Schiit Loki & Meridian Director shootout

[ronenash]

I have been running the Loki for two days now and thought it as a good time to compare it with what is my main DAC today, the Meridian Director.

First a word about the Director. The Meridian Director is by far the best DAC I have had the pleasure of using to date. With it apodizing upsampling filter it gives excellent results with redbook as well as hirez source files.

The comparison of the two DACs is a bit difficult as the Meridian will play only PCM and the Schiit will play only DSD. I am using J.River to do the file conversion to the format needed by the respective DAC.

DSD Files:
The Loki is the hands down winner here. Playing DSD files though the Loki is an amazing experience. The soundstage spaciousness is better that anything I have heard to date. DSD files played through the Director after being converted to PCM on-the-fly with J.River still sound great but lack that spaciousness and focus that I get through the Loki.

Redbook files:
With redbook files the Meridian has the advantage with better bass, detail and imaging. I think the upsampling code in the Meridian is better than the upsampling J.River does to convert redbook to DSD for the Loki to process. In any case, listening to redbook is a more involving experience musically than DSD converted redbook played through the Loki DAC.

Hirez PCM Files:
Here its a closer call with both DACs sounding very good. This is a remarkable result as the Loki costs roughly 20% of the Director cost.

I plan to repeat this test after the Loki gets some more playing time and will report back.

[vinod_david]

Thank you for review. I am planning to buy Director. I have this Focal CMS40 actives which are very soft. I want some sparkle. Is Director good match for my speakers?

[ronenash]

Originally Posted by vinod_david

Thank you for review. I am planning to buy Director. I have this Focal CMS40 actives which are very soft. I want some sparkle. Is Director good match for my speakers?

The Director is a very natural dad with just a bit of warmth. I am not sure its the right dad to "color" your sound. It is extremely detailed and revealing which might help.
I can say its a top quality dad that you can enjoy for years as your system changes.

[vinod_david]

Thanks.

[Puma Cat]

Hi Ron,
Glad you got Loki to try out. Pretty amazing, isn't it? On the whole, I find native DSD played back on Loki sounds better than hi-res PCM on my Wadia 121.

[ronenash]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Hi Ron,
Glad you got Loki to try out. Pretty amazing, isn't it? On the whole, I find native DSD played back on Loki sounds better than hi-res PCM on my Wadia 121.

I absolutely agree if the sacd source is good the experience is magical. Unfortunately not all sacd's are good transfers from analog tapes.

Last night I changed the USB and interconnects to WW platinum and there was another big jump in performance. This is the best digital I have ever heard!

[ronenash]

You got to love J.River MC19. I just set up two zones. Zone one sends DSD over USB to the Loki while re-sampling everything to DSD. Zone two sends PCM to the Director at its native sample frequency leaving the upsampling to the Director's apodizing filter. DSD is also converted to PCM for the Director.

Since J.River can play both zones at the same time I can easily compare the two DACs with different source files with a push of a button changing sources on my ACT2 preamp. J.River does the processing to match the source format to the DAC desired format if needed or just send the data as is if no processing is required.

Don't you love MC19

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by ronenash

I absolutely agree if the sacd source is good the experience is magical. Unfortunately not all sacd's are good transfers from analog tapes.

Last night I changed the USB and interconnects to WW platinum and there was another big jump in performance. This is the best digital I have ever heard!

Yep. I've been buying native DSD files from Super HiRez and have been very pleased with the quality of files. I also have some DSD files that were "ripped" from SACD discs via a Playstation 3, and while those files sound good, I don't think they sound as good as native DSD files. Perhaps something happens during the SACD authoring process....I don't know. It's anecdotal with my data set at this point. But, as you say, it's also very much up to the recording and mastering processes. I've got some Audio Wave Blue Note XRCD24s that blow away some SACDs for sound quality.

But, regardless, Loki is very impressive.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by ronenash

You got to love J.River MC19. I just set up two zones. Zone one sends DSD over USB to the Loki while re-sampling everything to DSD. Zone two sends PCM to the Director at its native sample frequency leaving the upsampling to the Director's apodizing filter. DSD is also converted to PCM for the Director.

Since J.River can play both zones at the same time I can easily compare the two DACs with different source files with a push of a button changing sources on my ACT2 preamp. J.River does the processing to match the source format to the DAC desired format if needed or just send the data as is if no processing is required.

Don't you love MC19

Wow, that's cool. Does the Mac version do that? I will have to look into it. I have a buddy that uses Mac OS that also really likes J River.

[ronenash]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Wow, that's cool. Does the Mac version do that? I will have to look into it. I have a buddy that uses Mac OS that also really likes J River.

Stephan, I am not sure about the mac version but I think at this point its similar to the PC version. Go to the J.River interact forum and I am sure you get a quick answer to this question.