Finally....

tonyb

....found one. Been looking for a Cary Xciter dac to use with my Sonos for like forever. Decided to start cruising craigslist from various cities, east coast....west coast. San Francisco finally coughed one up, with an external power supply no less for 6 bones. Probably be a week before I get it into the system and we shall see if the hype is warranted. Can't wait....been way too long without a dac in the mix and currently just using the receiver. How can it be worse than that, right ?

I'll throw up a review after I get it, unlike Phil who you have to send out the Marines to squeeze a review out of. lol

steveinaz

He shoots...HE SCORES!!!!!

11tsteve

it has been a good week for personal DAC searches. Congrats!

Thorton

Congrats Tony! That's persistence. Hopefully it meets your expectations. Can't wait to read the review.

txcoastal1

Awesome Tony, I know it's been a journey of patience and hope all works out.

This hobby has great rewards and savings with a lil' patience.

Congrats

polkfarmboy

Congrats Tony and if you ever need it broken or smashed up then shoot me a pm.

pearsall001

tonyb wrote: »

....found one. Been looking for a Cary Xciter dac to use with my Sonos for like forever. Decided to start cruising craigslist from various cities, east coast....west coast. San Francisco finally coughed one up, with an external power supply no less for 6 bones. Probably be a week before I get it into the system and we shall see if the hype is warranted. Can't wait....been way too long without a dac in the mix and currently just using the receiver. How can it be worse than that, right ?

I'll throw up a review after I get it, unlike Phil who you have to send out the Marines to squeeze a review out of. lol

It's about time you opened up that wallet & dusted off the cob webs!!!! LOL!!! Nice score Tony, can't wait for your review. I've been a little laxed for my review but it's a coming, I promise. Again congrats & enjoy!!

erniejade

Sweet!!! Nice pickup!!

tonyb

pearsall001 wrote: »

It's about time you opened up that wallet & dusted off the cob webs!!!! LOL!!! Nice score Tony, can't wait for your review. I've been a little laxed for my review but it's a coming, I promise. Again congrats & enjoy!!

Ha....thanks Phil. Yeah man, the wallet has been looking at me cross eyed lately. Home repairs, trips, newer car, and less coin coming in the door all add up to a "closed for repairs" sign on the old wallet.

heiney9

Nice, enjoy. Hope it's all you expect it to be.

H9

EndersShadow

Looks like your waiting paid off for your wallet. Hopefully it also pays off for your ears once you get it in.

Oldfatdogs

Hey Tony,glad you found your missing piece of the puzzle hope it works well for ya.

Dan

tonyb

Oldfatdogs wrote: »

Hey Tony,glad you found your missing piece of the puzzle hope it works well for ya.

Dan

If it does work, then another piece will be in the hunt....a tubed pre.

DollarDave

DSkip wrote: »

Might I recommend the Shuguang S200mk that is on sale at Grant Fidelity right now for under $500. Very nice pre for the money.

Do you have a link for that you can post? I looked around pretty good, but didn't find it.

Oldfatdogs

If it does work, then another piece will be in the hunt....a tubed pre.

Tony,any thing in particular catch your eye?Or on your want list?

Dan

tonyb

Oldfatdogs wrote: »

Tony,any thing in particular catch your eye?Or on your want list?

Dan

A few things, that Anthem pre 2l we had in the flea market....should have grabbed that. Have an Anthem integrated local was thinking about just using the pre amp section. I know if the wallet cries too much, B&k pre/pro's can be had for a pittance these days and offer up some fine SQ.

Digging up what I can on the dac, some users state it sounds just like a Cary cdp, which I like anyway. Others claim adding an audiophillio 2 brings it up past a W4S dac2. Don't think I'd add that though unless I can find a used one for a decent price. Either way, hard to find a review that doesn't like it. The main reasons why this dac has gone by the wayside have been no remote, and no DSD. Even though the usb is limited, it still reclocks the signal and most say sounds a step or 2 up from the digital connections. My sole purpose however is for the Cullen modded Sonos, and maybe the cdp so I really don't need usb or volume control. My main concern has always been SQ, and it seems this dac has that in spades. The Rega dac was also on my radar, but the Cary seemed to fit my preferences.

