looking for an audio source

So I spent all my money on a pair of Elac fs 67.2's and the marantz pm7003. Which means it's time to save some money for a source. Since I don't own a lot of CDs I am considering a DAC to go with my sony micro-hifi system with optical output (for cd) and computer etc.. My budget would be 550euro max. (which happends to be the price of the musical fidelity m1).

I was searching on the internet and I found some interessting products:

-Cambridge Audio DACmagic

-Musical Fidelity M1 DAC

-Arcam rDac

Could anyone recommend any of those? Is a optical signal from a micro-hifi sytem decent or should I buy a HiFi-CDplayer? Any sugestions would be nice to.

mcmalden

page 10 of this pdf says that somthing weird about the digital outputs, it says kbps which is suposed to be kHz?? I don't know a thing about digital music but a usb-connector that supports 32-48 kbps doesn't make a lot of sence for a high end DAC. Can anyone confirm this?

I most interessted in the Cambridge Audio DACmagic. The m1 dac has got almost no hardware inside, so basically it's a nice box filled with baked air. The rdac focusses on the usb function while optical and coaxial deliver less performance which makes no sence to me. The DACmagic is cheap, has got an amazing circuit bord, 3 different filtering modes, lots of connectivity and very good reviews. the only con is the power supply but I think that you get most bang for the buck with the DACmagic. I am going to try to audition these DACs but if that doesn't work out I am sure that I can't go wrong with the DACmagic. Though most reviews on the internet are rubbish, especially those from Whathifi.com.

After some more research I am not so sure about the Dacmagic. I think I will audition the m1 dac and the rdac when I have got the money. Anyone got an opnion about CD-player vs. DAC?

I can't imagine why people don't have opinions about the topic cdplayer vs. DACs. These DACs could be the new cdplayers right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter 

1. the cdp has been pronounced 'DOA' for several years now, much as vinyl was when cd arrived ..

 

2. Many of the newer CDPs will function as a standalone DAC. These people were building DACs long before the dedicated DAC became de rigeur for computer-based audio.

 

 

So, you would buy a dedicated DAC? This is what I am going to do: for now I will buy a secondhand or demo marantz 5003, which will have better mechanisms than the sony micro-hifi. And if I am looking for an uprgrade I'll simply buy a nice deticated dac. Or should I save some money for the marantz 6003?