joncourage;140331 Wrote: > a related question, hopefully I'm not derailing the thread too much.... > > I use the SB3's digital out to an AudioNote DAC 1 (non-OS). How do I > know if this DAC is doing anything similar to what the Lavry does to > eliminate jitter? I like the sound of this combination very much, but > as always if there's something I can do to improve on it - short of the > 2k required to upgrade to the Trans - I'm game. > > In a recent a/b between the AN DAC and the Benchmark DAC1, everyone > present decisively preferred the AN. To me it just had a much more > engaging, musical, natural presentation. So I'd like to try to keep > it. > > Would the Bolder digital mods, plus the upgraded Elpac p/s, plus say a > Digital Lens put me in the same or better territory than a Transporter? > I guess, part of what I'm asking is, is it worth using the Lens to > clean up jitter if the DAC itself is just going to re-introduce it's > own at a level comparable to a digital- and p/s- modded SB3? > > Hmmm, any case, let's see $$ how that adds up in comparison anyways: > > SB3 - 300 > Bolder mods - 275 > Elpac w/mods - 110 > Lens - 450 > > Still a bit cheaper than a Trans, but not by a ton. > > Have never tried the Lavry, but if that coupled to a the SB3 both > eliminates the jitter issue and sounds as good / better than the AN, it > would seem an excellent alternative as well. > > So, which to choose? Trans, Bolder mods + Lens, or replace AN with a > Lavry? > > Wouldn't it be cool to be able to do a shoot-out between the three > systems?
I just sold a Digital Lens because it wouldn't work with the SB3 at 48kHz. Of the 4 relevant PCM resolutions supported by the SB3 (44.1/16, 44.1/24, 48/16, and 48/24), only 44.1/16 worked with my Digital Lens. Oddly enough, the Lens did work with a 48/16 stream from my DVD player. I was considering a Transporter and have settled instead on a SB3 plus an Apogee Big Ben feeding my TacT gear. Conceptually, this is at least as good as a Transporter, and there's no need to mod the SB3 at all. If you're considering a Lavry, it's also supposed to be insensitive to the input device, so you wouldn't need SB3 mods either in that case. So, the options as I see it are: 1) Transporter ($2000) 2) SB3 + Big Ben ($300 + $1200) = $1500 (no mods) 3) SB3 + Lavry ($300 + $850) = $1150 (no mods) If you need analog outs, it looks like the Lavry is the best bet. The big difference between these options is that the Transporter supports 96kHz media, the SB3 doesn't. Personally, I'm now waiting for a SB4 that does support 96kHz. I think I'll buy a Transporter remote to tide me over... Regards, Kim -- krochat ------------------------------------------------------------------------ krochat's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=6579 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27359 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
