First, I totally agree that the analog stage of the SB3 "currently is not at a "hey, buddies, listen to this..." level. But, through a good DAC it's close.
I wonder if you might be giving up too easily on the Transporter. I've had mine for a month now, and the more I listen to it, the more I like it (esp. for its upper end). I wouldn't call it super 'bright', but I would say it is has a medium-brightness and accuracy that doesn't tire me out (I listen to mostly classical music). Alas, my big system is in storage (BP25DA, 4BSST & WP7s), so I can't yet offer you a side-by-side comparison of the Byrston vs Transporter DACs. However, through my Headroom Max Desktop DAC/amp and AKG701s (albeit, an imperfect comparison), I can tell you that I really, really enjoy listening to the Transporter DAC, certainly as much as I enjoyed listening to the Bryston DAC. Before my Transporter arrived, my opinion of Slimdevices (from owning an SB2 & SB3) was "Wow, those guys really understand how to put together a digital transport". After a month of TP listening, I now feel that they also know a thing or two about how to build a great DAC. It is at the hey-buddies-listen-to-this-level. I recently realized that regardless of how great a digital transport it is, the Transporter's DAC is worthy of being evaluated against the best of the standalone ones. If you can get a 30 day trial on it, I'd give it a chance. If it doesn't work for you, return it and you'll be one month closer to the release of the Bryston DAC... -- muski ------------------------------------------------------------------------ muski's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3670 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31533 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
