Best External DAC to go with B&W?

[specialized]

Hi there..I have a chance to get on test another DAC (Cambridge Audio DacMagic) and to compare to my V-DAC. Seem that DacMagic sound a bit better compared to V-DAC in my setup. What are u experiences? Did u tried some dacs in more expensive class? What about Benchmark? Or Bryston?


Greetings

Darko

[stuofsci02]

I have compared the DACmagic only to my Rotel RCD-1072 CD player and my Oppo BDP-83SE. I found the Rotel just a tad better then the DACmagic and the Oppo was better then both.

I have not compared it to other DACs, but I for the price it is decent. IMO though other more expensive DACs should outpeform it..

[Freddie40]

I have listened to many DACS. The PS Audio was a good DAC for the money, the Weiss Minerva was the best sounding but not for the money and the Ayre QB9 was the clear winner. Here are some of the DACs we tested.

Antelope Audio DAC
Weiss Minerva
PS Audio Digital Link III
DB Audio Labs Tranquility USB Dac
Ayre QB9

[specialized]

I have compared the DACmagic only to my Rotel RCD-1072 CD player and my Oppo BDP-83SE. I found the Rotel just a tad better then the DACmagic and the Oppo was better then both.

I have not compared it to other DACs, but I for the price it is decent. IMO though other more expensive DACs should outpeform it..

I Also have Rotel RCD-1072 cdp, and i found both V-DAC and DacMagic to sound better then Rotel to me


Greetings

Darko

p.s. And im thinking to get an Oppo 83Se.. How better to ur ears is compared to Rotel and DacMagic? In Which way? I found the Dacmagic to sound more dynamic then Rotel, to have better timber and more details

[jpbas1]

I have the Benchmark USB unit. Despite being slightly thin as a dedicated headphone amp... It sounds amazing paired with my Wadia iTransport.

Does anyone have any experiences with the new Wadia DAC?

[Horacio]

I also have a Rotel 1072, so your point of view is interesting to me. An external DAC will be my next upgrade also, so here's my short list. Unfortunately I haven't been able to audition any yet because there are no dealers around here. In no particular order:
- Weiss DAC2
- Bryston BDA
- Wyred4Sound DAC2
- Bel Canto DAC3
- Accustic Arts DAC I-Mk3

All of these have gotten very good reviews and user feedback, and are in the $1.5-2k range used (except W4S which ia 1.5 new).
While some of these have USB, it's not as good an implementation as in he Ayre mentioned above, and my plan is to use S/PDIF in, probably with a HiFace USB to S/PDIF converter.
BTW, the Accustic Arts might be an unfamiliar name. It's a German unit, with rave reviews. You can check dagogo.com, and look for a thread by member Teajay on A'gon for a lot of feedback. Very interesting unit. No USB, though.

Are you planning to feed te DAC with the Rotel only, or computer as well? Hi rez files?

[Horacio]

I have listened to many DACS. The PS Audio was a good DAC for the money, the Weiss Minerva was the best sounding but not for the money and the Ayre QB9 was the clear winner. Here are some of the DACs we tested.

Antelope Audio DAC
Weiss Minerva
PS Audio Digital Link III
DB Audio Labs Tranquility USB Dac
Ayre QB9

Freddie,

Nice system! And you have tried a nice set of DACs. The QB9 seems like agreat unit as long as the source is a computer. I'm thinking of having a computer + keeping my CD player for now, so been searching other DACs. You have tried some DACs that interest me, even though some aren't on my current short list, so I would very much appreciate if you could elaborate further on some comments:
Were all DACs fed from a computer? Were you feeding hi rez files to those that could handle them and regular to the others, or 16/44 files to all?
How did the Tranquility rank compared to the others?
Beyond the high price tag, was there something you didn't like about the Minerva? I ask because the DAC2 is supposed to be the same but in a cheaper suit, and can be had for less than the QB9, so wondering if there was something in the sound that didn't match your taste.

Thank you!

[specialized]

Are you planning to feed te DAC with the Rotel only, or computer as well? Hi rez files?[/QUOTE]


It's interesting that as transport it's better my DVD Pioneer AV-610 then Rotel.. So i'm almost not using the Rotel CDP anymore since i got V-DAC (i got it becouse it was cheap totaly blindly without reading or without listening). My plan is to feed the DAC with Oppo Transport and computer as well. I want to upgrade DAC for better one becouse it's definitly sound very good and that's the future in the source thing..


