NAD M51 Direct Digital DAC

[JonMarsh]

That is pretty much how I perceived it, hence the :W in my post.

But I used it as an opportunity to show Jon our appreciation.

Much appreciated...

Now I'm negotiating with my girl friend what we're doing this weekend and on the 4th... I'm trying to hang tough but it isn't easy... and I'm putting up some new real traps, too.

[MichaelHiFi]

1st post here.
I'm looking for a DAC, a keeper, as my wife is growing tired of my buying/selling audio gear. Top of my list is the NAD M51. I've been using a EE minimax, a Tranquility SE and my Oppo BDP95.

I recently bought my wife a Macbook pro for school so I've returned to computer audio. Not sure that will be a smart move! Just playing with Amarra, Puremusic and Audiovirna has proved challenging with the iTunes interface.

Looking forward to your take on the NAD. And it looks like you're just over the hill from me :T

[earflappin]

Hilo vs LIO-8

While we are waiting for Jon to weigh in....here's a post of mine from the CA forum comparing the Lynx Hilo to my LIO-8. This was based on an hour of listening, but I stand by it based on subsequent listening tests.

I took the Hilo over to a guy's house who has a Lampizator 4+ and BADA2/ALPHA and we quickly compared them going through a separate pre-amp. It was quick and I was not familiar with his system, but, my take was that the differences were subtle. I would give the nod to the BADA2/ALPHA as being slightly quieter and more resolved, but at perhaps the slight expense of musicality. The Lampizator 4+ was a tad more rounded, organic at the expense of some detail and low end control. I can see why the vinylphiles like this one. I would put the Hilo in the middle. When you consider the cost difference and the added features of the Hilo that is not a bad place to be IMO from a performance standpoint.

How the comparison would have held up going direct would have been interesting. We did try going from the ALPHA into the Hilo via AES, but could not get it working despite a call to Lynx. It appeared the Hilo was receiving properly, but there was no output on the line level or monitor outs.

The guy whose house I was at has heard the M51 and commented that it was very good with an innovative design, but didn't feel it was in the same company as these three DACs. YMMV of course.

+++++++++

Okay. Got the Hilo yesterday and compared it to my LIO-8.

In terms of my set-up, the Hilo was connected to a Mac Mini running Pure Music via a stock USB cable and direct connected to NCORE amplifiers via the TRS monitor outputs. Precisely the same connection method as I use on the LIO-8 (i.e. I do not use a separate pre-amp). My speakers are two way, controlled directivity 95db efficient monitors with compression driver loaded waveguides and pro woofers. They are ultra dynamic, high resolution with flat polar response. And my NCORE amplifiers have ultra low distortion with very flat frequency response. I mention all of this upfront as I am not sure if the differences I heard would be as evident on all systems. All of my listening was through this set-up - no headphones.

To cut to the chase, in my system, to my ears, the Hilo is more transparent. All I've had time to listen to so far is 16/44.1 material, specifically Chris Jones' Roadhouse and Automobiles (highly recommended BTW) and Mark Knopfler's Golden Heart and Sailing to Philadelphia.

What do I mean by more transparent? First, there is greater spatial accuracy. The location and spacing between vocalists and instruments is more accurately rendered. Second, there is higher PRaT (pace, rhythm and timing) which connected me emotionally to the music at higher level. Third, while I found the tonality of the two units very similar, the Hilo has a slightly higher timbre accuracy whereby everything sounds more correct, closer to "live". The one area of performance I am still evaluating is bass. There is a sense of less bass "quantity" with the Hilo versus the LIO-8. I have a hypothesis on this, but need more listening time.

In terms of negatives, I remote my electronics beneath my listening room and control my Mac Mini and LIO-8 with an iPad. Currently, there is no remote volume control for the Hilo and all mixing/routing/source selection must be done through the touchscreen. Lynx tells me they are developing an app that will at least allow for remote volume control (possibly source selection as well ?). For my testing, I set the output sensitivity to match my NCOREs. Both the LIO-8 and Hilo have this convenient feature. The Hilo goes further with actual trim pots. I then used the high quality digital attenuator in Pure Music to give me the +/- 2-5db range I needed to match listening levels.

