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Looking for recommendations for a 'warm' sounding DAC

Old Shatterhand said:
No, it isn't.
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I found tests on the 804S on another forum and the tweeter rise from about 6KHz, reaching 5 dB hot at 10KHz. Many B&Ws seem to do the same, the "detailed" house sound
They are a bit down around 300 Hz too, which gives a slightly thin sound balance
 
The Chord Mojo is one of the least bright DACs I have heard, maybe a bit rolled off even. Consider the the Roksan K3, battleship build, plenty of inputs, smooth sound, but not rolled off, was over a grand but can be bought for £400 as Roksan sold off all their stock to concentrate on their amps.
 
duckworp said:
So this is my second system - a Naim 180/82 into B&W 804s, which is used only for background social listening. At the moment I use it to play Qobuz via Roon through Chromecast Audio. I would like a better DAC than the Chromecast audio, but the Chord one I tried provided a very detailed presentation which somewhat grated my ears. I suffer from hyperacusis - in my case a low threshold to loud harsh sounds - think kids screaming or dishes clanking, and the Chord and cheap-as-chips Topping seemed to accentuate those attributes of the sound. My main system is fine but that is a very much smoother Vitus/Boenicke set up which is rich and warm and doesn’t aggravate my ears.
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Personally I’d look at the amp and or speakers. You don’t list a Naim PSU, so I assume the 82 is powered from the 180 aside from the NAPST or whatever its called? That era of Naim was far from their warmest to my ears and the B&Ws have metal dome tweeters, a genre of which I am seldom a fan (it is the bottom of the tweeter range I always feel isn’t quite right, very often a bit of ‘grain’ lurking around the crossover to my ears, I tend to prefer speakers with soft-domes by quite some margin). By saying that I don’t know these specific B&Ws. I’d certainly argue that if a reasonable CD (i.e. not brickwalled pop/rock) sounds harsh via something such as a Chord Mojo or better your problem isn’t with the DAC. I tried Lordsummit’s Mojo here against my allegedly £2.6k DPA PDM3 (I paid £300!) and it ran it damn close. Its a great little DAC and not hard or harsh at all to my ears via my system, and I do really notice/focus in on these things with digital. None of that ‘bad digital’ glassy sheen to it.
 
duckworp said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I should have said - I’ll be bringing in a usb-only bridge. There is a bargain Octave on eBay but I note no usb.
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Plenty of spdif converters out there like the Schiit Eitr or the Halide Bridge I have in a cupboard but I’d go for an RME-ADI 2 and tune to taste.

If it was my system I’d change the preamp.
 
davidsrsb said:
I found tests on the 804S on another forum and the tweeter rise from about 6KHz, reaching 5 dB hot at 10KHz. Many B&Ws seem to do the same, the "detailed" house sound
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Wrong test from the 804 S?
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I have a Pink Triangle Dacapo that I have owned from new. It’s not been in my main system for a couple of years but I tried it a couple of months ago and all was fine. I have the original box, paperwork for the upgraded filter (original filter included) and sales receipt. It’s in unmarked condition.
It possibly doesn’t have all the connections you wanted but these were noted for their wonderful non digital sound.

PM me if of interest.
 
Agree re both NOS and Rega DAC. I'd say, simply, if a Rega DAC doesn't give the desired effect in this context the problem lies elsewhere.
 
New preamp with tone controls?

MiniDSP between existing preamp and amp?

The second option could give a huge amount of flexibility, but would require some new cables.
 
Having owned a number of DACs including -audiolab, benchmark dac1 & dac2 hgc, chord mojo, Hugo & the Dave. I’d agree with previous comments about the mellower sound from the mojo so that would be my recommendation for a second system (I have one in my bedroom ststem feeding a chrome cast audio).

you can pick up secondhand mojos for peanuts but even the new price is very good. The Dave was obviously better but the mojo gives the Hugo a run for its money plus its portable so works great if you are on holiday with a decent sent of headphones.
 
I would also point to Metrum Octave or another NOS Dac. Metrum Octave MK mk.II offers USB. In addition to this, I can recommend Line Magnetic 502CA - the one I have. I changed the stock valves and use a Burson op-amp in one of the three opamp slots in the DAC.
 
I agree with Tony - a dedicated power supply on your 82 would be beneficial. On an 82, I would probably look towards a Dual TeddyCap (essentially 2 HiCaps) which should provide a worthwhile improvement - you might be able to find one s/h, or alternatively an Avondale TPR4. Get that sorted, then see how you get on with the Chromecast again. If you are still looking for more, then maybe see if you can find a nice Lampizator DAC - I bought a s/h one and rather like it.
 
The Metrum Amethyst is a big step up from the Octave, in terms of resolution and extension without giving up much warmth, because of the newer chip. Probably the Flint too but I’ve not tried it
 
One non technical review actually complained about a slight "lack of air"
I wish some reviewers would own up about the state of their hearing. Boosted treble and super tweeters are not what I want with digital sources
I can see why people used to do it and get away with it with some MM cartridges
 
davidsrsb said:
The tests I found
https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12_3/b&w-804s-htm3s-speakers-8-2005-part-2.html
The in room measurement is bright, the MLS is REALLY bright

If the DAC has a low output resistance, a shelf filter network on the output will tame the excess.
470R in series, followed by 1k in series with 22nF shunt to ground
This gives 3dB cut to the 10kHz

Much cheaper than DAC swapping or buying an old Quad preamp
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This is where a tone control may have been useful but they have been banned by Brussels or something.
 
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