DAC's in general.....

[Carlman]

Carl....

I liked the enthusiasm at AC but I felt like if someone important said nipple clamps made your system sound better everyone would start wearing nipple clamps... and some would agree!

These work great.....



Really brings out the best in any system.....

Kidding aside.....got to hear Vinnie's (Red Wine Audio) new DAC a few days ago.....very nice.
It is NOS....smooth, but the musical details are all there.

                      Chris

Those are the same ones I use! Except of course, mine have been cryo'd... haha..
I plan to do some DAC comparo's later this year... have to finish the room.. (I'm a broken record)...

[lonewolfny42]

If you check the list for RMAF '08....you'll find Red Wine Audio will be there...

I better get my clamps cryo'd..... I don't want to miss out on the improvements....

[richidoo]

Except of course, mine have been cryo'd... haha..

http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink13u6t54.html     

[rollo]

The Citypulse modded by Reference Audio Mods will change your mind about digital. It is a freak of nature boys. I've heard em all [ almost] and this sucker must be heard to be believed. DAC $500, mod $500.www. referenceaudiomods.com

[richidoo]

http://www.audio-magus.com/Citypulse_7_2x_DAC_p/cpda72xv2.htm

What's in the mod? it's not listed at RAM website.

[mdconnelly]

The Citypulse modded by Reference Audio Mods will change your mind about digital. It is a freak of nature boys. I've heard em all [ almost] and this sucker must be heard to be believed. DAC $500, mod $500.www. referenceaudiomods.com

Whoa, got my attention... Rollo, what have you compared it to and what is it that makes it magical?    Also, as Rich said, I couldn't find any references to RAM mods.

[Bill O'Connell]

You might want to look at this DAC also. Ugly as sin but my very good friend highly recommends this.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Apogee-Mini-DAC-2-channel-192k-D-A-Converter-with-FireWire-Interface-241407-i1276327.gc

[rollo]

The DAC was compared to a modded Weiss Medea circa $12.000. The citypulse is more musical . More like real music than I have EVER heard before. Contact Ref. Audio Mods for details on mod. His site is quite impressive and informative of his service. He is authorized by PS Audio to Mod their DACs. PS Audio covers the warrantee as well.
   I am learning more about this as well as time goes on. Hopefully it will in my system to demo in a while.



charles   

[rollo]

I went to the site and did not notice the Citypulse listed either. Right now it appears its for the insiders. Give em a call.


charles

[mdconnelly]

I went to the site and did not notice the Citypulse listed either. Right now it appears its for the insiders. Give em a call.

Charles, keep us posted.   I haven't heard back from RAM yet but hopefully will soon.   While the stock Citypulse 7.2 DAC (now in vII) seems to have been fairly well received by most (often compared to the Benchmark), it's not a world-beater.   Hard to imagine what Ref Audio Mods can do for just $500 but can't wait to find out

Thanks for the tip!

[mdconnelly]

bump... any more info on the modded Citypulse?   I've tried contacting RAM by email with no response yet.   I may try calling a bit later in the week.

[mdconnelly]

In response to an email I sent Kyle Takenaga at Ref Audio Mods about the Citypulse mods mentioned in this thread, I received the following email....

Dear Michael,
 
Thank you for your mail.  I did  read some of the posts there [on AN] and noticed the price was incorrectly stated.  The mod we performed to the CityPulse was quite extensive featuring Silver Rock output transformers, Ultraclock, rebuilt I/V stage, power supply enhancements, and finally a custom wooden chassis.  This was something very custom at $3500!
In my experience the best bang for the buck with this dac is the rebuilt analog stage.  This can be done for $1000.00.  The dac currently uses a discrete circuit which in my opinion are now mostly inferior to the high grade opamps available today.  Thus the entire circuit is removed and replaced with our transformer coupled stage.

Best Regards,

Kyle Takenaga
Reference Audio Mods

[rollo]

Sorry guys about the price error. 


charles

[bpape]

Meh - well, one can always hope for a killer unit at a reasonable price.  Keep your ears open.  Always looking for something like that.

Bryan

[Black Sand Cable]

After it was all said and done, I went with the PS Audio Digital Link III. It pains me to say that as they are a competitor on the power cord side of things but...it is what it is.

They work and work well. I ended up trying out a few others (who shall remain nameless) and at the end of the day, the PS Audio held its own rather well.

I don't however endorse the use of their power cords!