneer Elite PD-S95 transport. I actually bought 2 SB3's; one to modify and one to place downstairs so the wife can listen.
I think the sound of the stock SB3 into my system is good, but not as exceptional as the separate transport and DAC combo, which yields much more resolution, depth, and "air". Swapping the transport with the SB3 shows that the Pioneer still has an edge, but the difference is closer, and a stock SB3 into the external DAC is really nice. I presume the difference is probably less to do with the DAC and more to do with the tube analog section of my Tri-Vista (plus its awesome regulated power supply). I am awaiting the Bolder Cable digital mod and power supply, and will A/B the two SB3's. My experience with Bolder mods previously (using an Art DIO)is that the power supply does make a big difference. See my music server blog at http://musicserver.blogspot.com for details of my current setup (Merlin TSM/REL Strata III, fed by a VAC Avatar SE, cabled by Acoustic Zen, and AC'd by Foundation Research). -- davehg ------------------------------------------------------------------------ davehg's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2269 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=17948 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
