Good to know, I’d assume they are talking about the atlantis? Do you know if that was the atlantis system (the dac and the transport) or just the dac on it’s own? Well anyways I’ve heard so hit or miss on their dacs that they were pretty low on the potential priority list, if anything the only ones I’d actually consider would be from sw1x or trinity since I’ve heard some of their higher end, I’d only consider wadax or ch precision if I got a screamin deal on one
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It was the type of group to assume that they are always referring to the TOTL setup.
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They mentioned that the Wadax had ridiculous micro, texture, and romanticism, but was not uniform top to bottom. Horizon had it all and just sounded more natural throughout.
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Yes that’s the biggest knock I’ve heard about wadax stuff, being very technical but not on the level of coherency and naturalness they should be on at that price point
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Flipping the tables on you and asking your own questions, what is it about your current system that you don’t like? What is it that you’re trying to attain by upgrading and are you ready to upgrade all of the potential bottlenecks?
…and how many kidneys you got?
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I like it, I have just heard better and want to move a step forward. I might say that in my current system the level of control is slightly lacking, I’d wish it had more command over everything, and I think presentation could likely be improved as well. I find myself bouncing between the totaldac and lampi in my current setup, if there was something that could combine the strengths of those both together that would be what I’m after, and if it could upgrade overall performance while doing it that would be the cherry on top. I realize that’s somewhat an unrealistic goal, so I’d be fine settling with I actually think in current moment upgrading to the totaldac system might really be what I’m looking for, and the easiest to slot into my setup (I already have the reclocker, live power, and drivers). Another reason the horizon seems actually less appealing than the totaldac is that it seems more dry than the pacific from what I read and I do personally like more sweetness if I can get it without sacrificing technical ability. Also getting away from tubes would be nice, it’s much less hassle and less things to worry about, so if I can avoid having a tubed dac that’s a bonus from a livability and sanity standpoint (for a dac, I view amps differently).
I’d like an overall upgrade while addressing some of the concerns I have if possible, but really just looking for that next step forward. When I make this move, it will force me to sell off a lot of my current gear, and if I do that I will make larger leaps in consolidation than I will if I try now. Honestly this is a move to force me to slim down more and consolidate, removing the current bottlenecks I have out of necessity. It has been quite nice slimming things down and removing the urge to try random shit, and just focus on creating the best chain I can but that’s a long process and I’m not quite there yet lol, still have a ways to go. I planned to just stick with what I have now for quite a long time, but things change sometimes
Still 2, for now lol
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That’s an honest answer and free from rationalizations. Not to get into the financials either but you probably have a good chunk the expenses covered with the consolidation process.
It sounds like the Horizon will be there as an option and the Total DAC route might bring you to the point where you say it’s enough; and if not then perhaps used Horizons will make themselves available in your circles. It’s just that at that level it’s a whole lot of money for the privilege of being in the first round.
