[EdwinXX]

Hi all,
 
My first topic here. Been lurking around a long time for reviews and opinions, but this time I would like to seek the help of fellow head-fiers around here.
 
My current system is the following
 
Philips PSC805 > Creek OBH-21SE > HD650.
 
So my question is, if I have $300 so splash on upgrade, what will it be? I'm thinking of changing my Philips PSC805 soundcard and upgrade to Cambridge Audio DACMagic. Other alternatives is I could sell my Creek amp and upgrade to something like Graham Slee. Hope you all can recommend any upgrades, and most importantly, your reason for saying so (hopefully nobody tells me 'Upgrade to a $300 headphone stand coz it improves the sound!!!!'
 
Thanks lots

 

[boclcown]

I don't know how your Philips sounds, but I know that getting an external DAC for my system was a huge improvement (relative to other upgrades not including headphones, of course). That said, why not spend $100 on a udac and save the extra 200 towards upgrading your amp?
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

There have been some really nice amps in the For Sale Forum lately - I've seen some Gilmore Lites, Dynalos and I think there's an EC/SS in there right now. Any of those would be a great upgrade for the HD-650. I might also look into a dedicated CD player. I've never been a huge fan of soundcards and a prefer a sytstem of separates, which makes it easier to have a turntable and FM tuner in the rig - both of which get a lot of use.

 

[EdwinXX]

How about cable upgrades? I have asked my local audio forum and they recommended me a $300 cable upgrade over my stock cables and insisted it is better upgrade than a DAC. How much will I benefit if I get a cable upgrade over other upgrades for my current system?

thanks.

 

[daigo]

Upgrading your source will be a better investment than new cables for your set up.  What format music do you usually listen to?

 

[EdwinXX]

Well whenever possible I often rip from my CD to Flac using EAC. Any recommendations for DAC around the $300 - $400 price range? Thanks!

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Quote:

I don't know how your Philips sounds, but I know that getting an external DAC for my system was a huge improvement (relative to other upgrades not including headphones, of course). That said, why not spend $100 on a udac and save the extra 200 towards upgrading your amp?

I have the uDac and the Musiland Monitor 02 US. The Musiland costs about $25 more than the uDac. However, the Musiland sounds much, much better than the uDac (using my HD650s).

As for cabling, one of the best recables is Apuresound V3. I think there is one in the For Sale forum for less than $250.
 
So if I were you, I would get the Musiland and the Recable.

 

[MuuMuu]

Wouldn't bother w/ cables if you're sticking to a single-end setup.  If your source is pretty good already, I'm not sure you'll benefit much from a new DAC either.  I bought, and returned almost immediately, a V-Dac which made little to no difference vs my Zero DAC.
 
I did get balanced cables for my RSA Protector for fun, and that really widened the soundstage -- but, that upgrade will cost you 500 + 200 for the cables minimum.  Plus, whether that difference in sound is considered an upgrade is up to the listener.  Wouldn't have spent that money if I wasn't looking for a portable amp as well.
 
If I were you I'd save that upgrade money for better sets of cans down the road.  If you choose to upgrade components, do it from a place that accepts returns.