Greetings

Darko

[stuofsci02]

I Also have Rotel RCD-1072 cdp, and i found both V-DAC and DacMagic to sound better then Rotel to me


Greetings

Darko

p.s. And im thinking to get an Oppo 83Se.. How better to ur ears is compared to Rotel and DacMagic? In Which way? I found the Dacmagic to sound more dynamic then Rotel, to have better timber and more details

I think with the RCD-1072 vs the DACMagic it would come down to personal preference. For me I found the Rotel just a bit smoother with the same detail as the DACmagic. That said I double blind tested the setups including the DAC in a Classic Squeeze box. I was never able to reliably tell the difference between the Rotel and the DACmagic if there was more then 15 sec between. The DAC in the squeezebox classic was the worst, but suprisingling was not bad for a $299 music server.

I could always tell the Oppo though. It had a bigger more dynamic soundstage with more separation.

I have since sold the RCD-1072 since I have the Oppo. I will have another chance to borrow the DACmagic next weekend, so I may do the test again.

I am very interested in the new Emotiva XDA-1 DAC which should be released in the next 2 weeks.

Cheers,

Stuart

[specialized]

[QUOTE=stuofsci02]I think with the RCD-1072 vs the DACMagic it would come down to personal preference. For me I found the Rotel just a bit smoother with the same detail as the DACmagic. That said I double blind tested the setups including the DAC in a Classic Squeeze box. I was never able to reliably tell the difference between the Rotel and the DACmagic if there was more then 15 sec between.

Very interesting.. I feel Rotel more bright and harsh then DacMagic and V-DAC. Dacmagic have more details and more dynamics then both (V-DAC and rotel). And too bad i can't get Oppo too easy here (i tried this summer to buy in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, but noone have on stock. One of them said that it would have in 10 days, and since i get back in 20 days from that moment i hoped that finnaly they have.. But same answer i got again


I have since sold the RCD-1072 since I have the Oppo. I will have another chance to borrow the DACmagic next weekend, so I may do the test again.


Also the cables do the difference with my dacs.. I can feel more difference since i upgrade to pair of nice sounding cables (i wont tell the brand/type since the policy of thread owner, but its not a problem to answer u in pvt if u are interested). With the old interconnects the difference was not that big.

I am very interested in the new Emotiva XDA-1 DAC which should be released in the next 2 weeks.


I think the best thing to do is to invest in oppo 83se, and in some high end dac instead of spending money for expensive CDP


greetings

Darko

[stuofsci02]

I think if you are going to get the Oppo 83SE and use a DAC you might as well just get the regular Oppo 83. As far as I know the only difference for the 83SE is a much better DAC + analog output stage.

[jamesdaman]

The Chord DAC. It's allllllll about the chord DAC. That thing is literally beyond anything I've ever heard. Simply amazing

[Tweir]

I have heard Bryston makes a good one but have not heard it myself...

[stuofsci02]

The Chord DAC. It's allllllll about the chord DAC. That
thing is literally beyond anything I've ever heard. Simply amazing

Yes, I agree..... Expensive though...

My only Chord piece is my power amp... It is amazing... I wan't more Chord gear, but it is uber pricey..

[Horacio]

I think the best thing to do is to invest in oppo 83se, and in some high end dac instead of spending money for expensive CDP

I personally haven't arrived to a final conclusion yet as digital is evolving so fast: very good CD players have very good transport mechanisms that add to the sonics. On the other hand computers allow for hi rez...so a DAC makes sense to me.

But why would you invest on the Oppo instead of a computer source (considering you have the Pioneer already)?

[Briz vegas]

At home i have tried

Weiss DAC2
Weiss DAC202
Naim DAC

All very nice. Some (not you) guys spend a fortune on speakers then scrimp on the source and complain that it costs too much. You can only get out what you put in.

One combo stood out. Thats the one I bought in the end (see signature). By comparison the others sounded a little generic. Maybe like a german car vs an Italian one that was telling me more about the instruments being played (excuse the mixed metaphors).

[audioqueso]

uys spend a fortune on speakers then scrimp on the source and complain that it costs too much. You can only get out what you put in.

Agreed. A system can only sound as good as the weakest link.

[stuofsci02]

You guys spend a fortune on speakers then scrimp on the source and complain that it costs too much.

Who are you referring to?

[Briz vegas]

Who are you referring to?

ops: good point. I am so used to reading the guys on the Australian forum hammering anything that costs more than a weeks wages that I went into critique mode because someone mentioned value for money. Post has been corrected.

This is not to say that there isn't a law of diminishing returns. The DAC2 is the cheapest of the DACs I tried and is good value for money. The others gave a little more (and the Naim a little more of what I liked personally), but only worth the expense if the whole system is really working well and you can appreciate the differences (or if you are doing well for yourself financially in which case its "good luck to ya").

[Armbender]

Ive got my sights on a W4S Dac2 right now...