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Moving on from the Dacmagic, who's done what?

Simon,
I wish I could give you a good technical reason why it should, why do transformers affect the sound of a component that draws such little current I really dont know they should just convert ac voltage and give good regulation but different makes seem to filter out mains crap and I guess that the difference we hear also depends on the PSRR of the circuit its feeding. Transformer technology is nothing new and people like AST seem to be able to make a difference just by their manufacturing methods.
All I know is it made a significant difference in my system, and more so with the phono stage on the 640P.
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh290/337alant/PS1.jpg
People keep telling me that you wont here a difference when you replace the wallwart but I did and I now use the same transformer with 2 x 12v ac outlets to power my dacmajic and my Cambridge 640C and it added refinement to both sources for a very modest outlay.
Wallwarts are now in the bin, I also think they are dangerous as they get very very hot.

Alan
 
Lordhenley said:
It was compared to the Dacmagic at £230, its the only Dac I have got, the Naim Dac at £2000 is not worth the money, try one for yourself if you have not already.

I used Naim for 13 years and in that time had some good listening experiences, my only regret is that I never looked outside of Naim for HiFi, moving to the Luxman L505u, well thats like in a different class and this was compared to the Naim 202/200 combo at the time.

I used to run a cd3.5 before going down the route of mac and dac, the 3.5 is now in the loft and not in use, I dont intend on ever going back to cd players as the source, I just want to better the DM.
Click to expand...
So that leads us to further questions:-

1. Is the Naim DAC poor compared with the ones it uses in its CDPs?

2a. If Yes, that seems to be a strange product for Naim to market, one that would seriously damage its reputation. Unlikely, then?

2b. If No, then how can Naim's CDPs sound any good?
 
muz640 said:
I think my friend replaced his Opus 21 with an Audio Research CD player (not heard it yet), must be good to be better than the 21. :)
Click to expand...

Muz,

I've moved to (almost) all computer based audio.

Prior to the switch-over I had an Audio Research Reference CD7.

The ARC Ref CD7 was the singular component that made the most significant difference in my system at that time, and it was a high end system.

For pure redbook listeners, the higher end ARC CDPs are exceptional.

The DAC7 is no slouch, either, and the DAC8 takes it steps forward.

At around $2k used, the DAC7 represents a very good value, in my opinion and experience.
 
337alant said:
Simon,
I wish I could give you a good technical reason why it should, why do transformers affect the sound of a component that draws such little current I really dont know they should just convert ac voltage and give good regulation but different makes seem to filter out mains crap and I guess that the difference we hear also depends on the PSRR of the circuit its feeding. Transformer technology is nothing new and people like AST seem to be able to make a difference just by their manufacturing methods.
All I know is it made a significant difference in my system, and more so with the phono stage on the 640P.
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh290/337alant/PS1.jpg
People keep telling me that you wont here a difference when you replace the wallwart but I did and I now use the same transformer with 2 x 12v ac outlets to power my dacmajic and my Cambridge 640C and it added refinement to both sources for a very modest outlay.
Wallwarts are now in the bin, I also think they are dangerous as they get very very hot.

Alan
Click to expand...

I did this with my dacmajic wall-wart. I feel no need to go any further.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=268813&l=ed74d1319d&id=1834511717

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/2207/1006230.jpg
 
If anyone thinks that there is a marginal difference between a Dacmagic and a Weiss 2 dac, they must be deaf!

I've had a Dacmagic in my system and although a good budget dac, it's not comparable to the Weiss. The Weiss is so good, I've not plugged in my LP12/TAPS/Aro/33PTG in the last six month.
 
JezmondTutu said:
If anyone thinks that there is a marginal difference between a Dacmagic and a Weiss 2 dac, they must be deaf!

I've had a Dacmagic in my system and although a good budget dac, it's not comparable to the Weiss. The Weiss is so good, I've not plugged in my LP12/TAPS/Aro/33PTG in the last six month.
Click to expand...

Jez you are mistaken the difference is less than 1.5% an Internet 'guru' told me!
Vb Keith.
 
