ARRIVED: new Rega DAC - Page 28

I really like the quality and in house production of this company

Interesting thread! I've read it and actually decided to cancel my order on audio-gd reference 5.2 and buy a rega instead :D

I'm going to be using it for listening through headphones though. Anyone care to share his experience in such setup?

 

 

Now I'm trying to decide what amp I'm gonna get. Currently I have LCD 2.2 as headphones buy am planning to getting a compliment for orchestral works (classics): probably either hd800 or T1 or maybe Hifiman 500.

Tomorrow I'm probably gonna visit a local hifi store and they have regas for sale, also they have the musical fidelity m1 hpa. How does it go with rega and LCD2? Or may it's better to go for musical fidelity DAC too. I'm annoyed with mentioned quality of regas power cord etc...

The Rega is warm and musical. A nice all-rounder.

I went with the W4S DAC-2 because it has a much better usb interface

I wish I still had the Rega to compare, but fed with the Stello U3 usb converter vs direct usb

Another British design that I haven't heard much about yet is the new Arcam. It'll probably be good, but pricey

I have a Rega DAC in my headphone setup. Moved it from my 2 channel setup when I got the CA Stream Magic 6.

I like the Rega DAC sound. It is nice an earthy, with a full body sound and it is very resolving as well. It is very musical, and good with all sorts of music, from rock, pop, jazz, classical.

The Stream Magic 6 DAC section (same as the CA DacMagic Plus) is a bit brighter then the Rega DAC, and a tad less musically involving.

I have limited experience of the competition but I'd agree with these comments. With a basic USB cable upgrade and something like Audirvana pro it brings the best out of all my cans.

James

I have both Rega Dac and Audio-GD ref 5 (not 5.2, but the original which still have 2 transformer instead of 1).

IMHO, ref 5 have better synergy with LCD 2.2 compare with Rega.

 

I agree with the comment that Rega is warm and musical, so Rega with LCD 2.2 is a bit too warm for my taste.

Rega have a very good synergy with Grado line though.

I enjoy it a lot with my RS1i, and the synergy of Rega DAC, Woo 6SE and RS1i is one of the best I heard :)

 

Not sure with T1, HE500 or HD800 though, but my TH900 also have better synergy with ref 5.

Quick heads up.

 

Been trying out Audirvana 1.4 with my Rega Dac and Audiophilleo 2.

 

My god this software player sounds mighty fine.  I was using Pure Music, but the latest update didn't sit too well with me soundwise.  Tried Audirvana on a free trial and OMG what an improvement.  The sense of space around each instruments is truly phenomenal.

 

Definitely worth a check out.

 

Thanks.

Based on this feedback in this thread and some over at CA, I pulled the trigger on the Rega DAC. I considered many others. Just received the Rega DAC today, it's getting its first burn in now...

What break-in time should I expect? I'll be driving it from USB Input until I can afford to get a USB to SPDIF converter. Probably the Audiophilleo with PurePower.


- No Disc

I'm liking the Rega sound so far, although using it with an el-cheapo 1.5 m usb printer cable. I answered my own question regarding break-in when reading though the entire thread. I have an audiophilleo / Purepower on order and some ww usb cables to try out. Has anyone found any higher-end usb cables to make much of a difference when using them with a USB to SPDIF converter?

Tomorrow I'll receive the Rega DAC, after reading this thread I have high hopes for it to end my dac search for a while. I don't use headphones, I have a vinyl setup, Harbeth M30 speakers and I already own the first dac produced by Rega, called "IO", I use it with it's original companion the "Jupiter" transport. I've had the Jupiter/IO for ten years now, which tells you how little I suffer from "audiophilia nervosa" when a component does it right for me. My love is music, not hi-fi equipment. I expect the new DAC to improve the IO and allow me to use a late 2009 Mac Mini with SSD for HD music while keeping the Jupiter for CD playback. I have already tried the Micromega MyDac, Audiolab MDac, Peachtree Dacit and Peachtree iDac. None of them convinced me for different reasons, but a common issue was that I found them uninvolving. I won't extend on adjectives since I am not technically literate or inclined, I just know when I enjoy a good system because it grabs me, it demands me to listen, pay attention and enjoy the music. As for the Mac Mini, I have read in many posts that the stock USB on the Rega is the least desirable input, but I don't want to order a convertor right away, so I'll start out using the Mini's optical output, which on paper is supposed to be pretty lousy due to high levels of jitter, but maybe my ears will tell me a different story. This finally gets me to my question: why should it be important that the source, in this case the Mac Mini's optical out, has low jitter? Doesn't the DAC reclock and output a fresh signal?

