[kwkarth]

Having just bought the Aria, I am very pleased with it. I purchased it for my office, but I like being able to plug in into the USB port on my 'puter so well, that I will probbly buy another to keep at home as well....or....has anyone compared it to the Grace M902? I'm wondering if it's worth the extra money for both DAC and headamp qualities?
TIA

 

[kwkarth]

Anybody?

 

[blessingx]

Well I'm probably known as not the Aria's biggest fan, but I think most would agree that the DAC isn't the Arias strong point. Depending on how you expected to use the Grace (or Benchmark or Lavry) there may not be a competition... nor really should there be.

 

[agile_one]

I have owned both the Grace 902 and Aria, though not at the same time. I let the Grace go prior to getting the Aria. These thoughts, then, rely on audio memory, so take fwiw.

As USB dacs, they are about the same. My feelings are that USB dacs frequently get a bad rap for conditions in the host computer outside of their control. If your computer is capable of fully suppotting the data flow to the USB while doing whatever else is being done at the same time, results should be fine.

As headphone amp, the Grace gets the nod to my ears. Using the grain of sand analogy that I find useful for solid state amps, the Grace sends the finest talcum powder down the wire, while the Aria is giving you very fiine, powder white beach sand. In this scenario, the size and coarsness of the sand represents the degree to which the musical information is made continuous - the smaller and more uniform the particles, the more continuous and non grainy sounding it will be. The ultimate would be to become liquid, and flow with total continuity as the sounds and beats change - like a tube amp or vinyl source.

From there the Grace just piles on the advantages, but these only matter if you will use them - single ended + balanced analog inputs, coax, AES, and optical digital inputs to the dac, preamp outputs (single ended RCA's), remote capable, and two headphone jacks vs one.

So, yes, the Grace 902 is slightly better than the Aria in what they do in common (USB dac and headphone amp), but it is in the significantly added capabilities of the Grace that it shows itself as the superior piece of gear. This is to be expected, however, when comparing a $500 piece to a $1650 piece.

If you can use the added capabilities of the Grace 902, and buying one is not a stretch, then go for it - it is wonderfully designed and built, and a joy to use. If you only need the USB dac and headamp capability, it would be hard to justify the Grace's 3x cost for the slight improvement - and that's just to my ears (from memory at that), so your's and many other's experience could be the opposite.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by agile_one Using the grain of sand analogy that I find useful for solid state amps, the Grace sends the finest talcum powder down the wire, while the Aria is giving you very fiine, powder white beach sand. In this scenario, the size and coarsness of the sand represents the degree to which the musical information is made continuous - the smaller and more uniform the particles, the more continuous and non grainy sounding it will be. The ultimate would be to become liquid, and flow with total continuity as the sounds and beats change - like a tube amp or vinyl source.

I like your analogy.

Given the Grace's digital volume control (200 steps!!!) it makes the comparison not quite equal as well.

-Ed

 

[kwkarth]

Thanks blessingx, agile_one, Edwood. This is exactly the sort of information I was interested in learning. It appears from consensus that the headamp of the Grace is superior, but there is not much practical difference in the performance of the DAC section. Feature wise of course, there is no contest, and being the inveterate gadget lover, the Grace wins hands down on that front. (@ 3X the cost, it had better!

)

It also appears that Michael Grace is active on these boards as is Jan Meier. That to me means a lot.

If I buy a 2nd Corda Aria, I know I will get performance that I will enjoy, but I will always wonder how much better the 902 would have been. So, how do yo guys feel the head amp section of the 902 compares with the HR Max? Any opinions?

 

[agile_one]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth It also appears that Michael Grace is active on these boards as is Jan Meier. That to me means a lot.

Yes it does, and both are dedicated, knowledgable, and helpful guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth If I buy a 2nd Corda Aria, I know I will get performance that I will enjoy, but I will always wonder how much better the 902 would have been. So, how do yo guys feel the head amp section of the 902 compares with the HR Max? Any opinions?

Well, I've owned both an original MAX and a 2001 with stepped attenuator. I place the Grace 902 between the two - the equal or slightly better than old, original MAX, but not quite a match for the 2001 with SE. If you like the MAX, you will like the 902.

 

[kwkarth]

Interesting... So that probably means that I will have to keep my Max 2001 and buy some upgrades for it AND get a Grace 902.

 

[blessingx]

I know I've been pushing the Lavry DA10 a bit much lately, but since you're talking Grace-money, have you considered it as a DAC/amp combo? It's very impressive.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx I know I've been pushing the Lavry DA10 a bit much lately, but since you're talking Grace-money, have you considered it as a DAC/amp combo? It's very impressive.

Tell me more, please!
Thanx,
kevin