Thanks to Evan S., Boston USA for this amazing testimonial!
When I first contacted Dan at AudioWise 3 years ago I was running Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 + MScaler and my source was an UltraRendu+Roon playing local (FLAC) and streamed content. My speakers were ATC SCM40A (active) and everything was on well conditioned AC power with a full loom of high end cables by Synergistic Research to the tune of $75k. I was quite pleased with my system, but always looking for ways to further improve the sound.
So I was curious about Dan’s pronouncements that audiophiles and the industry did not, in some real sense, fully understand how to make digital sound good. Dan claimed that by diligently lowering RF noise at the DAC, it was possible to hear unbelievable levels of transparency - the faithful recreation of recorded sound with all its glorious detail, depth, staging, and timbre - but that through ignorance or incredulity and over decades the industry had cast a spell over audiophiles. Products took on a life of their own and money spent was the determinant of good sound. Dan’s products were not crazy priced and his site was full of user testimonials so I decided to take a chance.
First I applied his standard RF-STOP DC filter on my TT2 …and wow, yes, okay. Then I went for OPTO-DX and again - more wow. Then I acquiesced to Dan’s insistence that batteries would be better than expensive power conditioning and cables. So, en-masse, I purchased Goal Zero Yeti-1000’s for my ATCs and Dakota Lithium 12V for all my other DC needs. And this resulted in an improvement so compelling that I was hooked! And on I went: more RF-STOP filters, DAC-WRAP, Cable sleeves, DC-Blocks/LP-Filters and I even upgraded my TT2 to a DAVE. So after about three years of improvements, the sound I heard was much better than before - and for a lot less investment.
I kept in touch with Dan to make sure I had all his latest kit - but I thought I was at a proverbial endgame. Then Dan introduced the Extreme version of his RF-STOP filters and he posted a blog about Mojo2 sounding even more transparent than Dave. What did I do? I bought a Mojo2 and purchased more of Dan’s kit to duplicate his setup. I even purchased a used Windows laptop and PGGB 256 license - again at Dan’s insistence that I had to hear it. Well, I am just completely stunned. The sound I now hear is in another universe. I could not have dreamed it. I'm now PGGB processing all my reference albums for seamless Roon playback. I sold my MScaler and Dave and much of my superfluous components and cables. I’ve garnered enough knowledge from Dan that I’m testing out changes on my own. I enjoy supporting Dan’s amazing work and his goal of getting more people to hear this!