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~$400 DAC with good detail and soundstage

post #1 of 26
11/27/10 at 5:10pm
Thread Starter 

Hi!

I have to make a final decision what to buy for xmas. I have recently purchased Millett Hybrid MiniMAX AMP and HD580. I am extremely happy with them and would like to do them justice. I am looking for a DAC with the high detail and good soundstage. By the 'good' soundstage I mean nice depth and holographic feeling which I m looking for. It would be good if the DAC would be suitable for eventual AMP or HP upgrades which will come later. My budget is $500 so the choice is quite limited.

 

So far I was looking at:

CA DacMagic ($310; £200)

Audio-GD NFB-3 ($410; £260)

 

I might pay more if you think it's worth it. I can buy either used or new.

 

Thank you.

 

EDIT: I just found a ued MHDT Paradisea 3 for $400. This is another option to my list. A good one?


Edited by Professor00179 - 11/27/10 at 5:35pm
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post #2 of 26
11/27/10 at 6:55pm

$500 is not limited.  You should be looking for something used.  A Parasound D/AC 1100 is what you need.  Do some targeted searches here and other audio sites for reviews of vintage DACs.  Bargains and good sound await.  And be very, very careful about the advice you heed here.  Recommendations should be viewed skeptically, including this one.  

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post #3 of 26
11/28/10 at 2:07am

The Parasound is a nice unit but they are hard to come by and even if you do find one, I highly doubt it will be in the 220v you need. Since you're in the UK, see if you can find a used Audio Note.

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post #4 of 26
11/28/10 at 3:18am

It is fairly easy to re-set the voltage, the manual on the Parasound homepage provides instructions on how to do it.

 

And yes, I've heard it side-by-side against other good DACs and it stacks up very well and has great dynamics.


Edited by padam - 11/28/10 at 3:21am
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post #5 of 26
11/28/10 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 

I don't know if I have enough patience to sit and wait for a Parasound DAC to apear on FS forums. I have also seen some threads from people who want to but it hence it could be really hard to get it. However, if I come across this DAC I will probably give it a try.

 

@The Monkey

"$500 is not limited"

 

Actually my budget would be $400. The reason for cunfusion is that I live in UK where I have to add 17.5% of tax or import duties. Hence although $500 DACs are out of my reach I am going to spend that amount of cash.rolleyes.gif

 

Any other options except for the Parasound? IF you mention something, please say how it would compare to the other DACs suggested ealier. I know it will probably end up as a big speculation thread but that's practically what we do all the time.;)

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post #6 of 26
11/28/10 at 9:36am

Try ebay Germany, much more common there than here and the going rate is about 400$ for the 1100.

 

I heard a TC Electronic BMC-2 and it is comparable to the Parasound which is slightly old-school but more musical.

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post #7 of 26
11/28/10 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 

Are there any good tube DACs in this pricerange? The idea of tube DAC is pretty interesting. I know the Paradisea 3 is one of them. Any others?

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post #8 of 26
11/28/10 at 11:37am
Thread Starter 

Ok, I just had a look at TC Electronic BMC-2. Looks to much like a studio equipment. I know it's not about how the gear looks like but still... this is not something I was looking for. Plus it seems to have only balanced output.

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post #9 of 26
11/28/10 at 12:19pm

Yeah I expected much less when I looked at them first (the Parasound looks huge compared to these) but they did sound very good and XLR->RCA is not hard to use (either cable or an adapter plus cable) so you don't really loose much with that.


This is a thread I found here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/446781/tc-electronic-bmc-2-a-little-gem

 

That said,you can look for other vintage DACs that have PCM63 and PMD100 in them (just like the Parasound 1100) because they might offer a similar smooth and musical type of sound (but this is more of a speculation as everything matters in a DAC)

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post #10 of 26
11/28/10 at 12:34pm
Thread Starter 

Any other vintage DAC suggestions? There was an upgraded Assemblage DAC a while back on FS forums but it was sold. People mention quite commonly that vintage DACs give very good quality/price ratio but what are these vintage DACs? I know rhw Assemblage, Parasound is mentioned quite often anything else?

 

 

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post #11 of 26
11/30/10 at 6:24pm

There are several excellent vintage dacs. Try doing a search. I have posted my recommendations in quite a few threads very similar to this. I would post again but I just cannot remember them all. On the other hand, I have been thinking about compiling a list and possibly reviews of vintage dacs from various price points. Just not sure if there would be much interest since the majority of this forum's interest is in audio-gd products.

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post #12 of 26
11/30/10 at 8:23pm

 

 

Most good vintage dac's can hold there own with the so called reference/flagship dacs that are touted as the second coming.

 

I run a Creek Dac 60 circa 1993 that outshines a lot of the new boys.

 

P1010099.JPG

P1010100.JPG

 

Nothing like a super short signal path,one input and one output.

Makes you wonder what all the garbage they put in them now is actually for.

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post #13 of 26
11/30/10 at 8:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Professor00179 View Post

Any other vintage DAC suggestions? There was an upgraded Assemblage DAC a while back on FS forums but it was sold. People mention quite commonly that vintage DACs give very good quality/price ratio but what are these vintage DACs? I know rhw Assemblage, Parasound is mentioned quite often anything else?

 

 

I recommend browsing through audiogon's DAC listings.  You can usually find a bunch of decent older DACs there.  
 

And...



Quote:
Originally Posted by computerparts View Post

On the other hand, I have been thinking about compiling a list and possibly reviews of vintage dacs from various price points. Just not sure if there would be much interest since the majority of this forum's interest is in audio-gd products.


I think that would be a great resource and it would be great to see such a list with reviews.  But I think you also hit the nail on the head with respect to interest level.

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post #14 of 26
12/1/10 at 12:34am

It's a shame, people really should know there are high value choices other than audio-gd. I'll start a thread to see if it will garner enough interest. If not, then I'll look at starting it on another forum. If I end up compiling reviews, the first will be the Proceed DAP because one is currently in my possession.

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post #15 of 26
12/1/10 at 11:48am

I believe Audio-Gd gets a lot of threads because a lot of people have heard them and write reviews. Same with the V-DAC, DACMagic and other mainstream choices. Without being able to audition equipment, people can only go on reviews. If there are only a couple reviews for another product it's hard for someone to take a chance on an expensive piece of equipement that in a lot of cases can't be returned.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by computerparts View Post

It's a shame, people really should know there are high value choices other than audio-gd. I'll start a thread to see if it will garner enough interest. If not, then I'll look at starting it on another forum. If I end up compiling reviews, the first will be the Proceed DAP because one is currently in my possession.

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