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Yes, I should end up with less money in audio gear than I have now (assuming I don’t get a select ii lol), which is likely better in the case anything/when something does happen since I don’t want to place too much burden on someone else to try and sell off all this shit lol
That’s mainly what I was thinking. I think going totaldac first makes more sense and I’ll just stop there unless it’s not for me. To be clear though, the totaldac is also brand new and just came out last month (at least the mk3 version) so new either way (but it’s a generational upgrade, not a fully new product design), but even older totaldac don’t get much discount used where lampi take a solid half off used most of the time (which is why I felt comfortable getting a pacific, because I was able to get one used half off mrsp basically, honestly my totaldac setup already cost me more in the end with all the addon boxes lol)
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Wow I think I’ve somehow decided on what I want to do, apparently just posting about it helped make a decision, and @dB_Cooper as well of course lol
Going to sell:
- Pacific - likely bettered by new dac
- d1-direct - bettered by new dac, but keeping the drivers, reclocker, and multi out live power
- Egoista 845 - bettered by other amps I have
- Ultralinears - bettered by other amps + no longer would have speakers for them
- X5s - bettered by other speakers, didn’t use enough
- Oor (keeping the psu tho) - just generally meh on the amp, not sure why I still have it
- E3 Hybrids + DC3 psu - love them, but can’t justify keeping for basically only 800s, t1.2, adx5k
- AIC-10 - bettered by other amps I have
- XP-32 - no longer need
- Pulsar2 Graphene - bettered by other speakers I have + I don’t need 2 desk speakers/don’t use
- Phantasy II - don’t use often, don’t have things that have amazing synergy with it anymore
- TH900 Lawton - don’t use as often anymore, too extreme v shape (my fault)
- Power Plant P20 - no longer need 2 for main desk anymore if planned properly
- Fiber Box II Extreme - good but didn’t justify cost in chain vs switch, etheregen was good enough
- Some custom switching gear
- All the extra cables and tubes I have along with those
May sell:
- Mystique EVO Pro - still commonly used, but could just use nicer dacs instead
- Studio T - gets to live solely due to the utopia and hagens, we’ll see
- Aries G2.1 - could be better after experiencing K50, need to figure out replacement for living room
And before anyone asks, unfortunately I can’t really sell to people here due to privacy reasons and all that, but if that changes I will obs let you guys know
Really the only upgrade planned so far is the d1-twelve-mk3 system, but might try out higher end speaker amps to drive some of the headphones as well. I think I’ve hit a limitation with headphone amps and have to move to higher end speaker amps to make any further jumps. But with the dac alone I can justify finally letting a lot of this stuff go and not really feeling too bad about doing it, should cover the cost of moving to the twelve many times over
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That is one hell of a WTS post. LOL
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I’m really only writing it down so I don’t forget what I was going to sell, and I can hold myself to it later on lol. And I thought I had already downsized significantly as well, but I guess when everything is listed out in one place it is alot isn’t it lol
Already had a reasonable idea what was going to leave eventually, now just have an excuse to act on that
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Guys any suggestions on cheap but good dac/amp combo? Mainly to drive t5p and th900 and IEMs. I am moving things around but want something for my wife to plug and play music from her pc.
I was considering zen dac v2 as an option. Any other suggestions?
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If you need portable I’d look for a used Mojo at this point (likely around 200-300 now), or a used xDSD for similar.
On a desk, the Zen will do a nice job, I might consider getting the nicer PSU with it as well.
If you don’t mind the dongle route, I honestly might suggest a L&P W2 if you can run balanced or a CEntrance Dacport HD for single ended performance
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Dibs, 
EC Studio T if the cold day in Hell ever were to happen…
That one has piqued my curiosity ever since my Studio B arrived at home. I would love to run the B as a pre to the T on both 2 channel and HP’s🧐
That would be a cool looking combo 
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Yeah I would stick to something on the desk. I have other things for portable. Just want to give her a way to listen to youtube and spotify. She can use main chain if she wants better quality.
What would be nicer psu for this? I believe they somthing something as well, right?
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Gotcha gotcha, reason why I mention more portables is because imo a lot of the cheaper desktop all in ones don’t play that nicely with items from my experience (but the zen does, although I don’t think it would be a good match for a th900)
yeah their ipower x
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After listening more last night that one is probably staying, it does too good of a job with my desktop speakers and also with the utopia, 800s, adx5k, and d8kp for me to let it go lol
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I guess this is kind of dead theritory in combos. I was considering also jds labs but that is a bit too much money. Could get some entry level dac + amp but I don’t know.
She can use my shanling up4 or dx300 but I wanted something that doesn’t have battery.
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Sometimes you just need that, daying it out loud or putting it in text. Coders and the rubber duck, @dB_Cooper and the audio therapist.
Dont worry, couldnt afford it anyway. Plus you and a few others convinced me to consolidate as well. I really want to keep slimming down not just audio stuff but everything especially with a move possibly coming up.
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Makes sense, the “T” in Studio T stand for terrific
Edit: this also is reigniting my wants for a Studio B, or as some call it by its long name, Studio BeryGoodAmp
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That’s the nice thing about the dongles, they just use USB power so no potential wear out, although on a desk might be a bit ergonomically weird
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