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DAC/AMP for $350 AUD Max - Page 2

post #16 of 29
2/8/10 at 8:17am
Your previous statement could be true for all I know. However, even if they weren't rebrands (I believe they were) then he still stated many times that he was the one making them. He claimed to own copyright of the PCB (I doubt this is true) and hiked up the price considerably from the original unit.
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post #17 of 29
2/9/10 at 6:20am
Thread Starter 
Sorry to bother anyone, I appreciate everyones input here, but I've decided to wait it out and spend a bit more towards and get a DACMagic instead, although, I'm having a hard time thinking on what I should upgrade in my proposed headphone rig.

DAC: Cambridge Audio DACMagic
HEADPHONES: Denon D2000
AMP: Audio Gd C2C
CABLES: From Blue Jean Cables

If I had an extra $300 to spend, what should I upgrade. I usually listen to mostly 200kb-320kb LAME encoded MP3 and FLAC files and will be using my computer as source with foobar2000 + WASAPI and I want an amp that will be able to drive the Denon D2000's and other headphones I'm thinking of getting (AKG K701, Sennheiser HD650, Beyerdynamic DT770, Ultrasone Pro900 etc) with good clean power, I will 95% of the time be listening at normal listening levels. I want to stick with Solid State just to be on the safe side, as I'm unsure of how tubes sound and if I will like them as I listen to a lot of Electronic Music (Dubstep, Drum and Bass) and Hip Hop.

I would like to stick with Audio GD if possible and I would like to go balanced, but that's just optional.

Should I upgrade the DACMagic or the C2C, or something else in my proposed rig? I like how the Audio GD Roc has a Balanced Headphone input and can go Balanced. Although I'm not too keen on changing the headphone cables to balanced ones.

I hope it's ok for me to ask this in this section.

Any input is much appreciated.
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post #18 of 29
2/9/10 at 1:25pm
Sell your D2000 and use the combined fund to get D7000? Your DAC and amplifier seem fine. Your musical taste seems to go along well with the sound signature of D7000.
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post #19 of 29
2/9/10 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
The D7000 is going for 1,000+ AUD on ebay, I haven't bought the D2000 yet.

Do you mean the D5000? I could get that if I spent an extra 300 towards the headphones.
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post #20 of 29
2/9/10 at 7:11pm
Well, the C2C has just been replaced. Get the Audio-gd C2 instead.
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post #21 of 29
2/10/10 at 1:53am
Thread Starter 
What does everyone think of me getting the Audio GD C2 and the DAC19?

Also, is there much difference with the DF1704 and the DSP model of the DAC19? and is it really worth paying the extra cash?

Also, 24/96 compared to the DACMagics 24/192, is that just a marketing thing? I dobut I'd be listening recordings of that high quality. Most of the time 24/96 max, but is it worth the headroom or are the 24/96 chips better than the 24/192's in the DACMagic?
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post #22 of 29
2/10/10 at 3:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrumpOrMonkey View Post
The D7000 is going for 1,000+ AUD on ebay, I haven't bought the D2000 yet.

Do you mean the D5000? I could get that if I spent an extra 300 towards the headphones.
That will do for the time being.
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post #23 of 29
2/10/10 at 5:54am
Thread Starter 
I have one more question.

What are the differences in sound between the DF1704 and the DSP-1, I heard on this forum the PMD-100 in the MKIII.. while everything sounded nice with it, it was a bit lifeless and that the DF1704 was much more musical and involving, and gave out a raw presentation of your source material compared to the PMD-100, but was more dependant on the other hardware and cables used to be good.

Although Kingwa suggests that the DSP-1 is much better than the PMD-100 and DF1704. I'm looking more for an involving and live sound rather than a relaxing one. As I can always swtich over to these studio monitors for a bit if I ever get fatigued from the sound.

The DSP-1 is quite a bit more expensive than the DF1704, I haven't seen any comparisons for these two, but I'm leaning towards the DSP-1 as it is used in the highest end Audio Gd DAC's, also I heard that it lessens the difference between mass market transports and high end ones, but I'll be using my computer hooked into an onboard optical in.

But there is also something telling me that I should save the extra bit of cash and just go the DF1704 as when it was compared to the PMD-100 it sounded more suitable for my preferences anyway.
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post #24 of 29
2/10/10 at 6:49am
I have the Maverick D1 and really like it, but for your needs and budget I would highly recommend my best DAC/amp, the Matrix Mini I. It's got a great if not high-current amp, 4 kinds of digital inputs, and both balanced and unbalanced outs. The vibe is quite positive here on Head-fi, and you can get it shipped to you from their eBay vendor.

The DAC is in a different league than the Maverick's. I really like it against much pricier DAC's, and so has everyone else that's actually compared it as far as I can tell.

Plus you could hook up one of Little Dot's better balanced amps for this instead if you want
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post #25 of 29
2/10/10 at 7:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrumpOrMonkey View Post
I have one more question.