While as Keith has noted, the Hilo has lots of flexibility through its firmware, I/O options, and touch screen, it does not yet match the LIO-8, but then again, the Hilo is not targeting the 8 channel I/O converter market. Lynx has their Aurora for that segment.

I will report back with additional observations after more listening. I will have an Invicta by Friday to compare to the Hilo and LIO-8. I'm thinking of getting a Mytek as well. The Weiss Medea Plus has my attention as well as the Phasure NOS1. Weiss looks like they have done a great job on the analog output stage of the Medea Plus. The Cantata should probably also be on my list as well as the NAD M51 based on its glowing reviews. Then there is the Lampizator, BADA2, Meitner, TotalDAC D1, .... oh my.

[DanRubin]

Thanks for the report -- good job. Since you preferred the BADA set-up to the Hilo, is it fair to say the BADA also beats the LIO-8? (Assuming Firewire -> LIO-8 and USB -> Berkeley converter -> Berkeley DAC.)

[earflappin]

Thanks Dan. Working with my own system it only took 30 minutes to understand and describe the LIO-8 vs Hilo differences.

Now, on to your question about the BADA2/ALPHA. First, as I mentioned, we did the comparison quickly and it was in a system/room with which I was completely unfamiliar. Second, we were not going direct to the amps. Third, I felt the pre-amp/amp/speaker playback chain was not the nth word in transparency/linearity itself. Far from an ideal scenario in which to make absolute judgements.

Therefore, I would not want to conjecture that the BADA2/ALPHA would "beat" the LIO-8 until I heard it in my own system for a longer period of time. More transparent than the LIO-8, probably, but the issue I had with the BADA1 I owned was not transparency, but tonal balance. The BADA1 to my ears had a HF zing it overlaid onto everything (that was ameliorated a bit when I installed an Antelope DA to provide some computer-to-DAC isolation). And it was a bit thin sounding as well no matter which filter I used. The LIO-8 bettered the BADA1 in these key areas which is the reason I bought it. The LIO-8 just sounded more musical and closer to the live music experience than the BADA1.

The question for me is has the BADA2/ALPHA fully addressed these issues. If they have, then I can imagine it would beat the LIO-8 on 2 channel playback sound quality. But it is 2x the cost and the LIO-8 does much more so there is that to consider as well of course. And then we have the system synergy thing. Sorry for the rambling.

All I can really say for sure, after many more hours of listening to the Hilo, is that at a street price of $2200 this unit sets a very high price/performance bar and merits auditioning no matter your budget if its feature set meets your needs. I will have more to report after I get the Invicta tomorrow.

[DanRubin]

Thanks, really looking forward to your further reports (Invicta), and eventually to the M51 getting thrown into the mix.

[earflappin]

Thanks, really looking forward to your further reports (Invicta), and eventually to the M51 getting thrown into the mix.

I am going to post my further observations on the Invicta, Hilo and other DACs over on the CA forum. Seems more appropriate and this thread seems to be dead anyway. Good weekend everybody.

[JonMarsh]

I'm not dead yet!

Though it seems like it- this is the first weekend I've had off at home since sometime in early April.

PLEASE keep in mind I do not intend to make any "ultimate" judgements, but just to convey my experience and help point people in directions for what to evaluate on their own. My apologies also for this dragging out so long- the personal situation has a been a LOT different at work than I anticipated back in February or so- audio work has literally ground to a halt as I struggle to cope with priorities. This week I got a biggie out of the way, a presentation to a top management technical board in HQ, and now since my boss tells me we're way over our travel budget, I have some expectation of being at home working more normally for a while!

