Rega DAC vs Havana DAC

Quote:

Originally Posted by korzena 

After reading many impressions/reviews of Rega and Havana DACs, the two seem to have lots of in common. People say they are "analog sounding, they sound earthy and organic, tonally dense, overall "rightness", musicality, good rhythm, not over-detailed". The main differences I could spot after reading others' impressions (unfortunately I haven't listened to either of the DACs) are that Havana provides more delicate, subtle sound (which as some people claim, might not be aggresive enough for rock music) and Havana has a wide and very deep soundstage (which I consider a big advantage - not sure about the soundstage of Rega DAC..) Anybody compared Rega to Havana? What are the main sonic differences between the two DACs? I am considering buying one of them and it is difficult for me to decide which one to choose as I don't have a chance to audition them beforehand. (I'm interested mainly in their sonic abilities. I will use coax input only). Any help appreciated!

Another treat about the same subject he? I wonder if you can find more people who, like me, have had both dacs for 6 months or more.

To partly repeat myself, on a speaker based system the Havana does not have a deep sound stage, on the contrary, of all the digital sources I had it has the least depth. Rega has enough depth, but is not spectacular in this either.

On a headphone system things might be different, never tried that, I only use phones on portable sources.

I greatly prefer the Rega for sheer musicality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by korzena 

I've also read Rega can have quite a lot of energy in treble? Can it cause sibilance?

No not at all.  The top end is buttery smooth.

Hi.

I only use the dac with a rega brio r so can't comment about headphones sorry.

I'm a headphones user who has the Rega DAC just for that purpose.

As suggested, like many, no I have not heard the Havana but I did source the Rega to

upgrade from my Arcam rDAC.

All the general commentary is true ~ the Rega is slightly more detailed than the Arcam rDAC

but it makes up a heap of ground in terms of musicality and the sound stage is a bit wider.

It can sound a little bright with a bad recording but my amp is neutral and my main

headphones are 325i's so overall the balance is perfect for me.

The biggest drawcard is that it does sound very analog in comparison to the Arcam and

other DAC's I've heard like the DacMagic and Burson 160D (DAC section)

Drawbacks?

It's massive, 5 kilos in weight and can sound a little flat with some recordings, no real

explanation for it then again this unit only has 60hrs or so on it 

HUGE discovery today.

Up until now like many of us who use a laptop as a music server are relegated to USB for feeding the DAC.

This was the case with my Rega DAC until today while auditioning at 'Addicted to Audio' in Melbourne

I came across a fellow head-fier who had one of these by his side at the store :-

He auditioned the Rega and we both concluded that it seemed to be a fair

upgrade over some common stand alone DAC's like the Arcam rDAC.

Then I remembered reading that the Rega like many DAC's really performs

out of the Coax input instead of the USB. The Audiophilleo 2 is direct

fit into the back of the DAC while the other end accepts a simple

Type A to B USB cable.

The difference was astonishing, so frequently in this hobby do we

throw around the words 'night and day' difference and yet here

we had two grown men picking up their bottom lips from the

floor upon hearing 'Money' and 'The Wall' on Coax playback.

Pace, dynamics and especially sound stage were very

significant and blatant differences.

I'll cut it short on the superlatives by saying this :-

You have not heard the REGA DAC if only through

USB ~ do not even consider buying it unless you can

feed it Coax.

Even better, forget what I just said and audition it

yourself - sooner rather than later, it really is just

so musical and the LCD-2 grew a sound stage

that neither of us even knew existed!

I agree with Gwarmi, the Rega DAC coupled with the Audiophilleo 1/2 is very impressive, significantly better than the Rega DAC alone through it's USB inputs. 

I use a V-link via Coax on my Rega Dac.  I knew the Audiphilleo and Rega DAC are a special combo, John Darko mentioned it in his review.  I like the Audiophilleo but the price is too much.  Its getting on for £350+ here in the UK after import duty.  I'm going to strick with my V-link (£75 :)) for the time being and see whats available next year - there is rumour of an updated Audiophilleo with Power Supply socket coming out.

