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DAC preferences

The_Wizard said:
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
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I think mine came from this guy:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=380378829402

If I recall correctly, I told him to leave one of the pins flying at one end. Someone else here can probably explain why that's good. I did several comparisons of these cables against Linn black phono-phono cables and these definitely sounded better, as I understand it because the XLR outputs are slightly better on my Azure DACMagic than the phono outputs. YMMV. Use your ears and take your time.
 
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Naim CDP's don't tend to have digital outs as they don't like using external dac's, it's something to do with jitter problems.

I've heard the naim dac and did look at one but just couldn't justify the £1600 secondhand price. The naim dac in my view didn't have a £1200 better sound than the rega dac so I chose the rega. When I got the unitiqute the onboard dac is much better than the rega dac though so if you're after a cdp and dac the new unitilite or secondhand uniti may be an option to pursue though.
 
Telstar said:
No, never. But there is a naim dac (haven't heard it).
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i've tried naim dac, doesn't worth the money at all if you are not a big fan of naim sound, stunning performance if you would buy PSU for it...of course this is up to you but i still think it doesn't worth the money.
 
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 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.
 
I started with a Dacmagic myself a couple of years ago, I moved this on for an Eastern Electric Tube Dac which did not do it for me at the time, I then brought a M2Tech Young Dac, these are fantastic but the wife complained at the time as i didnt have a cd player hooked up, I was running it from the mac mini. I then sold the Young for a Audiolab CDQ again a fantastic combo which offers a CDP and a Dac in one unit.

Im now having a change of direction (reason for advertising my CDQ) and fancy a valve cd player (gotta get it out of head!), I harldy use the mac mini for music nowadays so can make do with a stand alone cd player, I do like valves as the rest of my system is entirely valve based and have the itch to try something like an audionote etc.


The dacmagic is a great piece of kit for sure but there are quite a few options out there for you that may tick the boxes, it all depends what sort of sound your after.

FWIW I tried the Naim dac myself and found no major improvements over the dacmagic, welll not enough to spend that much money, others may have different views.

Lee
 
Not heard the dac magic but have heard the Naim Dac and agree with what is said. Perhaps a power supply would improve it as one did for my dac, giving it a smoother and thicker sound.
 
brokenankle said:
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.
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the honest opinion. When the DACMagic returns from RS I shall indeed upgrade the PS and grab a set of the XLR>RCA leads. For the sake of £40, this sounds like a natural progression before spending more money. I'm going to be shot for this myself but I purchased a coaxial interconnect off a nice chap in the classifieds (a prototype from a chap who used to make his own leads on here a while back?.. His name and the name of the interconnect escapes me) which I will continue to use as it was about the same price as a budget from the major brands. I will keep the VDH The Source for comparisons.

Many thanks to all, a much better and polite response than I was expecting. I will let you know how I get on if any of you are interested.

Lee
 
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
 
kiriak said:
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
Click to expand...

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
 
Another thumbs up for Stans Bushmaster,coupled with Mark's (Grant)Linear power supply it certainly sings well!!! and is a veritable bargain to boot!
 
I upgraded my MDAC's PSU with the "Mains Cables R Us" one, and that brought some worthwhile improvements to an already excellent DAC.

BUT... By far the biggest system wide improvement I've made to date was the addition of a PS Audio Power Plant P5 and some decent quality mains cables.

Seemingly overnight, I went from constantly wondering how I could improve on what gear I already had, to just sitting back and enjoying the music.


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.


:)
 
JTC said:
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.
Click to expand...

Me too. It seems good dacs are relatively cheap compared to the speakers and amp required to get the best out of them.
 
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.
Click to expand...

IMHO it's not mains 'power', but mains bourne noise.
 
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