One other fun thing that happened yesterday, which might factor in to my listening tests (in terms of track selection) is the HD Tracks release of Ah Via Musicom, one of my favorite guitar here albums of all time.



Sure hope the reproduction lives up to the 24/192 remastered from original analog tapes billing...

Another point- part of what surprises and pleases about the M51 is how natural it sounds with material that isn't necessarily what you'd call "audiophile" tracks- CD's of older albums sound faithful to the original limitations of the recording, but without nearly as much of the CD grunge as I've heard in the past. So I'm digging into the dustbin for some comparison material, have most of the selections figured out, to appraise between the converters.

Also, I'm setting up to test in two modes-

• Straight in on S/PDIF or AES/EBU from a transport or iPad (both, actually)
• Straight in on S/PDF from the modified Oppo BDP93, for high res PCM and SACD direct converted to 24/176
• Computer input, either async USB or Firewire, which ever input is supported
• And as a check, also computer in with AES/EBU out from the Berkeley Alpha USB, which may be one of the top USB interfaces available. Pricey, but good. One caveat, I'll test with two different players; BitPerfect (available on the Mac App store now), which outputs at the native resolution of the recording, but also with Fidelia, which I normally use, and which is normally configured with the Advanced package to do a bit of signal processing, in that it converts everything to 24/176.4 with specific settings I prefer on the Izotope licensed digital filters.

Like Earsflappin, I'll post a description of my system shortly, for the benefit of those who don't follow me over on the Mission Possible section of this forum and are already familiar with the particulars.

[JonMarsh]

Big spreadsheet setup for recording results, nearly through finalizing track selections for comparisons (which is complicated by need to compare in multiple formats/resolutions), and in general getting somewhere- it's amazing what it's like when you have a weekend off for a change!

[CardioFitness]

looking good

[wkhanna]

My fondness for analog is reinforced when poor Jon has to take the time to develop a full scale DOE (Design of Experiments) matrix just to get a notion of how well a new piece of equipment performs. :W

Of course you know I am just giving you a little razz, Jon :B

[JonMarsh]

My fondness for analog is reinforced when poor Jon has to take the time to develop a full scale DOE (Design of Experiments) matrix just to get a notion of how well a new piece of equipment performs. :W

Of course you know I am just giving you a little razz, Jon :B

Geez, but I deserve it!

And now I'm thinking, after the stuff dumped on me at work to get done the next two weeks, Hmmm, may be just pick 4-6 CD tracks and 4-6 Hi Rez tracks, using both old and new recordings that I'm very familiar with, and SIMPLIFY!!

the problem is that this is somewhat a case of comparing an apple to a grapefruit and an orange. Can't bake a grapefruit pie and compare that to Apple pie, you know...

[earflappin]

Jon, it seems to me if there are substantive differences between these DACs you are going to hear it quickly on a few familiar tracks if you have a transparent, resolving system. If you can't hear the differences quickly than that says something in and of itself doesn't it?

In my own system, where I compared a Lynx Hilo to a LIO-8 and Invicta, I heard the differences immediately - within minutes I had a handle on the how they compared and posted my observations. I then sent the Hilo to a friend and he likewise heard the same differences in minutes in his system (he has a LIO-8 as well). Just tonight I got new filters for the Invicta. Again, it took only minutes to understand what each filter was doing.

So, respectfully, since you seem to continue to be so busy, why not do a quick comparison and post your findings with the appropriate disclaimers that it was not super rigorous, etc. and then do your more rigorous comparison later. Just a thought.

[CardioFitness]

Jon, it seems to me if there are substantive differences between these DACs you are going to hear it quickly on a few familiar tracks if you have a transparent, resolving system. If you can't hear the differences quickly than that says something in and of itself doesn't it?

