To DAC or not to DAC. Advice, please.

I've searched this forum for days and read what must be thousands of posts.  However, I didn't find an exact answer to my question.

Here is my current setup:

Teac PD-H300mkiii cd player ---> Woo Audio 3 ---> Beyer DT800 250 ohm.

I'm pretty happy with this system, but we all know part of this addicting hobby is to tweak, upgrade, and experiment.

I'm wondering if adding an external DAC will be a worthwhile upgrade.  There's not a lot of info here, or elsewhere on the internet, about my source.  Once review, however, called it a very detailed player ( http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/teac_reference_pdh300mkIII.htm ), although, I have no idea how trustworthy that reviewer is.

Anyway, if I were to get a DAC, I've already decided that the MF V-DAC is the one I'll get.  But before I pull the trigger, I'm hoping someone could critique my current setup and let me know if the V-DAC would be a welcome addition to it. 

The V-DAC is not sold locally, so I have no way to audition it.  It will be a purchase unheard, but after reading thousands of posts here, I'm convinced that is the DAC I would get IF I WERE TO GET ONE.

Thanks so much.

Hi Uncle Erik,

Thanks for the very detailed and thoughtful response.  A lot of what you said hit home.

I would be using the CD player as a transport to the DAC.  And, there's really nothing I don't like about the player--I just don't know how it compares to other components.  I find it detailed, but curiosity just gets the best of me, and as you correctly said, sometimes just the itch to buy something new.  I have a decent CD collection, and I plan on playing the CDs as they are.  No plans to rip lossless to a computer.  I did rip my CDs in lossy format for my iPod, but that is working out and not critical listening at home.  So, no plans for a computer-based audio system.

I've had a lot of fun rolling tubes in my amp, and I can easily tell different sound between the tubes.  So, that got me thinking, since there are better tubes and lesser tubes, then it's possible there are better DACs and lesser DACs with respect to how they might "roll" into my system.  I'm not at all disappointed in the cd player.  Just curiosity in playing with different parts of the chain and having more toys, so to speak.  I don't know if it's possible to get everything to sound "better" than what I currently have for a modest upgrade price.  Curiosity, impatience, restlessness.....you know, all of the symptoms of the music disease.

Thanks for your insights.  I'll be following this thread closely (if others chime in with any info about my current source).  It would be dumb to buy a DAC if the onboard one I already have is pretty good....but, I wouldn't mind spending a little to upgrade a little if it's possible.

Thanks for the input, everyone.  I guess I'll probably stick with my current source and not upgrade the DAC.  Seeing as how I just bought my amp and cans about a month ago as my first entry into "better" gear, I'm content with not upgrading those for quite some time.  They were a good chunk of change for me at the time.

I listened to AAC files on my iPod for years with cheap cans.  I'm loving my new setup--I was just curious about tweaking it a little--mainly because all of the talk about DACs around here.  So, unless someone with experience using my Teac source chimes in and emphatically tells me it significantly benefits from an external DAC, I'm content with my setup.

Thanks.

I hear ya---I know the Teac CD player has a DAC in it.   I'm just not sure how "good" it is.  It's definitely not terrible, as I've heard some pretty bad ones--like the one in my car stereo!!  I'm finding that I am really listening to music very analytically now--so I was just curious if I could extract more detail and soundstage from my CDs without breaking the bank.  I don't plan to ever buy a $1000 CD player.  But, I've read reports here in the forums that the V-DAC can do wonders with consumer-level CD players (the Teac was $229 new two years ago--but I got it for $99 NIB this summer).  I wouldn't mind spending $300 to get some more detail and soundstage, but I'm not interested in investing in a whole new CD player as the law of diminishing returns quickly kicks in.

Thank you!  I'm very happy to hear from someone who uses a similar rig.  This was exactly the type of information I was looking for.

Since you're pushing the signal through a tube amp, how do you think the V-DAC synergizes with it?  I've read some reports that the V-DAC is warm sounding, so how does that mesh through a tube amp?  Can it ever sound too warm?

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nycbone 

I use that very CD player with a V-DAC and find the improvement to be substantial (see sig for other gear in the chain). Better definition and clarity, particularly with acoustic instruments on jazz recordings. My reference recordings sound better than ever. The external DAC is the single best improvement I've made. My wallet for gear is now closed. I also appreciate the USB connection as I listen to Grateful Dead and other recordings from the live music archive (with a Dell netbook) and they sound terrific (i.e., subject to the quality of the recording).

I appreciate everyone's input on this question.  I think I'm not going to get a DAC.  The cd player is good enough for me.  Maybe the DAC will make it better, but then the law of diminishing returns kicks in.  Is the DAC $300 better?  Maybe, but maybe not.  I decided to blow some cash today and ordered some different tubes to roll in and experiment with.

Maybe someday down the road, I'll play with the idea of DAC again, but for now, I'm going to sit tight.

Thanks again to everyone.