DacMagic 100 Impressions - Page 4

I just acquired a dacmagic 100.  Very nice little device.  I don't have much to compare it to as it is my first DAC.  I can say however that it is a vast improvement over my existing source which is my ipod input via my AV receiver which has an awful noise floor.  The sound quality from the DM 100 also exceeds the internal dac on my Marantz CD5001, the difference is clear to my ears. The purpose of buying this dac was to make my digital music sound more like my CD Player so to have it exceed that has surpassed my expectations. 

Edited by plexxx - 4/2/12 at 8:25am

jumped on to the DacMagic 100 boat as well - there is so little review besides that one on Angel and here of course.....

 

 

I actually bought two - one initially for my father who needed a DAC and out of curiosity I bought a second.....using it with QED Precision USB Cable 3m length (yes just the maximum Cambridge Audio manual suggests).

 

People that claim you can't better the Squeezebox Touch's internal DAC have clearly not paired it with the DacMagic 100 - much more detail, bass much more pronounced (maybe boomy to some)....but detail is there...

 

I've used it with Foobar with ASIO as well...test tracks include Sad Lisa (Tea for Tillerman 192), Hotel California/New Kid in Town (192) - wow is all I can say - much richer/refined.....

 

There is however one bug if I may add - theres no hum with supplied powersupply (running it here in UK) but I noticed when the Foobar playlist is empty - theres a hum/feedback noise through my speakers - only happened once but is it possible that because theres no sound file theres no 'load' if you will

 

Other than that - happy camper.....although I will probably still use it with the Touch out of convenience of not having to trip over the 3m usb cable to my laptop

Has anyone compared this DAC to any other DACs around this price point? (HRT MS II+, arcam rdac, the original dacmagic, etc) Or can someone describe the sound in more detail - mids, highs, lows, etc? Looking to buy semi portable DAC with good USB implimentation. Thanks everyone! :-)

I got one on the 24th of March, on a brief visit to the UK. I was debating between it and the Arcam rDac as I needed something to bridge between my Apple TV and my Arcam Alpha 8 amp (previously I used a MacMini connected via a phono to RCA cable - shocking I know). Without being able to listen to either on my system (no local place to me in Germany that stocks both products so home demo is out of the question), I opted for the £125 cheaper unit particularly as the specs were similar.

I posted a comment on the Angel review where in the testing I had one that the USB connector from my MacBook Pro sounded much better than via the Optical out of the AppleTV, like a layer of cotton wool had been removed. (testing was done via a pair of ShureSE530's plugged into the Amp, then switching between CD and lossless rips playing on the Mac and AppleTV)

I've had relatives over the for last week so I I haven't been able to do any further testing yet and its left me in a guandry:

1) Do I bring the Mac and (noisy) Drobo back to the living room and enjoy the better sound via USB
2) Deal with the inferior sound via the Apple TV (which I feel is slightly worse than simply playing the CD on the Alpha 8 CD player)
3) somehow acquire a rDac for testing (be it sell the DacMagic 100 first)

If the USB implementation is as good as the DacMagic Plus's, you can't go wrong with the DacMagic 100.

Are there any details or measurements of that out yet?  I didn't find any the last time I looked.

I used both optical and USB from Macbook Pro with it, and couldn't really hear any difference. The only practical limit is the 96kHz sampling rate maximum on optical, if you use something like BitPerfect to switch them on the fly to match the source. But then again I have very few tracks at a higher-than-96kHz rate (frankly couldn't hear the benefit vs. a well-recorded lower-rate one)

 

So I wonder if it is the implementation in the Apple TV that is causing the problem (wireless streaming?)

 

As far as hum goes, none either... maybe some other component in the chain? I've had it once or twice in a different setup, and like yours it was only with nothing playing, once it was, even during a quiet or silent part, no hum whatsoever.

Refer to this thread.

 

Yes, as one who actually owns a DacMagic Plus I am aware of the obvious difference that you felt obliged to point out.  That is why I said in post no. 50, "If the USB implementation [of the DacMagic 100] is as good as the DacMagic Plus's, you can't go wrong with the DacMagic 100."  Why is it farfetched or outlandish to think that perhaps the USB implementation of two DACs from the same maker that came out more or less at the same time could be similar or even identical?

Edited by Mauricio - 5/24/12 at 4:48am

Sorry, I don't keep track of who posts where.

Well, considering that the 100 uses a single WM8742 while the Plus uses 2 WM8740 in dual differential the 100 isn't just a single ended version of the Plus and its performance may vary somewhat.

 

The USB interfaces are likely to be the same though.

Ah, there's the rub!

Howdy.  I purchased the DM100 from Audio Advisor about a month ago and have been extremely pleased with it.  I submitted a 5 star review for the product, but AA for one reason or another not approved what I had to say about it.  I just changed the power connection I was using on my power conditioner from the front input to one of the rear filtered outlets and noticed audiable improvements.  I'm still waiting for the next rev of the Pagea audio P100 to power the DM100... Here's the "5 star" review I submitted to AA (my praise is higher now):

 

 

 

And here's a picture of the mess!

 

 

 

Edited by rgb32e - 4/12/12 at 6:26pm