In my own system, where I compared a Lynx Hilo to a LIO-8 and Invicta, I heard the differences immediately - within minutes I had a handle on the how they compared and posted my observations. I then sent the Hilo to a friend and he likewise heard the same differences in minutes in his system (he has a LIO-8 as well). Just tonight I got new filters for the Invicta. Again, it took only minutes to understand what each filter was doing.

So, respectfully, since you seem to continue to be so busy, why not do a quick comparison and post your findings with the appropriate disclaimers that it was not super rigorous, etc. and then do your more rigorous comparison later. Just a thought.

Not sure it works like that, you can notice something small that is different but hear that for a long time, and then that little thing accumulates and it turns to be a big bad/good thing.

[earflappin]

Not sure it works like that, you can notice something small that is different but hear that for a long time, and then that little thing accumulates and it turns to be a big bad/good thing.

Good point. And I agree, that initial observations need to be validated with long term listening to be sure it is not only different, but better and long-term livable. That being said, I have been listening to a Hilo, LIO-8 and Invicta for almost 2 weeks and my initial observations are unchanged. The same was the case with the Hypex NCORE amp.

My point was more that its been 7 months since this thread was started and I would rather have some qualified, initial observations rather than wait another 7 months for a super rigorous set of observations that any of us would still want/need to validate in our systems.

Anyway, that is just me. And again, I am not being critical of Jon. He obviously has a pretty demanding job (and maybe also girlfriend ) and I know we all appreciate any thing he has the time to post.

[JonMarsh]

Jon, it seems to me if there are substantive differences between these DACs you are going to hear it quickly on a few familiar tracks if you have a transparent, resolving system. If you can't hear the differences quickly than that says something in and of itself doesn't it?

In my own system, where I compared a Lynx Hilo to a LIO-8 and Invicta, I heard the differences immediately - within minutes I had a handle on the how they compared and posted my observations. I then sent the Hilo to a friend and he likewise heard the same differences in minutes in his system (he has a LIO-8 as well). Just tonight I got new filters for the Invicta. Again, it took only minutes to understand what each filter was doing.

So, respectfully, since you seem to continue to be so busy, why not do a quick comparison and post your findings with the appropriate disclaimers that it was not super rigorous, etc. and then do your more rigorous comparison later. Just a thought.

A very reasonable request, which is what I've been heading towards anyway, as it looks like I'm working again this weekend.

In line with CardioFitness comments, I'm going to use some tracks that I've been listening to a lot repeatedly. There are some other ones that I think are great test tracks for specific things (like drum sound, for example) but I don't listen to those tracks so frequently and don't have the familiarity.

Also, this may sound a little weird, but another category of interest I have is older albums remastered; that is, they still have the limitations of the original recording equipment, but I worked with some of that equipment back in the 70's and still have some aural memory of it; I'm finding the best DAC's have a transparency in the midrange that I can only liken to fast wide open reel (i.e., pro); that's hard to explain if you've never even worked with an Ampex ATR100 or an Otari half track stereo deck. But there's a clarity and focus in the midrange as well as clean dynamics (I mean clean, without hardening or grunge on the edges) that you can recognize quickly as sounding more like the mic feeds, or at least, what the mic feeds sound like after being "augmented" with a plate reverb from the day...

So I've narrowed down a handful of tracks meeting those criteria, and am setting up a new Retina Macbook Pro to add to the mix for the computer playback part, with both Bit Perfect and Fidelia on board. In this case my track choices are being driven by a high level of familiarity and their past usefulness in speaker and system evaluations. More shortly.

My point was more that its been 7 months since this thread was started

You have no idea how personally frustrated I am with this situation; due to having my work life upended and a new project since March which basically amounts to server power product design for one of our major customers (actually, they normally buy SMPS from other guys who are our major customers- now they're trying to turn those ODM's into EMS houses, I guess). All my speaker work has totally ground to a halt due to lack of any free time. And my girlfriend is also feeling the pinch; it's looking like I won't have a weekend off between now and the end of September if things go like I expect. Naive management expectations, lack of experience and token efforts at planning, and unrealistic schedules, and a willingness to let this customer leverage our resources to develop their product at our expense. Well, at least I still have a job- many guys my age don't.

