Wondering if the Coax implementation in most DACs is even good enough to warrant using this? Pretty sure the USB input of my DAC had more time/money spent on it than the Coax.

I don't think it's the coax implementation so much as the DAC itself. Obviously attaching an OR5 to a Dac Magic is a total waste of time, as would probably be most DACs below $2500 or so, excepting second hand Alpha S1s or PWD MKIIs which go for about $2K. If you're planning to use a DAC that costs $4-5K, then you should probably ask whether an Overdrive would make more sense. So you could say that there's a fairly small window for $2K USB converters.

Quote from: Maxvla on April 06, 2013, 02:31:04 AM

Wondering if the Coax implementation in most DACs is even good enough to warrant using this? Pretty sure the USB input of my DAC had more time/money spent on it than the Coax.

I don't think it's the coax implementation so much as the DAC itself. Obviously attaching an OR5 to a Dac Magic is a total waste of time, as would probably be most DACs below $2500 or so, excepting second hand Alpha S1s or PWD MKIIs which go for about $2K. If you're planning to use a DAC that costs $4-5K, then you should probably ask whether an Overdrive would make more sense. So you could say that there's a fairly small window for $2K USB converters.

An Overdrive is way beyond my means, and that's not even with any upgrades. My original plan was 1500/1500/1500 hp/amp/dac. Spent a little less on the DAC and quite a bit more on the amp, but I'm around where I wanted to be. I really don't want to spend a lot per component so $4-5K DACs are permanently out of the question. Something like the X-Sabre which I already enjoy, taken to new levels (according to this worship thread) with a device around it's price range I could handle as long as the rewards were worth it. That may seem odd, but I can't afford to swing multi-K devices in and out all the time, losing several hundred per buy/sell/return rotation. I see people taking baths on things like RWA and Liquid Fires and I won't let myself be put in that position. Even well regarded gear sells poorly once you get high in price. This is also one reason I will never be into even remotely high end speakers, the resale on them is horrifying, and then there's the shipping... I might try a kit in the vein of what Purrin did, but I will work with the Paradigms I have first.

Another worry about a device like this, is how stable is the technology? We see DACs changing as fast as computer technology these days. Is an Off-ramp going to be viable for many years or phased out quickly? I would be inclined to go with the perhaps improved sound if I didn't end up with a $1k+ paper weight after a year.

Yes, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on a headphone rig, but I would only imagine a headphone rig would benefit even more due to the proximity of the transducers.

If this type of device is truly great, it could be how you described, a DAC extender, either into the future, or until a greater step could be made much later. That is one reason why I am considering it despite it costing more than my DAC.

An Overdrive is way beyond my means, and that's not even with any upgrades. My original plan was 1500/1500/1500 hp/amp/dac. Spent a little less on the DAC and quite a bit more on the amp, but I'm around where I wanted to be. I really don't want to spend a lot per component so $4-5K DACs are permanently out of the question. Something like the X-Sabre which I already enjoy, taken to new levels (according to this worship thread) with a device around it's price range I could handle as long as the rewards were worth it. That may seem odd, but I can't afford to swing multi-K devices in and out all the time, losing several hundred per buy/sell/return rotation. I see people taking baths on things like RWA and Liquid Fires and I won't let myself be put in that position. Even well regarded gear sells poorly once you get high in price. This is also one reason I will never be into even remotely high end speakers, the resale on them is horrifying, and then there's the shipping... I might try a kit in the vein of what Purrin did, but I will work with the Paradigms I have first.

Another worry about a device like this, is how stable is the technology? We see DACs changing as fast as computer technology these days. Is an Off-ramp going to be viable for many years or phased out quickly? I would be inclined to go with the perhaps improved sound if I didn't end up with a $1k+ paper weight after a year.

The OR could definitely help get the most out of the X-Sabre's capability.. in the same way that attaching an Esoteric P-01 would. It's basically a source upgrade. Not having to worry about the USB implementation of whatever DAC you may consider in the future is also a nice bonus. The USB inputs on the vast majority of DACs do indeed suck and will likely continue to suck for some time. I don't see the OR becoming a paper weight any time soon. You can buy the stock version if you want, and then send it back to Empirical to have the clock upgrades or regulator upgrades done later. It's not perfect, the OR4 can't be completely turned into an OR5, and people who bought the old super and ultra clock upgrades can't just have those exchanged for the new clocks, but it's better than nothing.

The only limitation I see with the current OR is that because it uses the Hiface board, it depends on driver support being there for future operating systems. Linux support is also limited. VortexBox supports it, but most other builds don't. The next OR should be a USB class 2 device that wont require drivers for Mac or Linux.

Empirical stuff doesn't come up for sale that often, but I don't recall ever seeing anybody take a bath on old Off-Ramps or Overdrives. Even stuff that's not in the product line anymore like the Pace-car still seem to command good resale when they go up. Some stuff is just like that. Weiss DACs generally hold their value quite well. The DAC202 isn't the hot FOTM DAC anymore, but even now they are still going for a good 2/3 of new retail.

The mighty Levinson 30.6 DAC also still somewhat inexplicably commands a high price even though they are massively outdated technically, and Levinson themselves won't even touch it if something goes wrong.

Paying full price for anything made by PS Audio on the other hand is just asking to get burned. Same with entry level Esoteric stuff, they flatline PDQ.

I did some looking for news about an OR6, but came up empty, do you have some info on when to expect it?