Prototype images

Doc B. · 21841

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Offline mcandmar

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Reply #30 on: October 15, 2014, 05:45:09 AM
I'm afraid of that too, if it gets caught by customs it will cost me another €352 :'(

M.McCandless


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #31 on: October 15, 2014, 05:49:53 AM
I'm afraid of that too, if it gets caught by customs it will cost me another €352 :'(
At some point it'd be easier to fly someone over to pick them up ;)

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline mcandmar

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Reply #32 on: October 15, 2014, 06:03:42 AM
€650 return trip.  With half a dozen UK based buyers that would actually start to work out.

I suspect running pack mule services may raise a few eye brows with the TSA :o

M.McCandless


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #33 on: October 15, 2014, 06:33:08 AM
We will look into other shippers. iI you guys have an idea of a more economical solution let us know.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline mcandmar

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Reply #34 on: October 16, 2014, 12:56:15 PM
From buying stuff on eBay anything sent USPS International Priority, or UPS is guaranteed to be seized by customs.  The only one i know of that can sneak through is USPS First Class Mail International, but i dont know how it scales in terms of shipping insurance.

M.McCandless


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #35 on: October 16, 2014, 01:01:36 PM
USPS First Class has insurance to $400.  Though it is inexpensive and may squeak by customs, it may spend 4-8 weeks in the mail doing so  :-\

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline mcandmar

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Reply #36 on: October 16, 2014, 01:07:48 PM
Hey vs Bottlehead time that's nothing :P    I've never had an issue with USPS but for something this valuable i would be more comfortable with it fully insured.

M.McCandless


Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #37 on: October 16, 2014, 01:26:23 PM
If all goes well in the next few days, we will have an updated image that is much, much closer to the rendering I put up earlier.

-PB

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Johnnycopy

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Reply #38 on: October 16, 2014, 02:24:17 PM
Anyone have some good recommendations for a fair priced, excellent transport companion fir this dac?  I am not computer driven yet.



Offline johnsonad

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Reply #39 on: October 16, 2014, 02:57:54 PM
I am a big fan of the Oppo 103.  Not cheap but not pricey either.  It bested my Meridian :)

Aaron Johnson


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #40 on: October 16, 2014, 03:01:18 PM
A Mac Mini is a great way to go.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #41 on: October 17, 2014, 04:25:15 PM
OK, here's where the cabinet design stands as of Friday night, after a really looooong and productive week.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline PS2500

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Reply #42 on: October 17, 2014, 06:54:27 PM
Is the transport really of much importance to the final sonic result? Why not put a CD into a cheap DVD player and feed it to this DAC?

$1500 would stretch me (and no doubt others) a little, but that would be less of an issue if the source unit for the music is not of major importance. In other words, the DAC would be the real "front end", in a way. The price becomes trivial over long service - my current main CD player has been in constant use for 15 years, so the original purchase price has turned out to be modest in the long run.

DocB's comment reminds me that I actually have a Mac mini, too, sitting in a cupboard for the last year since I built a Hackintosh. If I could use it without a monitor, controlled from an ipod touch (no iPhone), it would be nice to bring it back into service. Is that possible?



Offline John Swenson

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Reply #43 on: October 18, 2014, 05:13:13 AM
Is the transport really of much importance to the final sonic result? Why not put a CD into a cheap DVD player and feed it to this DAC?

$1500 would stretch me (and no doubt others) a little, but that would be less of an issue if the source unit for the music is not of major importance. In other words, the DAC would be the real "front end", in a way. The price becomes trivial over long service - my current main CD player has been in constant use for 15 years, so the original purchase price has turned out to be modest in the long run.

DocB's comment reminds me that I actually have a Mac mini, too, sitting in a cupboard for the last year since I built a Hackintosh. If I could use it without a monitor, controlled from an ipod touch (no iPhone), it would be nice to bring it back into service. Is that possible?

From my listening to it the S/PDIF inputs (coax or optical)  are fairly immune to source differences. They are not completely immune, but pretty close. Everything I have tried has sounded very good, the best sounding ones are only slightly better sounding than the worst. So yes you can get very good results with pretty much anything you plug into it.

The USB input seems to have a bit more variability than the S/PDIF inputs. The BEST USB is a bit better than the best S/PDIF. But again it is not huge.

The BEST sound from this DAC seems to be with the USB input with a good USB cable (the Supra is superb) and a computer that has been tricked out for audio use, JUST audio use, scripts that turn off unnecessary stuff, audiophile player etc.

Note that NO configuration sounds bad, the lowest SQ out if this is still superb, it's just that if you really want to get into it you can wring a little bit more.

Going with the upcoming battery supply will probably be the biggest improvement.

John S.

John Swenson
DAC designer
Well Tempered Record player -> Seduction
Moded Squeezebox->DIY DAC
BDT preamp->813 monster SE amp
DIY "Bazooka" Lowther speakers


Offline Doc B.

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Reply #44 on: October 18, 2014, 07:35:19 AM
We did a fair amount of comparison with TOSLINK from Mac mini vs TOSLINK from a Pioneer blu ray player. The differences were subtle and probably mostly due to using Amarra as the player on the Mac. I think whatever digital source you have right now will work nicely with the DAC, and that moving to a music server might be a future move made more for the convenience of having all your music in one place. All that said, a used Mac mini is relatively inexpensive.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.