[CardioFitness]

So it should be a few more months before the article sees the rays of light ?

[trazom]

Thank you

Hi John
just a big thank you for all your work - very much appreciated.
But please do not forget, that there's life after digital

[JonMarsh]

So it should be a few more months before the article sees the rays of light ?

It feels like it could be a few months before "I" see the light of day! 14 hour work day yesterday, and I haven't had a day off since the beginning of June! And I already have two three day work projects to do this weekend; only one is getting done, of course.

Mothers, don't let your sons grow up to be Applications Engineers.... :roll:

If this keeps up as expected, I'll likely be going to HR again in October as I did last year.

[JonMarsh]

Thunderbolt to Firewire not here yet, but compared USB interfaces

Today this Sunday was the first day off I've had in two months- and I needed to spend a lot of time on "practical" stuff like laundry and cleaning.

But I did finish getting the new Macbook Pro (SSD drive, dual Thunderbolt ports, dual USB3) setup for playback with Fidelia and reconfigured the LIO-8 for working with the cable patch bays and running AES/EBU in for playback testing, in addition to the Firewire capabilities (did the configuring on an older Mac with firewire not normally used for music).

Parameters:

• No sample rate conversion with Izotop- just straight pass through, playback at native song sample rate, reset with program materail
• Volume control fixed at -25 dB; never changed.
• Cardas Clear USB cables for both USB connections; Cardas AES/EBU for connection between Alpha USB and M51
• Common power distribution for all equipment from one outlet with filtered power- no possiblity of AC neutral noise between gear
• Exclusive audio control to playback "device" to Fidelia; memory playback mode (8GB RAM)

First goal was to have playback configured and working on USB, with selection of cuts I'm quite familiar with in both CD format and some higher resolution stuff. Then, I figured lets see if I can here any difference between the built in USB ASYNC input of the M51 versus driving it with the Alpha USB through the AES/EBU. Depending on who you talk to, direct asynchronous USB should be better under any conditions than using AES, but in the real world the conventional wisdom isn't always conventionally observed. Various reviews have put the Alpha USB in the top tier, so as an alternative way to generate an AES/EBU output from a Mac or PC, it's not to be sneezed at. Some DAC's, like the original Audio Research, and it's rumored even the M51, are not as clean with the USB input as AES/EBU, which runs somewhat counter to that conventional wisdom- but then, implementation is always the main thing, not just the theoretical advantages.

So I spent a couple of hours under controlled conditions comparing the two- volume never touched or changed, and set by the M51 anyway.

Limited time to do this, so I used material I'm quite familiar with- some CD stuff, such as "Somewhere, Somebody" by Jennifer Warnes, "Miniature Disaster" by KT Tunstall (from acoustic extravaganza, an all acoustic recording); "Chorale No 1, Sleepers Awake" , live by Jacque Loussier Trio; "Chant" by Fourplay, a number of cuts from "Raising Sand" 96kHZ version - "Trampled Rose", "Let your loss be your lesson", "Polly Come Home" "Rich Woman"; "Corner Pocket" from Harry James, the King James Version (20bit dithered); Keith Jarret "Flying". Babylon Sisters and Gaucho from Steely Dan, "Spiral" from Hiromi Uhera in 24/176.4; Oh, and just for fun some 24/176.4 Elton Jon, "Ballad of a Well Known Gun". (SACD original source).

