Topic: mini DAC ...., 1st round

[Nick's Picks]

pretty cool Apogee product.  Same crappy rack deep footprint.  Bazillions of digital input optins (all selectable on the front left dial).  All outputs controlled by a master "level" knob.  Balanced outputs in the rear.  unbalanced stereo MINI as well.  Headphone (single) in the front.

both the balanced and unbalanced output sound awesome.  Wicked tight..., a little more holographic than the grace perhaps...but not nearly the bottom end "Ooomph" that the 901 has.
I like it though.  Pretty lights.  pretty damn'd bright too. a bit of a downfall.  Makes my Logans burp when I turn it off.  I dont care for that much, but that is a ML thing.  I never turn my stereo off.

So far, it sounds really great at lower volumes.  Tons of detail in the rear of the soundstage.  I'm enjoying it....for this week.

[Nick's Picks]

for the inquiring geek....
chaintek 7100 optical output >
Oppo HD971 coax output >
Apogee mini-DAC >
Odyssey Stratos Monoblocks >
Martin Logan Sequal 2's.
Hydra cable throughout, including power
Monster HTS-3500 power conditioner handles the lighting and poor wiring of my house.

[noahbickart]

Nick, do you have any feelings about how the headphone amp stacks up?

-Noah

[Nick's Picks]

actually, I like it.  Its not as good as the Grace though.
this isn't marketed as a headphone amp per say.  the Grace is a straight up amp that just happens to work in other regards. 

I'm happy w/it.