CEntrance DACmini DAC/Amplifier Official Thread - Page 14

Just remember that a very important part of the power supply needed for the DACMini is inside the DACMini.  Just make sure the wart you plug in can supply the required current as well as the voltage.  A great and critical part of power supply conditioning, filtering, and regulating, all takes place within the DACMini itself.  (Great design on the part of Centrance.)
 

 

We're assuming the 15v Sigma 11 has the proper current supply.  I can't see why not. 

 

I feel like I'm meltin waiting for the answer to the power supply tweak : does it improve the sonics even further?!

Headphoneaddict, did you dare to plug the sigma11 in yet? 

kindest regards 

I've tried running my DACmini off of an analog supply and SLA battery power but can hear no difference in sound quality.  As Kevin says, the DACmini uses its own well-designed internal switching supplies, so the DC will be converted back to AC in any event.

Edited by WilCox - 4/29/11 at 4:00am

I did speak with CEntrance about power supply current requirement and they thought that the current draw was only about 1/3 amp.  The switcher supplied is 19V at 1.5A.

So you have a DACmini, if you don't mind my asking, how do you feel it stacks up against the other sources and amps you own?

 

Well after a long wait I finally got my Dacmini today and I am surprisingly impressed. After waiting about 3 months to finally get this bad boy (not all the fault of Centrance, took about a month to finally get it shipped to South Korea after my friend received it) my expectations were at an all time high. Thankfully, I am more than still impressed with the product. Granted my previous amp/dac combo is laughable when compared to everyone else on this site (Fiio E7) but the files I have are all flac files including 24/192 files.

They completely compliment my LCD-2's even without a break-in. I am listening to the "Explorations in Space and Time" at 24/176.4 even though I am using the USB interface for now so I don't get the benefit from the higher sample rate and I am completely dumbfounded by the sound quality and soundstage that is present compared to the E7 I had. I haven't heard any of the other big named flagships, my only experience is with some AD-700's and HD-598 so take this with a grain of salt. Other things I have noticed is the apparent depth and separation between instruments and the dark background. Very cliche, I know but this is what I noticed.

I know many of you will say there are plenty of better combinations but ignorance is bliss because I am completely satisfied and have no urge to endure upgraditis. For people who have just been introduced into head-fi and don't know they're bearing I would highly recommend this combo because for me the sound is sublime. It represents a very great start and it leads me to regret the baby steps I took to get here.

I must thank many people on this site for helping reach my conclusion and find what you guys are doing is beyond helpful. HeadphoneAddict and Austin thanks for the great advice you provided on this forum because it has made be extremely happy. For all the other beginners out there lurking the forums, this might be your cup of tea.

Nice post and congratulations on your new DacMini and LCD-2s!

Thanks Kwkarth, you are definitely one of those contiributors who taught me a lot about head-fi.

I also wanted to add that Jason was super helpful with all my questions and struck me as one of the most pleasant people to tap for information. I asked a lot of questions and in no way was he stand-offish like some of the other people I have had communications with leading up to my purchase. Really a class act and direct, two things I like about any person I do business with. Just wanted to add this because he was so great and let people know to ask him for anything you need to know. He usually got back to me withing hours of an e-mail. Good stuff.

Quote:

Like HeadphoneAddict, I got the DACmini to use with my LCD-2 in a bedroom system.  It replaced a Bel Canto DAC3/Lehmann Black Cube Linear.  As soon as I started listening to the DACmini, I knew that I wouldn't miss the Bel Canto/Lehmann combo -- it's that good.  I listen to Apple Lossless and hi-res FLAC via a Squeezebox Touch which pairs nicely with the DACmini for hi-res music.
 

 

 

For $800, they could at least ship with a US AC cable.  There's no excuse for a product in this price range to ship without the AC cord.
 

 

I can confirm the DACmini works with the iPad 1 w/ iOS 4.3.2 and Camera Connection Kit. No powered hub needed.
 

 

Edited by pekingduck - 5/2/11 at 1:46am

Give me a break.  Go to Radio Shack and buy a $3 power cord.

 

LOL! You took the words out of my mouth... I had exactly that typed up but didnt think it was worth a mouse click ;)

 

Hi everyone, Due to the fact that the nuforce dac9 price is higher then expected approx 1700 dollar and even more expensive for me because I have to go through a Dutch dealer, the dacmini is back on my radar. I need a dac with headphone out to use with my es5, I already have a diy active preamp to connect to my poweramp but it only has xlr inputs and the dacmini only has rca outputs and i guess these are non-balanced. I used the dacmagic by cambridge audio in the past and that one had xlr outputs so i could connect it directly to my preamp. I could of course use an adapter cable but I am worried that the sound through my speakers will be less then in the past. My poweramp has rca inputs but I am not sure if its a good idea to plug it into the dacmini (in the first place because I have owned a few headphone amps that dualed as preamp via a loop-through output and my own preamp sounds better then those passive solutions and in the second place because i have a primare 30.2 poweramp that does 120 watt into 4 ohm, with some of the afformentioned solutions it was just too loud even at the lowest volume setting) the reason for me to consider the nuforce dac-9 was that that onehas xlr outputs (fixed and variable). What do you guys think? Greetings, Anouk,