Well, if this were a magazine article I'd throw about a couple of thousand words at you before hinting at a conclusion, but there's two problems with that approach. One, I don't have time today to write that much, entertaining as it might be. Or not. Two, it's hard to draw any reasonable conclusion, because there is no clear winner here. That is, both transfer methods work quite well! I think I hear a subtle difference between the two, but it is subtle, and I could just be kidding myself. The Alpha USB at time has a more spacious, slightly more relaxed sound, perhaps with somewhat more depth; but at the same time, the NAD at times can sound a little more coherent and voices and instruments sound more like they're cut from a whole piece of cloth, rather than hearing or perceiving fundamentals and harmonics more separately. Keep in mind I'm talking very subtle differences, the sort of thing you need several back and forth listening to decide if there is really a consistent difference or if it's just a matter of where you put your head physically and your mental focus.

Is the Alpha USB adding $1795 to the proceedings with the M51? - not at all likely, IMO. From this experience, I'd say prospective M51 purchasers should rest easy that they don't need to double the size of their layout with an interface purchase.

I am eager to receive the Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter and compare the M51 and LIO-8 directly, both using internal Async modes. I've been playing with the LIO-8 using the AES input and setting it up to clock from the AES, and it doesn't really like doing that, unless you plop it down at one sample frequency and stay there. In the past the way I've used the LIO-8 was just use the internal clock at 176.4 and resample most things to that using Fidelia. For the purposes of comparing, I'll manually reset the sample rate when changing material with different sample rates, keep Fidelia in bit perfect mode.

I do think this new setup is a bit of a step up from my Mac mini using hard drives, but I can't do an actual A/B as I sold it off around Christmas time. Double the cores, double the memory, and SSD should help if things need helping. Also, this is a newer version of Fidelia. I'm very curious now to get the LIO-8 in the system and do a similar comparison. I've got correlated and uncorrelated pink noise tracks I can use to be sure playback volume is set exactly the same for all DAC's. I'm hoping the Berkeley Alpha is improved over it's original performance with the Alpha USB interface; then it will probably go over to my girlfriend's when we start setting up something a little more musical there.

For reference, system configuration is:

• No preamp- all DAC's used as system preamp
• Power amp is Cambridge Audio 840W, on balanced inputs
• DAC to Power amp is balanced, using Ayre Signature series.
• Speaker cables are just Cardas Golden Reference. I've heard Cardas Clear, would like a pair some day, but geez… I'd probably go for one of those new Meitner DAC's before spending that much money on speaker cables!
• Speakers are the Modula Xtremes, daul 10" Scanspeak revelators on each side, Accuton 7" t90 midrange, as used in Avalon Isis and others, and a waveguide loaded Scanspeak tweeter- fairly low distortion, using a Duelund style crossover.
• Living room setup with RealTraps RFZ to control comb filtering from wall reflections with time delay from wall reflections- finally got those setup last Christmas, too- very important for tonal coherency and imaging.

Next weekend I have to travel to Houston on business, but after I get back I should finally be able to wrap this up. Will be interesting to see how the Berkeley Alpha DAC sounds with the Alpha USB compared with these newer pieces.

[JonMarsh]

Shipped!

The Thunderbolt to Fierwire adapter shipped last night! Or rather, I was sent the shipping notice! Should be here August 8, according to the notice. Finally!

Up early, on the exercise bike doing email (it's 3:50 AM right now). Got 3rd party company software guys coming in today from Italy, to work on the firmware for the hardware project at work that's been eating my life for breakfast. We don't have any US experts for this controller, which is derived from our Smartmeter controller, and is an ARM SOC. We've got to pull the metrology and control together between now and this weekend when we leave for Houston. Fun…

[DanRubin]

I want to be sure I'm clear on what you've just done, Jon. What you compared was two different ways of feeding the M51 DAC: (1) USB directly to the M51's USB input and (2) USB to the Alpha USB and then to the M51's AES input. Is that correct?

Your results are a bit of a surprise given all the adulation that's been heaped on the Alpha USB and the suggestion from many that the isolation it provides is somehow key to its great sound. Perhaps it is unusually synergistic with the Alpha DAC, though I'm not sure why that would be.