I read an article in Enjoy The Music entitled "Myths And Misconceptions About CD Players And DACs" that addresses this and concludes that:  

When the Jittered audio signal arrives at the DAC, it is quantized into place temporally and is then played, in perfect synch with the clock oscillator, which is right next to it.

Is this the way the Rega Dac works? Why should the jitter produced by the MacMini's optical out be so important then?

Edited by zindra - 1/22/13 at 3:04pm

The Rega DAC uses the Wolfson 8805 SPDIF receiver chip which apparently has jitter rejection of 50ps, whatever that means, although I know that the lower the number the better.

 

I ran the Mac Mini via optical to the Rega DAC in my main system for a while. Then introduced and Audio-GD DI v.1 to the chain. The difference was very slight, which less harshness in the treble and slightly smoother sound via the DI then straight optical from the Mac Mini. I'll have to try the optical again since I've moved the Rega DAC to my headphone setup recently.

 

I'm still on the lookout for a good, inexpensive USB to SPDIF converter for the DAC as the Audio-GD DI v.1 only does up to 24/96.

Well I hope someone here has seen this issue? I've had the Rega for a week or so now and it's worked great via the USB. Now I got the Audiophilleo today and I can't get it to play anything higher than 24/96. Trying to lock 176.4 or 192, I get no sound. A quick google search yielded that the first generation Rega DACs had issues locking at 192? I just got this DAC. Is there a way to check firmware or confirm it's a first generation?

 

I would say I am 99% sure that expensive audiophile USB are simply a waste of money and will make no difference.

After rummaging around different thread on the subject. I came across the below tidbit. It may explain why there are varied reports of usb cable differences, with some people claiming it makes no difference, while others claim it makes huge differences. My DAC is not Asynchronous, so a better cable might be of benefit to me, at least while I am driving my DAC via USB. I will be switching to a USB to SPDIF converter in the near future, so maybe it will be a moot issue for me, maybe not.


The difference between a cheap USB cable performance and a really good USB cable performance is the amount of jitter that it adds. Jitter is added through several mechanisms:

1) losses
2) Inter-symbol interference (ISI)
3) reflections due to impedance discontinuities

All of these have an effect at the USB receiver.

Now, whether or not this affects the audio stream depends on the USB interface. If it is an optimally implemented Asynchronous or block-transfer protocol, then the jitter does not matter. It is buffered at the receiver just like a disk drive or printer. The master clock is in the receiving device.

However, if it is a Adaptive-mode USB protocol, then it is sensitive to the jitter as this is passed through a PLL that recovers the clock. The master clock from the computer is used. The USB cable will have an effect in this case.

This does not mean that one USB protocol will necessarily sound a lot better than the other. All three USB modes be excellent, with jitter on the threshold of audibility. The ultimate performance depends on the clock quality and implementation.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Hmmm well I did some reading about this a while back and came to the conclusion that it is pretty unlikely that it will make any difference and is most likely just the usual cable company culprits trying to get your money!

 

From what I have read the digital information does not need to be THAT precise anyway as it is either a 1 or a 0 and there is a tolerance in the analogue waves voltages which even a basic (non faulty and well shielded) cable should be able to handle easily.... Unlike fully analogue VGA or RCA cables etc. which can easily distort and have an audible effect on the SQ.

 

Also the error checking on a decent dac and computer should not have any packet losses... I also read a few tests which were carried out with cheap and expensive USB cables and in both cases the data was 100% correct.... Although this was on an ASYNC dac IIRC. I also read one where the "audiophile" usb cable measured WORSE than a cheap one!

 

It is just data at the end of the day, the same as sending information to a printer and from what I understand the USB protocol's and error checking are easily capable of delivering bitperfect audio on any non faulty USB cable...

 

Most of those reasons are probably just marketing TBH Although apparently the Rega USB input is not its strong point.... Maybe you would be better using a decent soundcard and the coaxial S/PDIF?

 

Anyway I am not really an expert, I am not a "objectivist cynic" either, but from what I have read I doubt that anything more than a decent quality £15 max USB cable is going to make any difference at all to sound quality... I think if there was packet loss it would be in the form of pops and crackling noises etc. eg. blatantly obvious as opposed to a subtle decrease in sound quality....

 

If you do decide to buy one and try it out then make sure the testing is blind A/B testing, because it is suprising how much of a difference "expectation bias" can make to the way things sound to you. I would be interested to hear the results if you do decide to try BLIND A/B test of audiphile vs standard USB cables.

Edited by nicholars - 1/24/13 at 11:55am