I guess if your like me, an old analog bonehead, jumping into the digital age has it's pro's and con's and we simply seek ways to make our digital sound more analog...if that makes any sense to you. Just tired of using a cheap receiver for music when I have great speakers and a great amp...seems like a waste. Thus the Cary dac and a tubed pre should elevate my pleasure leaps and bounds. If not, I'm selling it all and buying a plane ticket to Portofino and the wife and I can live good....for a few days anyway. LOL

SCompRacer

Other complaints about the Xciter were no remote and balanced outputs, but they did that to keep the cost down and still use high quality components where it matters. In regards to DSD, I have the capability but still use my DAC mostly with 16/44 files and it sounds great. I think you made a good choice.

tonyb

BTW, I'm not opposed to a solid state pre either, any suggestions besides the B&k I mentioned ? I know some of you guys like the Parasound P3, some don't. Forte...mixed bag as well.

Saw a PS Audio 5 pre on craigslist....Proceed too, which if memory serves, Proceed gear was top dog in their day. Gotta have a remote though. Just not seeing anything in SS that would be better than the B&k...for the going prices anyway.

teekay0007

tonyb wrote: »

Decided to start cruising craigslist from various cities, east coast....west coast. San Francisco finally coughed one up, with an external power supply no less for 6 bones.

Bit of a sidetrack, but a valid one, none the less....

Tony, I'm curious as to how you paid for this with any security on your purchase. I've seen items posted on CL in other cities that I've been interested in, but pretty much dropped the idea when I thought about payment security and any recourse I'd have if the deal went south.

Without a feedback system in place like on eBay and a team at the ready to fight my battles for me like at PayPal (for eBay and other business-to-consumer transactions) what can I do if the guy on the other end is the same guy that's always sending PFB busted stuff? I always picture some guy out at the bar, say in San Francisco [ ;-) ] for instance, with his pals havin' a good ol' time, sayin' "Drinks are on me folks, some bonehead in MN sent me some cash today!"

No, I'm not bringing this up to make you worry, I am genuinely curious as I would like to take advantage of some distant opportunities if they should present themselves in the future.

I actually had an amp listed on our local CL quite a while back and ended up selling it and shipping it to a guy a few states away. I packed it up pretty much bomb proof and got it out the door the day after he'd made his PayPal payment. Then I got to thinking, what if I wasn't me and just decided to waltz off with the dough. It would have been pretty unlikely that the guy would have come all the way out here to kick my rear end over a few hundred bucks.

Any insight you or anyone else would have would be greatly appreciated.

EndersShadow

I am guessing he has someone local he knows there.

I wouldn't mind helping out a local polkie within reason if someone saw something local to me in Indy and I was able to help.

tonyb

It all depends, first...you have to talk to the people over the phone. This allows you some sense of validity and you can judge for yourself if the seller is a bonehead or legit audio guy. Then you need to get home addresses, A seller not willing to collect funds at his house is a red flag, but not necessarily a deal killer as lots of people these days use post office boxes. You ask for more pics, so as to determine if some dude isn't just cherry picking off the internet...ask questions about other items in the pics to see if he knows. Get them to talk...listen for any pushy salesmen types. If you feel pressured to send funds right away...walk away. You also have to remember they don't know you either and craigslist scams are common with out of state buyers. Talk on the phone, feel comfortable about who your dealing with and the type of person your dealing with. In my case, we talked 3 times on the phone so I felt comfortable with the dude....and he with me. I then google the dudes name and see if any red flags come up, you then can google his addy, get pics of his house and verify his employment....maybe check social media if your so inclined. Ask if they belong to audio forums, look them up. Doesn't take long....but in the end, you really have no guarantees....you take a risk....a calculated risk. Like buying a used car from a stranger.

Ebay...paypal, offer some protections but they too can't guarantee the absence of scum sellers. Many have been burned by both, including myself. Have yet to be burned on craigslist though mainly because I can screen people via the internet verses a link in cyber space. A seller that won't talk to you over the phone, give out his addy, walk away....simple as that.

EndersShadow

What Tony's not admitting is that due to his Italian heritage he is allowed certain "perks" which include access to Guido and Vido and their network of "associates" who can "gently" ensure transactions go smooth

teekay0007

Thanks Tony. And yes, I know what you're talking about on sort of getting a vibe for if the situation just feels right or not. I guess I was hoping there was a way with more security of conducting these sorts of transactions that I wasn't yet aware of. Maybe the PFB transactions of late just have me a little spooked.

