[daniel_hokkaido]

 
Hey
 
Quick Question about the best DAC to match with the auditor. I currently have a DACmagic and 
since i changed from a lehmann linear (which is quite coloured) to the SPL auditor i suspect the Dacs' flaws may
have been made more evident. 
 
With neutral amps is there any hope on the DAC end to get some more solidity and bass back into the audio? I am using
the HD 650s which have quite a dark signiture which is nice. 
 
Cheers! p.s currently been looking at new Audiolab M-DAC, anyone rate this paired with an SPL amp? 

 

[Acix]

Quote:

 
With neutral amps is there any hope on the DAC end to get some more solidity and bass back into the audio? I

Yes, if the DAC have a warm /bassy sound signature.

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

any recommendations for such a DAC around the 1000 dollar range? M-Dac by audiolab for example? although i have heard 
it called 'cold and forward', but this has also been shouted down as false by others. ive yet to test it. 
 
If anyone here has an auditor/phonitor, what DAC would give it a bit more weight and warmth? 
 
Dan. 

 

[Zombie_X]

Hi,
 
I tried the Musical Fidelity M1DAC with my Auditor and it sounds really nice. It's warm and musical but also highly detailed and resolving. I found the warmth was there but not in your face like the Havana DAC. Another nice feature is that it offers balanced outputs, though they may not be "true" balanced.
 
Quote:

any recommendations for such a DAC around the 1000 dollar range? M-Dac by audiolab for example? although i have heard 
it called 'cold and forward', but this has also been shouted down as false by others. ive yet to test it. 
 
If anyone here has an auditor/phonitor, what DAC would give it a bit more weight and warmth? 
 
Dan. 

 

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

did you run the havana with rca with xlr adaptors? i guess the havana indeed may not be true balanced as it is rca out i see in
pics, and not xlr. 
 
Anyone know any europe made dacs? Seems UK and Germans are the main makers i have found sofar. 

 

[Zombie_X]

There are balanced versions of the Havana and they are true balanced. When I tried the DAC I used the XLR outputs but I don't think the XLR outputs are as warm sounding as the RCA outputs. Single ended output sounded much warmer to my ears. The XLR connection sounded a tad drier and neutral. Although it's been so long since I tried the DAC.
 
You should also know that the balanced version costs $500 more than the single ended version.
 
http://www.upgradecompany.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.v1.tpl&product_id=81&category_id=24&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=139
 
Quote:

did you run the havana with rca with xlr adaptors? i guess the havana indeed may not be true balanced as it is rca out i see in
pics, and not xlr. 
 
Anyone know any europe made dacs? Seems UK and Germans are the main makers i have found sofar. 

 

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

ah right i see. I saw the Rega Dac (which is said to have the musicality i would like) only has RCA... 
prob one option is get that and run it to the auditor with xlr adaptors...any good tips on what are 
descent adaptors? 
 
thanks! 
 

 

[Zombie_X]

I have used the Hosa brand of adapters and they are the same as the Cardas adpaters. No need to waste your money on the Cardas ones. These work perfect.
 
Quote:

ah right i see. I saw the Rega Dac (which is said to have the musicality i would like) only has RCA... 
prob one option is get that and run it to the auditor with xlr adaptors...any good tips on what are 
descent adaptors? 
 
thanks! 
 

 

 

[Jamiee]

Quote:

any recommendations for such a DAC around the 1000 dollar range? M-Dac by audiolab for example? although i have heard 
it called 'cold and forward', but this has also been shouted down as false by others. ive yet to test it. 
 
If anyone here has an auditor/phonitor, what DAC would give it a bit more weight and warmth? 
 
Dan. 

 
I'm running an M-DAC with my Phonitor and Cavalli Audio Liquid Fire headphone amps.
 
I certainly wouldn't call the M-DAC cold or harsh sounding, no not at all...
It is quite dynamic and has good detail/speed, so on that end I wouldn't exactly say that it's overly warm and fuzzy either.
 
What's kind of cool is that it has several different sound modes (filters) to select from, so you can literally choose the tonal character that you want to listen to, or that works best with your headphones or speakers.
 
On the note of headphones, the M-DAC's headphone amp is very good.  You might just be surprised how close it is to the quality of the Auditor.
 
BTW, the M-DAC honestly does need a good 150-200 hours of bun-in time before it's capacitors settle in properly.
The tonal character of the M-DAC does change a fair bit throughout this time (mostly within the first 100 hrs).

 

[suikodenii]

Hi, how do you compare the Phonitor & the Liquid Fire? Thanks!

 

[Jamiee]

Quote:

Hi, how do you compare the Phonitor & the Liquid Fire? Thanks!

 
First I should point out that I have modified my Phonitor slightly with upgraded Burson OP-AMPS, and the Liquid Fire with upgraded NOS Telefunken tubes.
With the Burson's and Telefunken's in place, the Phonitor and liquid Fire are quite similar (very similar in fact), however I will say that the liquid Fire is capable of eking more low end grunt.
This tends to make it a bit more suitable for driving headphones like the Audeze LCD's and Hifiman HE-6.
My HD800 sound fantastic on either amp, with the LCD-3 preferring the Liquid Fire.
 
Of course if crossfeed functionality is your thing, then the Phonitor is the way to go as the Liquid Fire does not have this ability.
 
If I had to choose just one of the two amps I would most likely go with the Liquid Fire as it is just a little more compatible with a wider range of headphones.
That said, both are excellent and I'm very glad I didn't have to make that choice.
I use the HD800 on the Phonitor and the LCD-3 with the Liquid Fire.

 

[suikodenii]

Thank! Interesting, what Is your experience with the Burson OpAmps? How did the Phonitor improve?
I am a long time owner of the Phonitor & pretty happy with it but nevertheless curious as to how the upgrade could improve.
Did you do this yourself or have someone perform the OPAmp change?

Thanks!

 

[.Sup]

I ordered Burson for my Auditor 2 days ago

 

[Jamiee]

Quote:

Thank! Interesting, what Is your experience with the Burson OpAmps? How did the Phonitor improve?
I am a long time owner of the Phonitor & pretty happy with it but nevertheless curious as to how the upgrade could improve.
Did you do this yourself or have someone perform the OPAmp change?
Thanks!

 
I replaced the stock OpAmps with the Burson's my self.  It's really simple to do if you get the DIP8 socket version of the Burson OpAmps (literally plug and play)

One of these days I might get around to replacing the capacitors and volume pot with higher grade components - but that's a lot more work and requires good soldering skilz.
 
The stock Phonitor sounds like a very nice piece of audio gear - Quite like-able really.
Modded with the Burson's the Phonitor becomes "live" - as in it sounds more transparent, open and airy, with tighter more realistic bass.
Voices sound more realistic and instrument separation improves.  The Burson's sound good out of the gate, but they do improve nicely over the first 25-30hrs or so of use.
 
I also use a full set of Stefan AudioArt Endorphin Series cables with my Phonitor and HD800 (Power cable, XLR interconnects, headphone cable) and together with the Burson OpAmp  upgrade, this is just a wickedly good combination!
 
 
 
 
 
Quote:

I ordered Burson for my Auditor 2 days ago

 
Excellent, I don't think you will be disappointed

The Burson's are one of the very best OpAmps I've heard period, and are a very nice upgrade for the Phonitor and Auditor.

 

[suikodenii]

I ordered Burson for my Auditor 2 days ago

Hi,
Where did you order them and which ones exactly are those Burson OpAmps (model number?)?
Is just one pair required for the Phonitor as well or does it need more than the Auditor?

Thanks!