Hi Amir,
How is this DAC any different than your Mark Levinson amps?
One is a DAC, the other is an amplifier.
For those not paying attention, allow me to clarify.
Here we have a DAC which is said to be overpriced, measures poorly, but has positive subjective reviews/feedback from reviewers/customers. For these reasons, it is criticized here.
Amir owns overpriced ($50k!) Mark Levinson mono block amps, which measure poorly, and have received negative subjective reviews/feedback.
Yet, Amir has stated on numerous occasions how much joy his system brings him, despite the poor measurements, ridiculously high price and negative subjective feedback.
There seems to be some inconsistency here.
Note: Please do not misinterpret or misrepresent my post as a defense of this DAC or critique of the measurements, that’s clearly not the point being made.
There is no inconsistency here. The Mark Levinson is not my recommended list for any of you to buy. So in that regard, it is the same as this DAC. If you ask me to recommend an amp, I would say buy Hypex NC400, Unifi or Benchmark AHB2. No Mark Levinson is on that list, mine or any other model.
Your characterization of my amplifier are incorrect though. My amp produces 1,000 watts/channel. My speakers are inefficient and in a very large space. I tested the speakers against a number of lower powered amps and in all cases I would run out of amplification at max power. As most of you know, my rule about amplification is to have more power than you ever need as amps get ugly when they limit.
JA tested the amp in stereophile. Here is his summary:
https://www.stereophile.com/content...erence-monoblock-power-amplifier-measurements
No amp I have tested comes close to this level of power.
JA's subjective views were guarded:
The superb control of woofers is why I purchased it after testing it against a number of other amps we had on hand (sign of more than adequate power). Yes, what he giveth, he taketh back at the end. Good news is that subjective reviews are dime a dozen and one can shop for another one in the form of Robert Harley:
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/mark-levinson-no53-monoblock-power-amplifier-tas-213-1/
As to the cost, yes, it is expensive. More than expensive. But for twice as much money as this DAC, it comes in an enclosure clocking at 135 pounds or 61 kilograms. There is no stamped sheet metal. What is inside it is incredible compared to what comes in the totaldac d1-six:
You could print this picture, put it on the wall and enjoy it as much as listening to the thing.
With totaldac, I would have to hide it when my high-end friends come over.
When you buy a high-end product, it better give you the feeling that it is high-end. And the Mark Levinson amp does that. It was one of the attractions for me.
Anyway, hopefully we are done with clouding the discussion this way.