Dan

[JonMarsh]

I want to be sure I'm clear on what you've just done, Jon. What you compared was two different ways of feeding the M51 DAC: (1) USB directly to the M51's USB input and (2) USB to the Alpha USB and then to the M51's AES input. Is that correct?

Your results are a bit of a surprise given all the adulation that's been heaped on the Alpha USB and the suggestion from many that the isolation it provides is somehow key to its great sound. Perhaps it is unusually synergistic with the Alpha DAC, though I'm not sure why that would be.

Dan

That's exactly what I did and only what I did last Sunday.

I know from personal experience that the Alpha DAC I own is sensitive to isolation and just putting an Antelope DA in the AES/EBU signal path takes some of the zing out of the top end and makes things smoother without losing any detail. I haven't had time to combine the two Berkeley pieces yet, but that's on the agenda too. Maybe the isolation and behavior of the M51 USB is a cut above what people expected at this price point.

In other news, the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter arrived today!

[bigburner]

Up early, on the exercise bike doing email (it's 3:50 AM right now).

I can see where the problem is Jon and why it's taking so long to get a review from you. You're spending your life in bed. Get up earlier and get going man.

Nigel.

[JonMarsh]

I can see where the problem is Jon and why it's taking so long to get a review from you. You're spending your life in bed. Get up earlier and get going man.

Nigel.

Yeah, my retired girlfriend says I'm just a layabout, too. :roll: Of course, she doesn't get up until 8AM, and by then I'm ready for my mid morning coffee/brunch break! :rofl:

[DanRubin]

I am going to post my further observations on the Invicta, Hilo and other DACs over on the CA forum. Seems more appropriate and this thread seems to be dead anyway. Good weekend everybody.

Looking forward to this, earflappin. As an LIO-8 owner, I'm eagerly curious to know if any of these other DACs, alone or in combination with a converter, deliver better SQ than Firewire to LIO-8.

Dan

[Meridianjunkee]

I am new around here.
I just bought a used pair of Meridian DSP6ks 24/96 and I want to use the speakers in a 2 channel system which includes a Samsung 55 inch SmartTV, cable TV box with HDMI ,an iPad. Any other options other then NAD M51 out there on the cheap?

[Johnloudb]

Welcome to the Guide!

Oh, a 55" Smart TV huh, nice!!! My parents just bought one, and I set up the picture for them ... very pretty once it's set up correctly.

What will you be using the DAC with ... the TV?

[Meridianjunkee]

Welcome to the Guide!

Oh, a 55" Smart TV huh, nice!!! My parents just bought one, and I set up the picture for them ... very pretty once it's set up correctly.

What will you be using the DAC with ... the TV?

Thanks John.
My plan is to use the SPDIF or the HDMI from the cable box to let say the NAD Dac and into Meridian DSP Speakers.
By the way the Meridian DSP6ks are awesome sounding speakers. The BASS is so good and controlled and right now I am hooked up from an iPad to Wadia 171i transport to Meridian.

[Johnloudb]

Glad your enjoying the Meridian speakers! The Meridian is a digital speaker, but I assume it also has analog inputs that bypass the DAC circuitry? The M51 is a good choice I'd think, unless you wanted to go with something less expensive. I've tried a number of different DACs but nothing I can really recommend as they are older now. May check reviews or perhaps others here will have suggestions.

I've heard good things about Music Fidelity DACs.

John

[Meridianjunkee]

Glad your enjoying the Meridian speakers! The Meridian is a digital speaker, but I assume it also has analog inputs that bypass the DAC circuitry? The M51 is a good choice I'd think, unless you wanted to go with something less expensive. I've tried a number of different DACs but nothing I can really recommend as they are older now. May check reviews or perhaps others here will have suggestions.

I've heard good things about Music Fidelity DACs.

John

I was more into getting a Dac plus have the ease of switching between sources.
I hate to use Samsung's audio out to meridian speakers. The Nad is pretty expensive to me since I spent a big chunk of my badged on DSP speakers.