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Dangerous Music Source DAC
Mar 14, 2014 at 7:20 PM Post #91 of 309
subsonic1050 said:
  I am still loving mine. Like a true audiophile, I have still been searching for something better. I picked up a Meier Audio StageDac and Concerto headphone amp. These are two separate units. Honestly, I have been going back and forth trying to decide which setup sounds better. On certain songs it sound like the Meier equipment is better, and on others, it sounds like the Source. BOTH sound absolutely fantastic in all genres. I think the Meier is slightly better with classical and jazz, while the Source is slightly better with rock. I've probably spent 5 hours comparing the units, and still need to do more before I decide what I am going to keep.  I might decide to keep the source over the Meier even if the Meier equipment ends up being slightly better due to the portability of the Source.
 
There is just no way you can go wrong with the Source.
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thanks for the input, we could use more comparisons between this unit and other .... well, better known DACs around here
 
Mar 14, 2014 at 7:53 PM Post #92 of 309
You bet. I realize the Meier isn't exactly ubiquitous, but I have mentioned the other DAC's I have tried. I compared the source against the Emotiva XDA-2, Emotiva DC-1, and Burson HA-160DS. The source absolutely crushed all of them. It took mere seconds listening on each to determine that the Source was the decisive victor in each case (although I obviously still spent more time comparing anyway). However, I believe most of the performance came from the onboard amp rather than the DAC itself (in all cases I used the DAC and the built in amp as a combo, with no external amp until the Meier combo I have now)
 
Mar 14, 2014 at 9:16 PM Post #93 of 309
ok, reread the thread and found out that the balanced outs aren't amplified. A bit of a letdown as I was hoping to use my HD650s fully balanced. Then again it may not matter much if SE outputs sound real good
 
Mar 14, 2014 at 11:38 PM Post #94 of 309
subsonic1050 said:
  You bet. I realize the Meier isn't exactly ubiquitous, but I have mentioned the other DAC's I have tried. I compared the source against the Emotiva XDA-2, Emotiva DC-1, and Burson HA-160DS. The source absolutely crushed all of them. It took mere seconds listening on each to determine that the Source was the decisive victor in each case (although I obviously still spent more time comparing anyway). However, I believe most of the performance came from the onboard amp rather than the DAC itself (in all cases I used the DAC and the built in amp as a combo, with no external amp until the Meier combo I have now)
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That would seem to make sense as the big DAC comparo by "Gary in MD" had a lot of DACs indistinguishable. Just keeps getting better (worse for my wallet) with the Source.
 
Mar 15, 2014 at 12:25 AM Post #95 of 309
Gary and I actually talked fairly extensively via PM's, and I was able to confirm with him that the DAC portion alone was indistinguishable among a wide variety of DAC's, the cheapest being the Emotiva DC-1 (That was not my experience, I had an annoying buzzing sound coming from my DC-1 while using the DAC in asynchronous mode). However, his experience was while using an external amp (he uses the Odyssey Cyclops amp). 
 
When he compared the units WITH their own built in amps there was no contest, both to my ears and to Gary's. He said he much, much preferred the Source over the Emotiva in that regard. I don't know what his opinions were with other amp/dac combos. His favorite DAC ended up being the Yulong DA8, which also has a built in amp, and is only a few hundred more than the source, but honestly I doubt the amp is of equal quality. Plus, the Source is made in the US, and Dangerous has a reputation for making very rugged equipment that will last. 
 
Most of the Amp/DAC's seem to focus more on the DAC, and the amp leaves a lot to be desired. This Meier combo is sure giving it a run for its money, but this is utilizing a separate amp and DAC, components which when new would have cost around $1500 total (I bought them used, and they are also not the latest iterations).
 
It seems that the DAC technology has progressed so much in the last few years that even moderately priced DAC's are able to deliver the quality most of us desire - the amp on the other hand is where the extra money really seems to buy you that little bit extra sound quality.
 
Mar 27, 2014 at 5:57 PM Post #98 of 309
aladdinsane said:
  Thanks for the time and effort. Debating this and the Resonessence Concero HP. Any thoughts on the two compared since I see you have exposure to both? DAC vs DAC? Amp vs. amp?
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whoa, both are very good dacs especially at their respective price points.  I did not have both at the same time, nor did I have my system to the level it is today. So I cannot honestly declare a preference.  BTW, I had the regular Concero not Concero HP. 
 
Mar 30, 2014 at 12:50 AM Post #100 of 309
Tried all the planars from Audeze and Hifiman with Source. Tried HD800, T1, a closed AKG professional (500 something maybe), DT880, Custom One, Audio Technica (W-3000something - red coloured wood), DT990 and a few other lower price 
 
The best pairing I found with the Source, very surprisingly, by far was: HD 800. Sweet spot at 12 o clock. Amazing bass, transparency, clarity, non-fatiguing sound. Exceptional for hip hop, pop, EDM, deep house, trance, dubstep. Vocals war surpassing LCD-3 or any other planar. Spot on voicing and synergy.
 
Apr 28, 2014 at 10:27 PM Post #101 of 309
Wondering if anyone has used the speaker 1 XLR output as a line out for connecting to external amplifiers. I know there is a line out on the Source but it's only 1/4" plug, so would be possible to emulate that by turning the speaker output to the max? The reason I ask is that I have XLR-XLR cables but not a 1/4" plugs to XLR. It will also help me audition other headphone amps with the Source's DAC (not that I find the Source headphone amp lacking).
 
Apr 29, 2014 at 7:20 AM Post #102 of 309
zoom25 said:
Wondering if anyone has used the speaker 1 XLR output as a line out for connecting to external amplifiers. I know there is a line out on the Source but it's only 1/4" plug, so would be possible to emulate that by turning the speaker output to the max? The reason I ask is that I have XLR-XLR cables but not a 1/4" plugs to XLR. It will also help me audition other headphone amps with the Source's DAC (not that I find the Source headphone amp lacking).
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Yes, the speaker outputs on the DS are meant to feed into an amplifier, whether a separate unit, or integrated into a monitor. The line level signal just bypasses the preamp. The XLR speaker outputs give you a balanced DAC output, controlled by the preamp.
 
May 21, 2014 at 8:47 PM Post #103 of 309
I picked up a Dangerous Source and have just started putting it through its paces:
- Jriver 19.0.135 on Windows 7
- USB input (24bit and 192kHz)
- using on-board headphone amp
- headphones: Audeze LCD-X, with 0.25 inch jack
 
And, I must say, it's amazing so far.  This thing cost under $1000, right?  Wow.
 
Back to listening...
 
May 21, 2014 at 9:50 PM Post #105 of 309
planet said:
  I picked up a Dangerous Source and have just started putting it through its paces:
- Jriver 19.0.135 on Windows 7
- USB input (24bit and 192kHz)
- using on-board headphone amp
- headphones: Audeze LCD-X, with 0.25 inch jack
 
And, I must say, it's amazing so far.  This thing cost under $1000, right?  Wow.
 
Back to listening...
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"DAC is under investigation"
 
You can go ahead and change that now. 
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