337alant said:
Simon,
I wish I could give you a good technical reason why it should, why do transformers affect the sound of a component that draws such little current I really dont know they should just convert ac voltage and give good regulation but different makes seem to filter out mains crap and I guess that the difference we hear also depends on the PSRR of the circuit its feeding. Transformer technology is nothing new and people like AST seem to be able to make a difference just by their manufacturing methods.
All I know is it made a significant difference in my system, and more so with the phono stage on the 640P.
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh290/337alant/PS1.jpg
People keep telling me that you wont here a difference when you replace the wallwart but I did and I now use the same transformer with 2 x 12v ac outlets to power my dacmajic and my Cambridge 640C and it added refinement to both sources for a very modest outlay.
Wallwarts are now in the bin, I also think they are dangerous as they get very very hot.

Alan
Click to expand...

Alan, I know you think you hear a difference, but honestly I've owned both the DM and 640p and have scoped out the power supply components for both of them. My 640p ended up very modded, the DM ended up being sold out quite quickly. But changing the transformer makes bugger all difference to how the DC rails in either unit measure, there's no appreciable reduction in noise to be had, not unless your wallwart was faulty and arcing off somehow.

If you really want to improve it, remove the entire power supply and feed it with DC from a hacker cap filtered with a couple of superteddyregs, then you'll have a difference you can truly hear.
 
sq225917 said:
Alan, I know you think you hear a difference, but honestly I've owned both the DM and 640p and have scoped out the power supply components for both of them. My 640p ended up very modded, the DM ended up being sold out quite quickly. But changing the transformer makes bugger all difference to how the DC rails in either unit measure, there's no appreciable reduction in noise to be had, not unless your wall wart was faulty and arcing off somehow.

If you really want to improve it, remove the entire power supply and feed it with DC from a hacker cap filtered with a couple of superteddyregs, then you'll have a difference you can truly hear.
Click to expand...

There are benefits to be had by shielding the transformer and cable with the DM. Just getting a wall wart of the receptacle is a good thing. Transformers by nature oscillate and introduce noise into the room. I can heard a difference right off the bat. Having both,doing an A/B comparison is easy. Its not life bending but enough to merit the small outlay. Just listen to a naim napsc not properly placed in a room. BUZZ BUZZ. Now swishing supply's are just really bad when not done properly, introducing noise into a room like a ballast. All these added noise to pile up to make the hair on your neck stand up.
 
Sovereign said:
337alant

Where can I get an AST transformer from??
Click to expand...
Avondale Audio
The transformer I used in this instance was an Avel Lindberg 12V x 50VA, from the same source.
Simon yes I agree a complete new supply with TRs thats plan B ;)

Alan
 
muz640 said:
Ta Da!

luxman1.jpg


DA-200_inside_big.jpg
Click to expand...

‎5 inboard fusses on a $4000 dac. Hello :eek:
 
For what its wprth HiFi Choice have just done a comparison review of a few dacs in the latest edition, I brought a copy but have not read through it yet, one of the dacs was the arcam, the others were

Lavry DA 10
Benchmark DAC 1
Chord chordette
PS Audio digital link III
Stello DA 100

Lee
 
I don't believe in any dacs (or any other hifi gear) comparison done by one hifi magazin ...
 
sq225917 said:
Alan, I know you think you hear a difference, but honestly I've owned both the DM and 640p and have scoped out the power supply components for both of them. My 640p ended up very modded, the DM ended up being sold out quite quickly. But changing the transformer makes bugger all difference to how the DC rails in either unit measure, there's no appreciable reduction in noise to be had, not unless your wallwart was faulty and arcing off somehow.

If you really want to improve it, remove the entire power supply and feed it with DC from a hacker cap filtered with a couple of superteddyregs, then you'll have a difference you can truly hear.
Click to expand...

Playing devil's advocate, perhaps the 'improved' AC transformer is doing things that cannot be measured but are audible so some listeners?
That is a position you seemed to have adopted only recently.

By the same token, if you are going to add super regulators then perhaps some measurements on the output of the device being powered would be in order to confirm/dispel any perceived difference.
 
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