Thanks for the replies Julf - Exactly I am trying to fathom out why a regen device would be causing this effect. I had some notion that the touch outputs 24 bits vs 16 bit sources and this padding is being "corrected" by the intona maybe volume maxed. The A/N DAC is 20 bit so it may be affected, but I am no expert hence the question.
ArnyK re level matching. My point around this is that I level matched the control April Music Dac vs the audio note dac before changing anything. I then added in the Intona device to the Audio Note chain where-upon the devices were no longer level matched. Not even close; I think it was also clipping so I reverted and sure enough the level dropped. I would have rechecked the levels if I was going to do an AB or DBT test, but thought I might damage some kit or worse my ears. I really wasn't expecting to hear any difference despite the multitude of rave reviews so this result was quite a shock. MyNB - the audio note Dac is an old one with a conventional filter albeit with a valve/tube output stage. So quite conventional by A/N standards. I know some of you guys have strong opinions on valves, however I just think they are amplification devices and can be done well or badly, I like them for cosmetic reasons. The reason why I bought the A/N was because it was the best that I auditioned back in 98 and I got it ex demo for 50% discount. At that time, I auditioned a bucket load of DACs and this is the only one in my price range that imaged well and didn't draw attention to itself. I bought the April Music DAC to replace the Audio Note and a valve headphone amp as it was more compact, they sound almost identical. I haven't bought any kit for 3 years so I am just scratching an itch to see if I can squeeze anything more out of the digital chain by further over-engineering it. To be honest I am not expecting much/anything. I found early on that replacing the crap freeby cables that came with gear in the 80s did make a difference, so assumed that paying more will make it better. However in the last 20 years where I thought I have heard a difference it has either been: Placebo, a dodgey product e.g. picking up RFI, or me mixing the L/R connectors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ foxesden's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=56286 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=106914 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