V-link and Rega DAC sound nice to my ears.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

HUGE discovery today.

 

Up until now like many of us who use a laptop as a music server are relegated to USB for feeding the DAC.

 

This was the case with my Rega DAC until today while auditioning at 'Addicted to Audio' in Melbourne

I came across a fellow head-fier who had one of these by his side at the store :-

 

 

He auditioned the Rega and we both concluded that it seemed to be a fair

upgrade over some common stand alone DAC's like the Arcam rDAC.

 

Then I remembered reading that the Rega like many DAC's really performs

out of the Coax input instead of the USB. The Audiophilleo 2 is direct

fit into the back of the DAC while the other end accepts a simple

Type A to B USB cable.

 

The difference was astonishing, so frequently in this hobby do we

throw around the words 'night and day' difference and yet here

we had two grown men picking up their bottom lips from the

floor upon hearing 'Money' and 'The Wall' on Coax playback.

 

Pace, dynamics and especially sound stage were very

significant and blatant differences.

 

I'll cut it short on the superlatives by saying this :-

 

You have not heard the REGA DAC if only through

USB ~ do not even consider buying it unless you can

feed it Coax.

 

Even better, forget what I just said and audition it

yourself - sooner rather than later, it really is just

so musical and the LCD-2 grew a sound stage

that neither of us even knew existed!

I use a V-link via Coax on my Rega Dac.  I knew the Audiphilleo and Rega DAC are a special combo, John Darko mentioned it in his review.  I like the Audiophilleo but the price is too much.  Its getting on for £350+ here in the UK after import duty.  I'm going to strick with my V-link (£75 :)) for the time being and see whats available next year - there is rumour of an updated Audiophilleo with Power Supply socket coming out.

V-link and Rega DAC sound nice to my ears.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

HUGE discovery today.

 

Up until now like many of us who use a laptop as a music server are relegated to USB for feeding the DAC.

 

This was the case with my Rega DAC until today while auditioning at 'Addicted to Audio' in Melbourne

I came across a fellow head-fier who had one of these by his side at the store :-

 

 

He auditioned the Rega and we both concluded that it seemed to be a fair

upgrade over some common stand alone DAC's like the Arcam rDAC.

 

Then I remembered reading that the Rega like many DAC's really performs

out of the Coax input instead of the USB. The Audiophilleo 2 is direct

fit into the back of the DAC while the other end accepts a simple

Type A to B USB cable.

 

The difference was astonishing, so frequently in this hobby do we

throw around the words 'night and day' difference and yet here

we had two grown men picking up their bottom lips from the

floor upon hearing 'Money' and 'The Wall' on Coax playback.

 

Pace, dynamics and especially sound stage were very

significant and blatant differences.

 

I'll cut it short on the superlatives by saying this :-

 

You have not heard the REGA DAC if only through

USB ~ do not even consider buying it unless you can

feed it Coax.

 

Even better, forget what I just said and audition it

yourself - sooner rather than later, it really is just

so musical and the LCD-2 grew a sound stage

that neither of us even knew existed!

Just placed an order for a Rega, I'll use for 14 days and then decide if it's good enough to replace my Havana.

After a few weeks of burn-in my Stax 507 sound wonderful paired with the Havana and the Bendix tube.

With different headphones I felt the JJ6386 was a better match, but with Stax the Bendix is in a different league.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dura 

 ... the Havana does not have a deep sound stage, on the contrary, of all the digital sources I had it has the least depth....

I can confirm this, unmodded Havana has no depth at all. (or very little). After some modifications it gets air and depth. Now I have a feeling the stage is too deep on certain records. Full 3D sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by realmassy 

With different headphones I felt the JJ6386 was a better match, but with Stax the Bendix is in a different league.

Bendix shows its class when it plays with better rigs.