timsky

I just use a secondhand Pioneer N-50 which plays back my flac albums great. Works fine for my needs. Don't get me started on streaming services; I prefer supporting the artists directly on Bandcamp; downloading hi res albums and then playing them off the little usb stuck in the front of the N-50

If it helps, I use it almost like a preamp; CD as transport - digital in to rme. And streamer optical out into the rme. RME goes straight to power amp. Sound is uncoloured, clear, powerful = honest. Some might say clinical, I say “as the producer, recording engineer, mix engineer, mastering engineer intends for it to be heard” the thing that makes the difference in D/A conversation (in the recording world at least) is accuracy of the clock. RME have one of the best imho.

I bought mine from Factory Sound in south Melbourne, they look after their customers and I got a really good price too. Fantastic unit. Otherwise check reverb.com they often come up

I’m super impressed with my RME. It’s great. For the purposes you have stated, it will more than deliver. I’ve always thought it curious that the audiophiles here don’t take more inspiration from professional recording studio gear. They’ll say it’s too clinical, not romantic, etc. I say the clock is fantastic, and it is accurate. It reproduces what is meant to be heard. Trust the music making and professional recording process, don’t try and colour things too much afterwards. Listen flat and accurate as much as possible. RME gets my vote

Fantastic to hear this! Well done sir, the machines still look and sound great. I did a recording session a couple of days ago at Quasar Sound https://quasarsound.com/ and we recorded to a Rola. The studios owner Sam, swears by the gear and only had praise for it. I sincerely hope people can keep these machines going - moving parts need to move, electronics need voltage, they need to be used! It's quite astonishing to think that we actually made this kind of gear in Australia.