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Which Dacs should I be considering?

post #1 of 41
6/21/10 at 6:10am
Thread Starter 

Well I have decided my next audio purchase will be a DAC to go with my HA160.  Here are my basic needs:

 

Budget: anything under $700 USD (willing to buy used)

Features: Don't want or need preamp or balanced outs.

Digital: Only need SPDIF (usb would be a nice bonus but not needed)

Analog: Nice and simple just 1 set of RCA outputs

Sound: Would prefer it to be either neutral or slightly warm/dark with good hard hitting bass - definitely not bright or thin sounding in the treble as I am sensitive to that.

Not sure about all the upsampling or whatever but I don't really need 24 bit or 32 bit as all my music is 16 bit FLACs and most likely will stay that way for many years to come.

 

Would be used only for a headphone system. Would be good if it would benefit from a usb to SPDIF transport as I already have a musiland 02 which I am using as a DAC at the moment. 

My headphones at the moment are: AD1000PRM, HD600, Pro750, DT880.

 

Thanks for any help or suggestions :)


Edited by angle_sh00ter - 6/21/10 at 8:27am
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post #2 of 41
6/21/10 at 6:18am
Thread Starter 

Oh I forgot 1 thing.  I don't want to have to deal with any software or anything like that.

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post #3 of 41
6/21/10 at 6:20am

One possibility is the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC, which is going on sale next month for $650. You can also buy new PS Audio DLIIIs now for $699. I'm going to be picking up the MF when it's available to see how it sounds. Both the MF and the PS offer balanced outputs, but if you don't need those, an Audio-GD DAC19 DSP may provide the best bang for the buck at $640.

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post #4 of 41
6/21/10 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 

Yeah def don't need balanced otuputs.  I was looking at the MF Vdac but its way under my budget - but if there was something similar to it in features but just with a better chip it would be great.

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post #5 of 41
6/21/10 at 7:47am

Well, it might be a bit of a Pillock to find, but an Electrocompaniet ECD-1?

Electrocompaniet sound is definitely a liquidy smooth warmish sound, but still very transparent. No USB though.

 

Local dealer reckoned it 'smacked round' a Chord DAC 64 in comparison,

 

But being that he's the one selling it, take that with a grain of salt.

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post #6 of 41
6/21/10 at 7:50am

I wanna buy a DAC too. I am currently using Shanling PCD300A and Burson HA160. I guess I will connect the Shanling and the DAC through coax. and output to the Burson through RCA.

I am a 100% classical (Orchestral) listener. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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post #7 of 41
6/21/10 at 8:28am
Thread Starter 

I'm interested in the stagedac but its got the preamp section which I don't need plus a lot of other stuff like crossfeed which I probably don't need either.

Just wish there was a barebones sort of DAC which had killa sound :) Maybe something like the pico dac but with an even better chip :)


Edited by angle_sh00ter - 6/21/10 at 8:29am
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post #8 of 41
6/21/10 at 9:03am

The Gamma 2 is a wonderful dac, its small, good, and very useful with all of its options for connections. Also dont be afriad to look at some of the old Parasound dacs. I just got a Parasound DAC-1000 and its wonderful as well. 

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post #9 of 41
6/21/10 at 9:12pm
Thread Starter 

Any other suggestions?  I'm tempted to just replace the musiland with a pico but am wondering if there is anything significantly better up to $700?

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post #10 of 41
6/21/10 at 9:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylus_K View Post

Well, it might be a bit of a Pillock to find, but an Electrocompaniet ECD-1?

Electrocompaniet sound is definitely a liquidy smooth warmish sound, but still very transparent. No USB though.

 

Local dealer reckoned it 'smacked round' a Chord DAC 64 in comparison,

 

But being that he's the one selling it, take that with a grain of salt.



Electrocompaniet ECD-1 is a very nice DAC, but those usually go for $1000+.

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post #11 of 41
6/22/10 at 12:51am
Thread Starter 

Is dacmagic worth considering?  I mean would it be a good enough upgrade from my musiland 02?

Im looking to get something which will at least keep me satisfied for a few years.

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post #12 of 41
6/22/10 at 4:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenneth View Post





Electrocompaniet ECD-1 is a very nice DAC, but those usually go for $1000+.

 

True, but that just makes it an Audiogon jobbie! (i.e. 2nd hand)

 

There's always a High end bloke upgrading to a dCS or Wadia etc.

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post #13 of 41
6/22/10 at 4:22pm

Have you considered a tube dac? the top two in my list are the tadac and the xindak dac-5, the tadac has a volume control though. the xindak has excellent  bass excellent everythting really and pretty much fits your description, cons are thet its big because it uses two sepaate toroidal transformers one for the digital and the other for the analog section but this is also one of the reasons it sounds so good . I own both of these which I use on two separate systems with my hiface.

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post #14 of 41
6/22/10 at 4:35pm
Thread Starter 

Good idea.  Im actually considering the dac-3se which is said to have a smooth tube sound.  Got to admit I'm reluctant to get into tubes at this juncture mainly cos of the upkeep and I'd like to get a SS rig up to scratch first so I have something to compare a future tube rig against.


Edited by angle_sh00ter - 6/22/10 at 4:37pm
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post #15 of 41
6/22/10 at 8:16pm

Mhdt Paradisea (tube)

Audio Research DAC 1 or 2

Theta DS Pro and DS Pro Basic series

Audio Note Dac Zero and One.1 series (tube)

 

Don't be afraid of tube dacs. Tubes in the signal stage generally have little maintenance to worry about. All of the above can be had on the used market for prices that fit within your budget.

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