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Which DAC to choose...again

post #1 of 12
6/26/11 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 

hey all;

 

so I'm in a real pickle, also known as having upgraditis (I was hoping it would pass over me...psych). Like a lot of the threads around here, I'm curious to know which DAC to pick to pair with my current (and hopefully future) set up.

 

What I have: currently a StyleAudio Macbook Pro -> StyleAudio carat-emerald -> Little Dot I+ -> Grado SR80i's.

 

I've done some research and these choices seem the most appealing to me:

 

HRT Music Streamer II+

DACMagic

Musical Fidelity V-DAC

Audio-GD NFB-3

 

My questions are these: which DAC would you choose. Also, does anyone maybe think that my money would be better spent on another set of cans? I love the Grados (my first high end headphones) so I could see going up to SR-325is's or RS1i's. In case it helps (or anyone's curious) I listen mainly to alternative rock and classical (from solo piano/violin up to big symphonies). My collection is in the process of being ripped to FLAC, but I don't think I'll have much higher than CD quality (which is good enough for me). Now that I've blabbered on long enough, thanks in advance for any and all comments!

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post #2 of 12
6/26/11 at 4:48pm

I would choose the dacmagic.... only because i have it and love it. I also have not heard the rest so my opinion doesn't count for much.

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post #3 of 12
6/26/11 at 5:06pm

I have and use the HRT MS II+ - overall a nice DAC. I'd keep your ears open for the Schiit BiFrost DAC to be announced this week. I know a bit about it, and value wise it'll complete with DACs in the $1500 range for less than a third of the price. At least check it out.

 

Re: other cans - certainly a good idea as long as you've addressed your 'source first'. Sounds like you are by ripping to FLAC. I'd encourage you to find a HiRes version (24/95 or 24/88.2) rip of some of your music. I'm not familiar with your current dac - does it support these rates? If so, A/B and see if you hear an improvement. I sure do, and have as much of my source HiRes as I can find/rip. My point is, do all you can do to improve your source, then work your way out to your headphones. My 2 cents.

 

Enjoy!

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post #4 of 12
6/26/11 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 

thanks for the responses guys! as for my current DAC, I'm not entirely sure what it's capabilities are. From the website: 

 

 

- DA converter : Texas Instruments PCM1793 :   24bit / 192Khz sampling, 8x oversampling digital filter,       Dynamic range : 113dB, THD+N : 0.001%

 

- USB controller : Texas Instruments PCM2707 /  Full speed tranciever (Real audio 1.1) /  I2S, 32, 44.1, 48KHz / 16Bit Delta-Sigma stereo

 

if anyone could let me know what that means, I'd be much appreciate

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post #5 of 12
6/26/11 at 5:56pm

In a nutshell, it means that the dac chip supports up to 24/192. If you interface via usb, you'll be limited to 16/48 max. This is a limitation of the PCM2707 TI chip being used. Since you're using a MacBook Pro, you should be using an optical interconnect that'll let you leverage more of the dac chips capability. 

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post #6 of 12
6/26/11 at 6:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Misterrogers View Post

In a nutshell, it means that the dac chip supports up to 24/192. If you interface via usb, you'll be limited to 16/48 max. This is a limitation of the PCM2707 TI chip being used. Since you're using a MacBook Pro, you should be using an optical interconnect that'll let you leverage more of the dac chips capability. 



I was afraid that might be the case. My current DAC only has a USB input, so it seems a little silly of StyleAudio to limit the input when the actual chip can do more.

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post #7 of 12
6/26/11 at 9:01pm

DACmagic

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post #8 of 12
6/27/11 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 

I looked up the DACmagic's stats and it has two WM8740 chips, while the audio-gd nfb-3 has two WM8741's. does anyone know if there is a large difference between these chips? especially since the NFB-3 is $130 cheaper than the DACmagic

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post #9 of 12
6/27/11 at 10:15am

Here is a good review of the HRT with elements of comparison with the dacmagic :

 

http://www.headfonia.com/hrt-music-streamer-ii-2496-usb-dac/

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post #10 of 12
6/27/11 at 10:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by griffindy View Post

I looked up the DACmagic's stats and it has two WM8740 chips, while the audio-gd nfb-3 has two WM8741's. does anyone know if there is a large difference between these chips? especially since the NFB-3 is $130 cheaper than the DACmagic

 

i wouldn't say it's a large difference.

 

i have owned and heard dacs with both wolfsons.

and there is an improvement in the WM8741.

however, as you will be told numerous times on this forum, the implementation is more important than the chip.

not sure how much i agree with that, but it is true at least in part.

 

either way, both wolfson chips are nice.

but, the WM8741 is more resolving by a small measure.

 

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post #11 of 12
6/27/11 at 1:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWuss View Post



 

i wouldn't say it's a large difference.

 

i have owned and heard dacs with both wolfsons.

and there is an improvement in the WM8741.

however, as you will be told numerous times on this forum, the implementation is more important than the chip.

not sure how much i agree with that, but it is true at least in part.

 

either way, both wolfson chips are nice.

but, the WM8741 is more resolving by a small measure.

 



thanks for the advice TheWuss. I couldn't help noticing that you have a Keces DAC. I'm also considering the Keces 131, have you spent any time with that?

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post #12 of 12
6/27/11 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by griffindy View Post

thanks for the advice TheWuss. I couldn't help noticing that you have a Keces DAC. I'm also considering the Keces 131, have you spent any time with that?



i haven't heard the da131.  but i understand it is a slight step up from the da151 that i own.

i think (therefore) that it would be a nice dac for the price.

 

 

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