Ive read several reports its treble is harsh. Not a young persons pleasure machine?
Ain't nothing harsh about the treble on mine.Lord knows where you got that report from .Mine is super smooth and very detailed,l love it.
Ive read several reports its treble is harsh. Not a young persons pleasure machine?
Many thanks for your replies, a few things for me to consider. My DacMagic is the newer version with the three filters (but not the latest version with headphone output). I will have a look into some new XLR to RCA cables and a maplin power supply first off then.
Sonddek do you recommend any cables in particular? I have VDH The Source at the minute, RCA
P.s. I'm in Derby - a bit of a trip to the North West I'm afraid.
Lee
Naim... there seems to be a few fans! Do The CD players mentioned come with digital input, eg can I use the internal DAC like the current audiolab 8200 series?.
No, never. But there is a naim dac (haven't heard it).
cheaper interconnects don't allow the music through
There is no doubt to my mind that there is far more value for money from guys like mark grant cables, or Nva, or Avondale audio, than you'll get from any of the brand names.
Mr wizard
I had the older dac magic for a good while. Now the next thing I'm about to say may get me kicked out of the forum.... Here goes..
I tried about 6 other dacs, including mdac and the naim dac, and decided very early on that none of them were worth buying. The others in the 300-600 gbp range just sounded a little different, but not "better" . The naim dac .... Better, sure, but not 2000 gbp worth of an upgrade.
I was still in a search for something better, when I heard the Weiss dac202, I reached deep into my wallet and bought it before anyone else could snatch it from me. I digress.
Another member has suggested an upgrade of interconnects and power supply. There will be a lot of doubters about their effect. And that can be off putting, but I trust my ears and there is no doubt they make a difference. Think of it like this :- cheaper interconnects don't allow the music through - they restrict what the dac, or preamp, is trying to send on. There is no doubt to my mind that there is far more value for money from guys like mark grant cables, or Nva, or Avondale audio, than you'll get from any of the brand names.
I'll have some chord cobra and some Avondale bluenote RCA for sale soon.
The point of all of my chat is... If you can't demo, then go the power supply and cables route. If you can, you'll have your own opinion and then you'll know if it is worth changing the dac.
I "upgradeed" (if one can say so) my DacMagic with a Metrum Octave Dac.
The last one is a NOS Dac and I'm very happy with it. No fatiguing, less bright sound, I can listen to it for hours (wish I had enough time).
I highly recommend it, but it's better to listen yourself, your taste may be different
I shall be getting a Metrum Octave myself on loan shortly, this is a Dac I've been wanting to try for ages and am much looking forward to the arrival.
More to follow........
Lee
I think it's all a red-herring, as a £500 DAC such as the MDAC would appear to relay more musical information than even a pair of £3k active speakers can use. I have a feeling there may be little point in upgrading much beyond such a DAC and that the money might be better used in upgrading speakers, mains and room treatments.
If there's any wizdom that I can pass on with regards to audio playback gleaned from my own experience(s), it's that mains power and vibration control are easily the two top biggies for getting the best possible system performance out of the gear you have.