John R Leddy
pfm Member
Richer Sounds began selling their Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 yesterday, Thursday 1st March 2012. I was on the phone at their 10.00 am opening time. By 10.10 am Phillip Palk had processed my order for £199.95.
I had waited for the DacMagic 100 to be released, even though the XLR outputs and headphone amplifier of the £349.95 DacMagic Plus might be more suitable for my system. I have not owned an outboard DAC since the days of Audio Alchemy's Digital Decoding Engines. I still have a broken DDE v3.0 and Power Station Three in a junkbox somewhere. I was unsure whether to purchase a digital streamer or USB DAC. I decided there was little to lose spending £200 on an outboard DAC which could be easily integrated with my office computer if not suitable for my stereo.
At 11.26 am the next morning DPD UK delivered my parcel and the process began. Appropriated the wife's laptop. Removed the Lacie Network Space 2 from the network. Found an ethernet crossover cable. Found a pair of RCA phono interconnect cables. Found a 6-way extension socket.
Used an ethernet crossover cable to connect the Lacie Network Storage 2 to Lesley's old Acer Aspire 7003WSMi. Or is it old Lesley's Acer Aspire WSMi? Connected the DacMagic 100 to the laptop using the supplied USB cable. Using a pair of Linn black interconnect cables, connected the DacMagic 100 to the Aux1 RCA phono inputs of my Balanced Audio Technology VK-3iX pre-amplifier.
I suddenly realised, I'd never used RCA phono connections in my current system. Switched everything on and walked away for 20 minutes. There's no logical reason for that particular period of time. Just happens to be the length of one side of an LP from the old days. I haven't owned a record deck since 1985. That maximum 22-minute-per-side LP time seems to have implanted itself in my mind as a reasonable amount of time to let the BAT VK-3iX and VK-55 valves stabilize. Rather than being conservative with the volume control during this time, I prefer just to wait. So be it.
Lesley's laptop has Winamp on Windows XP. I see Winamp's volume control has been disabled, and vaguely remember Winamp being optimized in the distant past. Proceed. My Network Places to the Lacie Network Space 2. Right-click on my FLAC folder, Play in Winamp, and we're up and running.
Immediate impression: sounds three-quarter ways between a Linn Genki and a Linn Ikemi. I'm not a reviewer, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have an opinion relative to that which I've experienced in my own home and system. If your experience is similar to mine, inasmuch a Linn Ikemi (£2,200) is twice as good as a Linn Genki (£1,100), and a Linn Unidisk 2.1 (£4,500) is only half as much again better than an Ikemi, and you're willing to accept these comparisons are relative, and seeking absolutes is futile, you won't be too far away from understanding my opinion on how the Lacie Network Space 2 (EAC FLAC files) > Acer Aspire 7003 WSMi (Winamp on Windows XP SP3) > Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 performs.
This little DAC has reassured me it's perfectly acceptable to avoid the unnecessary expense of digital streamers, whilst knocking together a bitsa system which allows for future upgrades of individual components as funds allow, within a rapidly obsolescent product range. The DacMagic 100 runs on 12Vdc, and Yuasa produce a range of compact permanently sealed gel batteries for sportsbikes, which may be just the ticket if you already own an Optimate battery charger. I'm not really an accessory upgrade type of guy myself, but I do just happen to own an Optimate...
One of the strengths of the DacMagic 100 is its ability to integrate your FLAC file collection into your stereo for a meagre £200, whilst preparing the way for further system upgrades. Job done, I'd say.
Of further benefit, this DAC can't tell which genre of music it's converting and runs on generic pro-audio cables just fine.
As Winamp shuffles its way through my FLAC file collection, I'm hearing tracks from albums I haven't played in years.
I had waited for the DacMagic 100 to be released, even though the XLR outputs and headphone amplifier of the £349.95 DacMagic Plus might be more suitable for my system. I have not owned an outboard DAC since the days of Audio Alchemy's Digital Decoding Engines. I still have a broken DDE v3.0 and Power Station Three in a junkbox somewhere. I was unsure whether to purchase a digital streamer or USB DAC. I decided there was little to lose spending £200 on an outboard DAC which could be easily integrated with my office computer if not suitable for my stereo.
At 11.26 am the next morning DPD UK delivered my parcel and the process began. Appropriated the wife's laptop. Removed the Lacie Network Space 2 from the network. Found an ethernet crossover cable. Found a pair of RCA phono interconnect cables. Found a 6-way extension socket.
Used an ethernet crossover cable to connect the Lacie Network Storage 2 to Lesley's old Acer Aspire 7003WSMi. Or is it old Lesley's Acer Aspire WSMi? Connected the DacMagic 100 to the laptop using the supplied USB cable. Using a pair of Linn black interconnect cables, connected the DacMagic 100 to the Aux1 RCA phono inputs of my Balanced Audio Technology VK-3iX pre-amplifier.
I suddenly realised, I'd never used RCA phono connections in my current system. Switched everything on and walked away for 20 minutes. There's no logical reason for that particular period of time. Just happens to be the length of one side of an LP from the old days. I haven't owned a record deck since 1985. That maximum 22-minute-per-side LP time seems to have implanted itself in my mind as a reasonable amount of time to let the BAT VK-3iX and VK-55 valves stabilize. Rather than being conservative with the volume control during this time, I prefer just to wait. So be it.
Lesley's laptop has Winamp on Windows XP. I see Winamp's volume control has been disabled, and vaguely remember Winamp being optimized in the distant past. Proceed. My Network Places to the Lacie Network Space 2. Right-click on my FLAC folder, Play in Winamp, and we're up and running.
Immediate impression: sounds three-quarter ways between a Linn Genki and a Linn Ikemi. I'm not a reviewer, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have an opinion relative to that which I've experienced in my own home and system. If your experience is similar to mine, inasmuch a Linn Ikemi (£2,200) is twice as good as a Linn Genki (£1,100), and a Linn Unidisk 2.1 (£4,500) is only half as much again better than an Ikemi, and you're willing to accept these comparisons are relative, and seeking absolutes is futile, you won't be too far away from understanding my opinion on how the Lacie Network Space 2 (EAC FLAC files) > Acer Aspire 7003 WSMi (Winamp on Windows XP SP3) > Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 performs.
This little DAC has reassured me it's perfectly acceptable to avoid the unnecessary expense of digital streamers, whilst knocking together a bitsa system which allows for future upgrades of individual components as funds allow, within a rapidly obsolescent product range. The DacMagic 100 runs on 12Vdc, and Yuasa produce a range of compact permanently sealed gel batteries for sportsbikes, which may be just the ticket if you already own an Optimate battery charger. I'm not really an accessory upgrade type of guy myself, but I do just happen to own an Optimate...
One of the strengths of the DacMagic 100 is its ability to integrate your FLAC file collection into your stereo for a meagre £200, whilst preparing the way for further system upgrades. Job done, I'd say.
Of further benefit, this DAC can't tell which genre of music it's converting and runs on generic pro-audio cables just fine.
As Winamp shuffles its way through my FLAC file collection, I'm hearing tracks from albums I haven't played in years.