Well, having just managed to snag a DPA PDM 1 Series 3 unit...and upgrading from a DPA Little Bit II, here's my listening notes so far (only had the unit for 24 hours, haven't really been able to listen to it properly yet). I'll simply repost my notes from another audio forum to save typing them all again
"OK - got my 2nd hand DPA PDM 1 Series 3 DAC yesterday morning, have only listed to it for a few hours. Completely different sound to what I expected.
I've had a DPA Little Bit II for over ten years now, and I've been very happy with the sound. It's quite musical, quite detailed, good soudstage and imaging, vocals are reasonably prominent, as is the midrange. It all adds up to a very nice sound.
The DPA PDM 1 Series 3 unit is perplexing me...it's a higher ended unit, obviously mean to sound better. That's where the problems start - the definition of what better is. These are my listening notes so far...
For the DPA PDM 1 Series 3 unit:
More laidback and relaxed presentation
More detail
Better soundstage - width/depth/height
Tighter/deeper bass
Against:
Dynamics seem a bit flatter
Less musical
Midrange less prominent
Vocals less prominent
Vocals more nasally (on some of the Cranberries tracks, never heard this before)
Not quite as tightly focussed on vocals as the little bit II
Now, I am using el cheapo interconnects, which up until now have sounded just fine. I'm wondering if the DPA PDM 1 Series 3 unit isn't happy with either the CD transport being used (Pioneer DV-344) or the interconnect cabling. Said DVD player seems to work just fine with the DPA Little bit II.
Please note that my system, as is, isn't setup really good. The Sonus Faber (Electa Amators) are in a corner, 3' apart, not toed in right, and right up against a rear wall. The sound isn't as good as it could be when using the DPA Little bit II, but it's not that bad either. I'm wondering if trying the below suggestions:
Different rca cables to preamp
Toeing in speakers correctly, and set them correct distance apart
Pull speakers away from the rear walls
Turn off subwoofer (REL Stadium II, again, not ideally seated/sited)
What are your thoughts on this?
I'll also be getting my original CD transport, the Teac Esoteric P-500 repaired over the next few months. It's a bit hard, cos DPA is such an older brand, and was high end at the time it was current, few people would have had it, few would probably remember it. If you have, can you remember if your experiences match mine?
I'm not saying that the DPA PDM 1 Series 3 is bad, don't get me wrong. It's still very listenable, it's just not more of the 'same' that the Little bit II was and I'm very used to its presentation. There are definite improvements with the new unit.
CDs used so far to test the system have been:
The Cranberries - no need to argue (lovely acoustic sound on this album)
The blessing - Prince of the deep water (fantastic recording this one)
I Bificus - Bif
I warned you all that I have very wide musical tastes ;-)
I will be trying Tracy Chapman's self titled album tonight, and also The counting crows 'August & everything'.
Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are much appreciated."
and after a 2nd short listening session, some more notes:
"A bit of an update on the new DAC. Listened to a few tracks from James Blunt's 'back to bedlam' album, his voice sounds a bit hollow, and thin and recessed. It's also lacking the emotion that I know is in his voice and on this album. Some of the tracks were unbearing to play, being very bright and wish washy, something I've never noticed with this CD before on my system, and a mates.
Angie's (owner of the house) unasked comment was "I don't like the sound of this, it sounds too bright". Granted, she has very good hearing, but it was interesting. She also thought that it didn't really have any bass to it. I think the new DAC has bass, but it's just very tight, whereas the little bit II was more warm and woolly in the bass.
We then played a few tracks from Led Zeppelin's 'remasters' double cd, something Angie was familiar with (I'm not very familiar with their stuff to be honest). She was quite happy with the sound. Her comments were "if your system is not very good, I'll know it as soon as I listen to these tracks". It did sound much better with this CD than the james blunt cd, but the bass is still very tight.
My initial impressions are a lack of midrange and a slightly skewered presentation, favouring the top end over the bottom end of the audio spectrum. I don't know if this was atypical of DAC 7 DACs.
After reading a few comments on pink fish media, it seems that my units are deltecs, not dpa (they have the glossy finish, and the serial numbers are hand written on labels, stuck to the back of the chassis, not on the underside like dpa models were). These could even be prototypes, I'm going to give the serial numbers to Tom on pink fish media (hopefully he's still around there, as he was the repair technician for DPA) and see what he thinks."
I'm hoping Tom is still around on the boards, so I can throw some questions at him...
Anyone else got any thoughts?
Dave
edit: I don't have any option, due to living arrangements, of setting my hi fi system up properly...sorry guys...I wish!!!