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Looking for recommendations for a 'warm' sounding DAC

Stuart Frazer said:
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.
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Indeed the 82 requires the best ps you can put on it to tame the harshness.
 
I’ve got an 82 and Chord Dac in my system after demo’ing the DAC through several sets of speakers at the dealer including various B&W models. To my ears all of the B&Ws were top heavy, bass light and close to the point of being harsh. Agree with the point made by DavidS about the 82 benefitting from a decent power supply. All of the above leads me to the conclusion that you’ve got, irrespective of the source, a system tuned to creating the toppy thin sound that you don’t want. The latest Chord Dacs are detailed and neutral to my ears, not harsh. My advice would be to correct the underlying problem (the speaker / amp combination) rather than over compensate with a dull DAC. Keep the Chord Dac and replace the speakers.
 
Another option is via Mark @MJS at Witch Hat, who will mod the 82 to be more like a 52 with various power supply options.

My advice is to power the 82 better firstly and then see which way you want to go after that.
 
So. A guy asks for a component for his system which 'fits-in'.

All we get is your amps need upgrading, your speakers are sh*te. etc etc and backed up with diagrams/charts.

There are some valid points, especially with regards to Naim (I had Naim amps for 26 yrs).

But all he wants is a dac which suits his system. Can't we just get with the task in hand? Instead of dissing his whole system.

Sometimes I despair of this forum.
 
406v6 said:
I’ve got an 82 and Chord Dac in my system after demo’ing the DAC through several sets of speakers at the dealer including various B&W models. To my ears all of the B&Ws were top heavy, bass light and close to the point of being harsh. Agree with the point made by DavidS about the 82 benefitting from a decent power supply. All of the above leads me to the conclusion that you’ve got, irrespective of the source, a system tuned to creating the toppy thin sound that you don’t want. The latest Chord Dacs are detailed and neutral to my ears, not harsh. My advice would be to correct the underlying problem (the speaker / amp combination) rather than over compensate with a dull DAC. Keep the Chord Dac and replace the speakers.
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That’s exactly my experience of B&W and Naim amps.
 
lazycat said:
So. A guy asks for a component for his system which 'fits-in'.

All we get is your amps need upgrading, your speakers are sh*te. etc etc and backed up with diagrams/charts.

There are some valid points, especially with regards to Naim (I had Naim amps for 26 yrs).

But all he wants is a dac which suits his system. Can't we just get with the task in hand? Instead of dissing his whole system.

Sometimes I despair of this forum.
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I don’t know why you feel that way as they are valid comments based on experiences. Easy to blame one component when the core issue lays elsewhere.
 
Which Chord DAC?

If it were me, I would either replace the B&W 804S with a Harbeth or replace the Naim 82/180 with 282/250DR if the music is hurting my ears.
 
I agree with advice re an older DAC. Trichord Research Pulsar would be my choice. Mega bucks in its day and £200-£300 will get you a total minter. Lovely analogue sound...
 
JezmondTutu said:
I don’t know why you feel that way as they are valid comments based on experiences. Easy to blame one component when the core issue lays elsewhere.
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Yup there are valid comments, some of which I agree with. But, he justs wants a piece of kit which fits into his system.

And his experience with Chord dacs compares with my own. My Proacs are IME are far more neutral than any B+W speakers.

Sometimes British kit, of any kind including dacs, is vastly overrated.
 
If you are able to solder I would consider an Audio Note UK kit. The entry model I heard sounded like it rolled off around 13 KHz.
 
Tony L said:
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.
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I also have an aversion to metal dome tweeters. I like Dynaudio tweeters myself, but have by no means heard all the alternatives.
 
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