What are the differences in sound between the DF1704 and the DSP-1, I heard on this forum the PMD-100 in the MKIII.. while everything sounded nice with it, it was a bit lifeless and that the DF1704 was much more musical and involving, and gave out a raw presentation of your source material compared to the PMD-100, but was more dependant on the other hardware and cables used to be good.

Although Kingwa suggests that the DSP-1 is much better than the PMD-100 and DF1704. I'm looking more for an involving and live sound rather than a relaxing one. As I can always swtich over to these studio monitors for a bit if I ever get fatigued from the sound.

The DSP-1 is quite a bit more expensive than the DF1704, I haven't seen any comparisons for these two, but I'm leaning towards the DSP-1 as it is used in the highest end Audio Gd DAC's, also I heard that it lessens the difference between mass market transports and high end ones, but I'll be using my computer hooked into an onboard optical in.

But there is also something telling me that I should save the extra bit of cash and just go the DF1704 as when it was compared to the PMD-100 it sounded more suitable for my preferences anyway.
Whether you go with the df1704 or dsp-1, you will still need a good transport with the dac19 to perform its best. Also be aware that the optical input doesn't sound nearly as the coaxial input.
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post #26 of 29
2/10/10 at 7:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrumpOrMonkey View Post
I have one more question.

What are the differences in sound between the DF1704 and the DSP-1, I heard on this forum the PMD-100 in the MKIII.. while everything sounded nice with it, it was a bit lifeless and that the DF1704 was much more musical and involving, and gave out a raw presentation of your source material compared to the PMD-100, but was more dependant on the other hardware and cables used to be good.

Although Kingwa suggests that the DSP-1 is much better than the PMD-100 and DF1704. I'm looking more for an involving and live sound rather than a relaxing one. As I can always swtich over to these studio monitors for a bit if I ever get fatigued from the sound.

The DSP-1 is quite a bit more expensive than the DF1704, I haven't seen any comparisons for these two, but I'm leaning towards the DSP-1 as it is used in the highest end Audio Gd DAC's, also I heard that it lessens the difference between mass market transports and high end ones, but I'll be using my computer hooked into an onboard optical in.

But there is also something telling me that I should save the extra bit of cash and just go the DF1704 as when it was compared to the PMD-100 it sounded more suitable for my preferences anyway.
You seem to have limited funds for now so it's a matter of prioritizing which components have the bigger impact and buying those first to maximize your budget.

The DSP-1 can be installed later and purchased separately so it makes more sense to go for the cheaper DF1704 first.

Your D2000 will pretty much be the bottleneck of your system. Remember, your headphone is the most important link in your audio chain as that's the final component that dictates what kind of sound you want. I would even go as far as the D7000 first and a simple amp/DAC combo as that would give more satisfaction than having a mere D2000 and separate DAC and amplifiers.
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post #27 of 29
2/10/10 at 8:13am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by slim.a View Post
Whether you go with the df1704 or dsp-1, you will still need a good transport with the dac19 to perform its best. Also be aware that the optical input doesn't sound nearly as the coaxial input.
Oh, I meant digital coaxial. Sorry about the confusion.

My source material I think is good enough, but what do you mean as a transport? I don't have a CD Transport or Turntable if that is what you mean?

I'm just going onboard coaxial s/pdif -> DAC19
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post #28 of 29
2/10/10 at 8:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by K3cT View Post
You seem to have limited funds for now so it's a matter of prioritizing which components have the bigger impact and buying those first to maximize your budget.

The DSP-1 can be installed later and purchased separately so it makes more sense to go for the cheaper DF1704 first.

Your D2000 will pretty much be the bottleneck of your system. Remember, your headphone is the most important link in your audio chain as that's the final component that dictates what kind of sound you want. I would even go as far as the D7000 first and a simple amp/DAC combo as that would give more satisfaction than having a mere D2000 and separate DAC and amplifiers.
So would you think I'm better off getting a D5000 and the DF1704 DAC19? I think the DAC19 with the DF1704 is actually a bit cheaper than the DACMagic meaning I'll have a bit left over to go to a D5000.
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post #29 of 29
2/10/10 at 8:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrumpOrMonkey View Post
Oh, I meant digital coaxial. Sorry about the confusion.

My source material I think is good enough, but what do you mean as a transport? I don't have a CD Transport or Turntable if that is what you mean?

I'm just going onboard coaxial s/pdif -> DAC19
I meant by transport whatever lets you output a spdif stream to your dac: cd player, usb to spdif converters, computer (motherboard), ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by TrumpOrMonkey View Post
So would you think I'm better off getting a D5000 and the DF1704 DAC19? I think the DAC19 with the DF1704 is actually a bit cheaper than the DACMagic meaning I'll have a bit left over to go to a D5000.
I agree with K3cT. Your current D2000 might be a limiting factor and getting the df1704 + D5000 would probably be better than a dsp-1 and keeping your D2000.

By the way, most of differnces I heard between the 2 digital filters (pmd100 and df1704) are barely audible with the stock sennheiser hd-650 cable. In fact, I would rather listen to the audio-gd FUN with silver cabled sennheiser than listening to the stock sennheiser cable with the more expensive dac19mk3+C2C.
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