DAR-reader Philippe G wrote to me with some thoughts on op-amp rolling in the Eastern Electric Minimax DAC.  A combination of his enthusiasm and the Australian angle of Burson means Philippe’s words (and photos) might be of some interest to other readers: “An informal guess: (Eastern Electric’s) Alex Yeung knows that the Minimax’s potential can be expanded by optimising the

They’ve been promising it for a while now but Peachtree Audio are finally set to launch their statement DAC/Pre-amplifier.  It looks better than its Dad-joke name would suggest.  Six digital inputs – 24/192 asynchronous USB, two coax, two optical, BNC – feed an in-built ESS Sabre32 9018 DAC that lowers jitter to less than 1 picosecond. “The reference-quality preamp routes

John Kenny has also been a busy chap of late. He’s boxed his battery-modded Hiface into a new aluminium enclosure and it can now run completely “off the grid” thanks to two LiFePO4 batteries – the same technology used by Red Wine Audio’s Vinnie Rossi. The S/PDIF output of this new MK3 version has also been overhauled. “The MK3 Hiface

Remember Intel Viiv, media centre PCs and all-in-one media solutions? Remember convergence as a bona fide lounge room concept? Where’d it go? The general public didn’t buy it. It was all too finicky: drivers for digital TV cards, accommodating 5.1 surround sound devices…too many options. Then the cult of Mac sold us on diminished choice being a good thing. We

The year was 1994.  Mighty Joe Moon – Grant Lee Buffalo’s sophomore album - had just dropped into my lap and Melody Maker had concluded their review with the words “Stunning.  Absolutely F**king Stunning.”  CDUniverse’s review summary page censors the profanity thus diluting the conclusive impact of the review, but the F-word was there.  It was there.  It rang in my head like