his has been discussed to death, but allow me to repeat a few points: 1. It is a professional audio product. It is NOT an audiophile product. That is the say, the primary market for the device is the professional recording community and not the audiophile community. The Lavry DA10 is a simplified half-rack version -- and slightly updated -- of the Lavry Blue, which has been an industry reference.
The "high end" market is a luxury market and components are almost invariably overpriced. They are aesthetically pleasing (mostly), they have brand recognition, etc. You pay premiums for these things. The professional market is geared at, well, professionals who actually use these components to make the recordings you listen to at home. There are few, if any, aesthetic considerations. Look at the Lavry and look at most rack components. (Benchmark did a good job, incidentally, in their attempt to bridge the gap) Notice that Lavry isn't really even sold through high end dealers -- almost all sales are direct or through professional audio equipment providers. Mastering studio engineer work on professional, not personal, budgets, and they pay for quality, not status. Hence, prices tend to be lower. Notice that the Lavry DA10 has been compared to the Audio Prism DAC ($9,000) and very favorably, as in extremely close to, the Lavry 924 ($8,500). Notice, too, the the Lavry is a buffering and de-jittering DAC and one of the very few to function in this way. In theory, the transport should not matter. The device buffers the incoming stream, re-clocks, and moves along. From my personal experience, everything coming through the Lavry -- a high end CD player, a mid-fi CD/DVD player, a SB3 -- all sound exactly the same, even regardless of cable. This is why the device is the current darling of mastering studio engineers. Note bene: these are people who make their living perfecting recordings and I think we can take it for granted that they know more about audio than 95% of audiophiles. 2. The SB3 has a very low price point. However, as noted, written, and discussed, the JA stereophile review found that the SB3, used as a transport into a Levison DAC was virtually indistinguishable from a Ayre universal player ($6k) as a transport. That's a 20x price difference in the comparison. AND, the Levison doesn't even have the functionality of the Lavry. (For that matter, I would expect both the Benchmark and the Lavry to be better all-around devices. There's a reason why pros use these devices and, by and large, not audiophile devices. 3. You are right: the Lavry and SB3 with analog outs are two different beasts. However, the experience will make you realize just how good a SB3 really is. Personally, for a person on a more limited budget, the difference in cost is better spent on speakers. 4. Lavry and DCS. I have it on fairly good authority that they are very close indeed, and that the Lavry, and even Benchmark, have a bit of a leg up -- if only because of financial considerations together with extraordinarily close performance that is perhaps only different a bit in flavor (subjective preference here) and not in terms of absolute resolution. 5. I expect the Transporter will fair very well indeed. Sean e al have put a great deal of time and energy into good research and design. Mine is on order so I cannot speak from personal experience. However, those who DO have one seem very impressed. Look at his measurements (I know) -- the device is easily in Benchmark category, which means it is very close to a Lavry. And it has a lot more functionality. I would like to see the following comparisions: SB3 vs. SB3/Lavry; SB3 vs. Transporter; Transporter vs. SB3/Lavry; Transporter vs. Transporter/Lavry (this one would be interesting indeed!) 325xi;145596 Wrote: > I think the correct way to evaluate products is to compare them in their > approximate price ranges. > > I don't know how can we really compare SB3 DAC vs. highly sophisticated > Lavry. Transporter seems to be better match. > > I also don't know if I would compare Lavry to some no-compromise > products such as dCS or EMM stuff for the same reason - different > league, different compromises, different initial design requirements. -- highdudgeon Really nice Harbeths. Nuforce amps. Digital EQ. Lavry DA10. SB3. Transporter on the way. This is my "main system." The nicest thing was doing away with the preamp. The SB3 is a perfect Transport. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ highdudgeon's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2195 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28369 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
