Music Hall dac25.2 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

Sparky14 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 12:31 AM

Oooh, new Music Direct flyer in the mail today.....has a Music Hall dac25.2....a tube-output DAC and Headphone Amp.

I love my Music Hall electronics (A25.2 amp & Maverick SACD).

I am interested to see how the dac25.2 sounds. But I don't know if I am $595 worth of interested.

Jeremy · #2 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 06:02 PM

I heard this new Music Hall dac last week at Ahead Stereo in Los Angeles. It was paired with a new NAD amp and a pair of B&W CM7 speakers. We did an A/B test with their $2000 Marantz CD player, then apple lossless files out of my MacBook Pro. It was almost impossible to hear the difference. It was much better than the DAC in their older Music Hall Maven receiver. I did not try the built-in headphone amp but my understanding is that it's not great. I will go back and try it out though.

third_eye · #3 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy

I heard this new Music Hall dac last week at Ahead Stereo in Los Angeles. It was paired with a new NAD amp and a pair of B&W CM7 speakers. We did an A/B test with their $2000 Marantz CD player, then apple lossless files out of my MacBook Pro. It was almost impossible to hear the difference. It was much better than the DAC in their older Music Hall Maven receiver. I did not try the built-in headphone amp but my understanding is that it's not great. I will go back and try it out though.

How do think it was compared to your Apogee Duet.........they are a similar price point.

Jeremy · #4 (**permalink**) 03-08-2009, 10:57 PM

If you're asking how the DAC compares, the Music Hall is better in my opinion, at least with hi-fi. A couple of weeks ago I did the same A/B test at the same dealer using my MacBook Pro/Lossless/Duet set up against the same Marantz CD player, NAD amp and B&W speakers. The sound from the Duet was condensed and lacking in most areas to my ears. I was really surprised because the Duet is a phenomenal DAC with a headphone amp and headphones. On the other hand, at the Guitar Center last week, I also tried out my MacBook Pro / Apple Lossless files / Duet set up with some Adams A7 active monitors and some Dynaudio BM5a active monitors and the sound was truly excellent. Go figure. One conclusion is that the Duet is for pro audio and synergizes well with pro audio equipment for that reason, but doesn't do well with home hi-fi equipment. Others may have tried the Duet with other hi-fi equipment and had better success.

deviate2112 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 03:09 AM

I just asked this question on another post..but I'll ask here..
Do you know if the RCA or XLR outputs are variable? Or is the Volume control only for the HP out? I'm in the market for a DAC/Pre to go directly into a set of KRK monitors for a little simple Two channel system...I will feed it with either a Ipod/Wadia transport or a Squeezebox.

Thanks for any help

winzzz · #6 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 04:37 AM

does the headphone amp section good ?

guitarplayer · #7 (**permalink**) 03-21-2009, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deviate2112

I just asked this question on another post..but I'll ask here..
Do you know if the RCA or XLR outputs are variable? Or is the Volume control only for the HP out? I'm in the market for a DAC/Pre to go directly into a set of KRK monitors for a little simple Two channel system...I will feed it with either a Ipod/Wadia transport or a Squeezebox.

Thanks for any help

Volume control is for headphone only.

Peace,

Lee

deviate2112 · #8 (**permalink**) 03-22-2009, 05:56 AM

Bummer, thanks for the info!

say3true · #9 (**permalink**) 04-12-2009, 01:08 AM

I had the opportunity to listen to the DAC 25.2 at a local dealer yesterday. The CD player was a NAD 542 which I thought might be somewhat similar to my own CD player. I listened through Sennheiser HD 595's.

This is the first higher-end DAC I've listened to. The three upsampling settings made dramatic differences in the sound--I liked 96 the best as this seemed to make the music (classical) sound right to my ears.

All the settings produced a very large soundstage. I would say that the headphone amp is very good. Oddly, I felt at times that the sound might be a bit dark, but it still was detailed and spacious, quite musical.

This is, of course, to my ears. Next weekend I will bring the DAC home for an audition and get to know it better. The price, at $595, would be a worthwhile investment if the DAC lives up to its potential. I would consider it a keeper if the audition works out and pleases the ear(s). Keep in mind that I am 56 years old so I don't have the money to play around with audio purchases. I just want to sit down, relax and enjoy music.

Jdogg · #10 (**permalink**) 04-13-2009, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deviate2112

I just asked this question on another post..but I'll ask here..
Do you know if the RCA or XLR outputs are variable? Or is the Volume control only for the HP out? I'm in the market for a DAC/Pre to go directly into a set of KRK monitors for a little simple Two channel system...I will feed it with either a Ipod/Wadia transport or a Squeezebox.

Thanks for any help

Maybe you should check out the Peachtree Audio Decco. It's a Tube Hybrid Integrated Amp DAC. MADSHRIMPS - Hardware Reviews ,Crazy Projects, Modding Tutorials and Overclocking

say3true · #11 (**permalink**) 04-16-2009, 11:12 PM

I will check that out. Thanks for the suggestion. I need to listen to alternatives to make the best choice.

paara · #12 (**permalink**) 04-16-2009, 11:38 PM

Modified DAC 25.2

DAc 25.2 --> 549$

" Oddly, I felt at times that the sound might be a bit dark, but it still was detailed and spacious, quite musical."

Remember that the HD595 sounds a bit dark, so this may not be due to the DAC

SemiAudiophile · #13 (**permalink**) 06-26-2009, 10:20 AM

any new impressions/comparisons with this dac? i'm kind of interested in how this stacks up to other more well known dacs out there.