In transitence. While David's DSD files were, let's consider intransigence as a refusal to change our views. It's of note that Cen.Grand disable raw SACD and equivalent CD playback. Even bypassing their upsampler renders native DSD x 2, Redbook x 4. We can't disagree with SACD as DSD128. We can with PCM at DSD256 where the upsampler curiously offers a PCM-as-DSD128 option. It shows how only treble-averse listeners with enhanced sensitivity to high sounds would prefer CD files resampled at DSD x 2. Everyone else will at minimum pick x 4 like Cen.Grand's 'bypass' does. Which raised a question. Did one-box SACD players I heard in the past upsample? Have I ever heard native SACD? It's immaterial of course. Since I agree with Cen.Grand that compared to a premium PCM DAC like Sonnet's, Redbook resampled to DSD starts becoming competitive only at DSD256, I'd very likely agree on raw SACD as well. To wrap this paragraph, I wonder now whether my original disinterest in the format was due to insufficiently high sample rates in early SACD players; or at least due to less advanced algorithms than Cen.Grand's. Intransigence. It's never too late to change our views; even when they're hazy. And though we can't fondle sexy code like a curvy remote or fat fascia, that how one upsamples is critical we know from HQPlayer's plethora of esoteric options; from digital experts at Auralic, Grimm Audio, Soulution and others who insist that each target rate requires its own very specific optimization not a one-size-fits-all approximation. Having flunked math, it's all Swahili to me.

Unlike other USB transceiver modules, Cen.Grand's implements on the motherboard. There are no piggy-back modules stacked anywhere. Volume controller chip in insert's center.

Sinositis. It's a sniffling disease like sinusitis which only takes heard mentality to cure in one free listen; hankies optional. Sinositis is my word for yellow fever; being sick with China bashing. The early ChiFi days of dubious valve-amp imports are well behind us. Today brands like AM Hi-End, Cayin, Melody, Line Magnetic, PrimaLuna and Vincent enjoy glowing plaudits worldwide. Names like Denafrips, HoloAudio, Jay's Audio and Kinki Studio serve the transistor half. Brands like FioO, iBasso, Lotoo and Shanling are prominent with portable players. HifiMan, Sendy and Sivga are big into headphones. And who hasn't heard of Apple computers or Xiaomi smartphones? Sinositis is another area where intransigence shows us being well out of touch. Buyer preferences still vary. It's wholesale belief in 3rd-rate stuff being synonymous with Guangzhou/Shenzen origins that's outdated.

The real issue remains distribution. It's about accessibility and pre/post-sales support. Hello timing. With today's saturated markets, the best importers manage stacked cherry-picked catalogues. They often can't take on more should quality trump quantity; and no nefarious plan to freeze a hot competitor with a one-time order but zero follow-thru. It's why more impatient brands of possible merit go Internet-direct via Aoshida & Co. They circumvent classic dealer representation to launch quickly. Brick'n'mortar schemes take far longer to build. They rely on solid domestic sales to bridge the interim. Anyone perusing the Cen.Grand site in detail sees that they wisely bided their time to first establish local sales. Now they can afford to play the long game of setting up select international partners. I view 2023 as Cen.Grand's debutante season to pursue the most eligible suitors. Were I such a bachelor whose portfolio had holes, I'd surely attend their ball to ask for a dance. Jane Austen all over again.

Agnostic transmission protocol? To insure that my budget BNC Sommer Cable left no unintentional crumbs under the upstairs table, I bought a 6m stretch of AudioArt Cable's finest AES/EBU to exploit that protocol's higher signal voltage. Super-attentive A/B declared the latter slightly superior. But was it the cable from Sunny Diego? Was it the USB bridge's implementation of AES vs coax? Did the Cen.Grand have a preference? How would I tell? This wasn't a big shift but having options declared one just a bit better.

Saltier smoothness? Synchronicity had simultaneously arrived Akiko's Corelli. That's a parallel passive AC conditioner whose three sealed chambers for each power leg include synthetic rubies. Before we get precious with dismissive coughs, the general principle isn't exclusive to the Dutch. It's likewise pursued by US, Canadian, Polish and Japanese competitors each with their own secret formulation. In any event, testing this mystery box upstairs showed its clarifying noise-stripping focus to be on transients. That gave the Deluxe's slightly softer touch compared to Pasithea extra grip. If one thus wanted to bolt on some 'PCM edge' to today's subject of high-rate DSD resampling, there are ways albeit mysterious. Equally mystifying is why one would want to in the first place. Isn't the whole point of various audio flavors to pick a favorite rather than homogenize the lot to boring sameness? On that 'favorites' score, mine was the combination of Deluxe, Enleum AMP-23 and the small metallic Mark Audio Alpair widebanders of the MonAcoustics minis plus Corelli. The cellulose drivers of the Acelec Model One and sound|kaos Vox3awf monitors already packed their own 'DSD' flavor. Given how very specific my own tastes have become, with those speakers I wanted just a click or two more incisive spunk. Having the SuperMon Mini option meant I got to indulge my biases just so. But there was more.

Direct(or). I decided to loop back a Vinnie Rossi Signature preamp fitted with my favorite direct-heated triode for it, Elrog's ER50. It's a kind of super 45. With the Terminator's lower resolution, I'd preferred a passive magnetic volume controller to maintain more quicksilver. When I couldn't hear any relevant difference between Cen.Grand's ladder-on-a-chip volume control and the icOn 4Pro's multi-tapped autoformer, I eliminated the latter to use the Deluxe in variable mode. Now I set it to direct. To avoid potential mishaps, that change triggers a warning in English/Chinese to turn down the amp volume. Only when that button is pressed again does volume bypass engage. It's excellent safety protocol.

The direct-coupled ultra-bandwidth German valves gave me their typical mild textural and tone mass injections without triggering any mental complaints of simultaneously stepping on any brake. With very quick lucid speakers, a matching amplifier and the accelerator/focusing action of Corelli plugging into a passive NCF Furutech distributor, combining the DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with a first-rate active preamp did very well indeed to balance speed and curves. As put in my Corelli review, this was the best sound I'd yet made in this room. My one minor complaint there was some Cen.Grand transformer hum audible next to it but not in the seat. When David's package arrived at Irish customs, it was for a 2TB hard drive of physically ripped SACD. This review's final chapter could commence. For the technically inclined, there's this article on how it is possible now to mix/master in DSD256 without any conversion to PCM. About the current status on SACD ripping and DSD extraction since the original Sony Playstation hack, there's this.