Hey Dan, you might be onto something there: Tonyb's G&V Nudge Network - "For when your deal goes all PFB on you!" ;-)

Oldfatdogs

Tony,sounds like you have a good idea of what your looking for and have been in this hobby quite a while.So you have years of experience on your side.Hope the DAC works well for you,and then a good pre comes along that will be a good fit in your rig.


Without guys like you on the forum, guys like me would would still be listening to the old Fisher setup.

Dan

txcoastal1

I would throw a pre like this in the mix of searching

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/tube-jolida-audio-fusion-tube-preamp-stereo-preamplifier-2014-03-26-preamplifiers-80020

RamZet

Nice score.
Sonos has so many listening options, a DAC should enhance any thing you may be streaming locally or from the web.

BlueFox

I can't believe you bought anything from San Francisco. Better hope it doesn't give off any liberal (or communist as a certain member says) vibes. :biggrin:

Congratulations. Enjoy

tonyb

BlueFox wrote: »

I can't believe you bought anything from San Francisco. Better hope it doesn't give off any liberal (or communist as a certain member says) vibes. :biggrin:

Congratulations. Enjoy

Hey now....San Fran is a great city, love it there.....and Alcatraz makes me feel at home. No worries about those liberal cooties that may be all over it, I asked the seller to pack it in....tea bags. lol

pearsall001

tonyb wrote: »

Hey now....San Fran is a great city, love it there.....and Alcatraz makes me feel at home. No worries about those liberal cooties that may be all over it, I asked the seller to pack it in....tea bags. lol

Organic tea bags I presume! Did you get it yet? I can't wait to hear your thoughts even though I pretty much know what the outcome will be. You're gonna love it!!!! And with that mod you had done to the Sonos you'll even have a bigger smile once you hear it.

tonyb

Nah...not yet, seller isn't sending it out until this weekend so I might have it in hand midweek. Said he had to replace it with an Audio note dac at almost 3g's....it was that good for him. We shall see....

tonyb

Well, I don't have to chase down anymore dead beats, the dac shipped out a few days ago with a tracking no. forwarded to me. Any day now....did manage to find this on Cary's web site. I couldn't figure out why owners really dug the USB input when it was limited, but reading how Cary does it now makes more sense.


The new Cary Audio Design Xciter D/A is more than simply a new product. The Xciter DAC contains cutting edge offerings from AKM Digital Devices along with new analog output devices from National Semiconductor. The National Semi metal can output devices were custom engineered specifically for Cary Audio Design. The heart of the Xciter D/A is the AKM model AK4399 32-Bit chip running at a 192kHz sampling rate. The soul of the Xciter D/A are the National Semi metal case TO-99 current feedback model LME4970NA direct coupled to the model LME49713 TO-99 final output devices. Over one year in development, the Xciter D/A offers a new level of home/office audio performance in a sleek, compact package. For the computer audio/video enthusiast there is nothing like driving the Xciter D/A from the USB output of your desktop, laptop or audio/video media server.

There are four selectable digital inputs on the rear panel consisting of a coaxial RCA, coaxial BNC, Toslink and a digital USB computer input. All four of these inputs are front panel selectable with corresponding blue LED’s indicating the selected source. The basic signal path of both the coaxial and Toslink inputs are software controlled and drive the AKM model AK4115 digital receiver device. The digital receiver in turn is direct coupled to the AKM model AK4399. These digital signals are then re-clocked within the Xciter D/A, sent to the National Semi metal can TO-99 current feedback output devices then out to the rear panel, single-ended RCA analog output jacks.

The USB 2.0 input receives a 24-48 kHz data stream which bypasses the receiver chip and is sent directly to the CM-108 device. This stream is then stripped as the bus separates the clock and data signals, resulting in a connection with an extremely low noise floor where jitter is almost nonexistent. This re-clocked stream is directed by the on board software of the Xciter DAC to the main AK4399 32 bit, 192 kHz processor chip, then out to the rear panel, single-ended RCA analog output jacks.

The above describes the basic operation and functionalities of the new Cary Audio Design Xciter Series Digital to Analog Converter. The advanced technologies incorporated within the new Xciter Series digital to analog converter such as digital signal re-clocking and sample rate up-conversion lead to the absolute highest sonic merits of D/A conversation currently available today.

Mind you...many other dacs now re-clock the signal, but that was a positive point for me. The up conversion, or up sampling as we put it wasn't such a draw but now I see how they do it, it makes more sense. For the 6 bones invested, I think I'll finally get the sound signature I'm looking for.