advertisement


DAC itch...

JTC

JTC

PFM Villager...
Any point upgrading my Brooklyn?

I like it a lot but wonder if my speakers and amp deserve a better DAC. I know that the Brooklyn bettered the JW-modified MDAC, but would improvements from this point be minor? What improvements might one expect?

I’m running it with a dedicated linear PSU btw.
 
Have a spare of the 12 quid Chinese one on my telly system, yours for the asking:). One in my Emotiva pre is the best DAC I've heard and comes with pre, tuner and phonostage to boot.
 
I’ve scratched it and so far underwhelming. I’m struggling to get a difference between a mojo and DACmagic100 when I switch between them on the Slee headphone amp.
 
Good question! Some will say yes and some no. Try to compare your Brooklyn with the Manhattan and since you’re in Scotland, one of the Aqua DACs like La Scala or Formula.
 
If you like it a lot, I wouldn't upgrade. The DAC is at the level where you get small upgrades in SQ (if any) for LOTS of money. IMO, the reason for you to change DACs would be if you didn't like the sound and wanted a different style of DAC.
Do you use it also as a preamp? If you do, you might want to audition a better pre, as separates. That would probably make more of a difference.
 
My system has reached a point (at last) where any changes might be subtly different but almost certainly wouldn't be better, at least in the context of my room, and to my ageing ears. I find it impossible to justify any further spending.

It sounds as though the OP's system is in a similar place. Not that there is anything wrong with experimentation if that in itself is enjoyed, but to expect improvement might be unrealistic.

I'm in the same situation with bicycles. Happy days, if only the engine could do them justice... :rolleyes:
 
I play music through a Mytek Brooklyn+. It sounds clean and neutral, has excellent speed and ticks all the right hifi - boxes. But I think I get what you mean by asking. Sometimes I think I enjoyed my old Roksan K3 dac more. Objectively the Brooklyn is a better dac, but the other dac had a more 'live' sound, if that makes sense..?
I have considered upgrading / sidegrading to a Border Patrol dac, but sadly I cant listen before I buy..
 
I like the suggestion of of the Aqua dac, never heard one, except on YouTube, also another you can hear there is the Audiobyte Hydra/Vox, which gets exception reviews, and is made by the same people who make the Rockna dac. I am really surprised we don' t read much more on Audiobyte, they appear to use the best components and are still competitive with the Chinese made dac's. A dac nearer my price range would be the Musician Pegasus, looks better built than Denafrips :rolleyes:, now time for me to run and hide.
 
It's worth trying a R-2R (ladder) DAC.

I've had 3 over the years, and 2 of those do things sufficiently differently in a way that sounds more like real music to my ears.
There's a presence, an in the room palpability that strikes me as unusual and musically right.

The 2 good ones were a MyST 1866 and a Halo Audio Spring level 2.
The latter is my current DAC of choice.

The 1 'failure' was a Metrum Octave which was OK but not very special imo. Which leads me to conclude that the implementation is as important as the technology.
 
I had an Aqua La Voce S3, which I sold to upgrade just before Christmas. Whilst sourcing a replacement, I've been trying to get away with cheaper DACs (Qutest), no DAC (using headphone jacks of latest Sony smartphone or Mac mini M1) vintage DACs (Sugden AU51).

In hifi terms, the differences between all of these are there but quite subtle. But I found a huge difference in the ability of each DAC to facilitate absorption in the music and overall sense of naturalness. The Aqua wins hands down, and the Sugden is probably second despite being the least detailed. The Qutest is probably the most accurate sounding but somehow I didn't enjoy listening with it much. The headphone jacks do little wrong and offer the best bang for the buck. In fact they are all compromised in different ways and quite far from the theoretical idea of perfect transparency.

This is all very personal, which is why the OP should try to demo at least the 2 main flavours of DACs, multibit and Delta Sigma, it's hard to describe the difference but fairly easy to hear.

Schiit Yggdrasil would be an interesting used punt, for those who prefer that method of demo.
 
Last edited:
Salamander said:
A dac nearer my price range would be the Musician Pegasus, looks better built than Denafrips
Click to expand...

AFAIK, "Musician" and Denafrips are from the same designer / factory, the difference is the distributor who sticks on a different brand name and does different levels of product support, marketing etc.
 
FWIW there’s a run-down of a fair few DACs about half way down the page here.

It’s just a punter on an audio forum, but it could be useful because a) they’re quite opinionated, which in this case seems good because it means they’re clear, b) it’s not a magazine review-style ‘why this is great’ affair and c) there are a fair number of suggestions at various prices.

Obvs we may all disagree, but starting points can help. For instance I found the page whilst looking for info on the Sugden DAC, and since I hate hissy top end, the slightly disparaging comments about roll off made me think it might work for me (and I’m awaiting a demo via Musicraft now).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top