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Hello again,
 
I received the Pro.DAC and oh, wow, I have my stereo back!  I'm embarassed to admit how long I've been feeding it the analogue coming directly off the *motherboard* and it's such a difference.  I'm a skeptic so tend to dismiss all those flowery sound critiques/promotions.  But how does one describe the difference?  I mean, yes, on one hand it IS exactly the same music, but on the other, it's so different. Broader, deeper, more detailed, sharper - and presto I've become one of them. Now I remember why I used to get excited by this or that track; lately it had all become so bland and dull. Didn't occur to me that was not so much me becoming old and tired as the sound being flattened out and rounded off at the source.
 
My main concern now is that given such an improvement perhaps I should've gone further. Sure, sure, double the money won't provide double the performance but....  it's only money right. It is that much better I'm stuck wondering what else I'm missing out on.
 
The Pro.DAC is much smaller than expected - palm of hand size.  And I got a black one, its not garish purple.
 
I tried my headphones directly using the little plug supplied but they sounded awful - all tin and treble, no depth, no base so just dunno what was going on there, but seemed something was not right. The 50c interconnect? Sounds fine after going through the stereo. I think? Didn't spend any real time on it.
 
Tried all three input styles and frankly can't pick the difference; BUT the USB presents a vastly stronger signal level. Like loud. So initially it was like, wow, this is better; but after leveling everything out again it was all much a muchness.  Prepurchase I perceived the USB might be somehow inferior to the toslink/optical, but nah.
 
UI note is that the volume levels in WinXP no longer work (irrespective of digital signal type). I'll have to get new batteries in that remote or get used to reaching for the volume knob on the amp... EXCEPT the volume control in itunes does still work.  Another of life's little mysteries.
 
It's not all a bed of roses. I tend to like simple music; without myriad layers. A vocal with a backing instrument, or a melodic four piece is pleasing to the minimalist in me.  I have suspected that once everyone gets going and the complexity of the noise really ramps up the dynamic performance ramps down. I felt the edges were getting clipped again and perceived the device was struggling to cope with the workload.  Whether this has any substance or not I can't decide until I try another DAC. (edit: trying to find the track that formed that opinion without success - trying Tool, Pantera, Body Count - all the noisy stuff without getting the same impression so now wondering that perhaps it was just one particular recording - no its not my amp/speakers).
 
But to conclude - make no mistake - if you're feeding an amp from your motherboard -stop- don't hestitate, buy this thing. You'll only wish you'd spent more Smiley
 
This post was not paid for or solicited by coem.