Another quick post as I'm heading off to work in 10 minutes. We had a bit of a listen late late last night, sleep is for losers honestly.
I ended up getting the i2s hotted up marantz working and while it was amazing with the 960 via digital, with the marantz it was just a completely different level. We had a quick burn through some mixed classical and some Nat King Cole.
Firstly, I get what everyone says about Stevens music. The quality of those discs is just ridiculous and I honestly do not think I have ever heard a CD sound like that. track after track is just astonishing. There is no point having a next track button, I don't think we used it as we were just captivated even with tracks we (in the past) hadn't liked so much.
The DAC itself? well I don't know what to say. It just sounds real. Immensely resolving and so natural and clear. Halfway through a track an instrument, say a snare drum will play and it just catches you completely off guard because you hear it, and immediately question why there is a drumkit in the room. Oh wait it's just the music, and then something else happens.
This type of work is only possible as a total labor of love and Steven/Paul has really done an incredible job of getting this sounding like it does. I can see why this particular DAC won the shootout, just astonishing.
I'll post a bit more later with some better descriptions, but yeah, just blown away. I am very humbled and thankful for Steven and Pauls work with this unit. The build quality is outstanding and while I was expecting a monstrosity of wires, I've bought retail gear nowhere near as well constructed and clean as this. Let alone the sound quality