[plonter]

when using your computer USB you actually bypasses everything inside,including any soundcard you have installed. the DIGITAL bits go straight to the dac. you don't even need to have a soundcard installed,the dac is a soundcard itself. a good dac is a very good idea, and not less important than a good aplification. as already mentioned,and with my experience with the D5000 (unmodded) the denons like SS amps very much due to the very accurate/sharp and fast characeristics. probably some tube amps will do well also, but in general a SS amp is very reccomendable, the headroom amps are excellent, and any other good SS amp will do fine also.

anyway,if you are for a good dac ,there are very good amp/dac combos out there for you...it will save you the trouble of looking for a seperate dac unit. let us know what you get eventually. when you have a good amplification and good source (dac) your whole music experience will go to another level.

 

[Bizong]

sweet, just the information i was looking for. I just thought that Windows would need some kind of driver to run the DAC but i guess that's not the case. Being able to sell my soundcard opens up a little bit more money for me to play around with.

So i would say up to $900 for both DAC and Amp now

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bizong /img/forum/go_quote.gif sweet, just the information i was looking for. I just thought that Windows would need some kind of driver to run the DAC but i guess that's not the case. Being able to sell my soundcard opens up a little bit more money for me to play around with. So i would say up to $900 for both DAC and Amp now

with 900$ you can get excellent dac/amp combos.
I usually don't use my ultra micro dac with my computer (for problems I will avoid getting into in this thread) but when I plugged the dac to the usb hub in the first time,it installed the driver all by itself. the computer recognized it immediatly. I am sure that whatever dac you will get,it will come with operation instructions of some kind, and if not,you can always contact who you bought it from for instructions. don't worry about operation issues,they are the easisest to solve,and this is coming from a serious computer and gear noob.

 

[Bizong]

so any recommendation's based on my new terms?

 

[sinner6]

The audio-gd stuff competes very well in that price range and pairs well with Denons.

 

[Bizong]

Well the gilmore lite is looking very nice atm. at 500 it leaves me with 400 for a DAC. Anymore suggestions?

 

[K3cT]

The DAC Magic seems to be popular around here though I'm leaning more to Audio-gd's DAC-19.

 

[Bizong]

well since the gilmore lite is now longer sold new I guess i need to be looking for something else.

 

[Currawong]

I'd take a look at the Audio-gd DAC19 + C2 combination. They are designed to be hooked together with a connection known as ACSS (a derivative of a connection used on very high-end hi-fi gear). I've tried and owned respectively the predecessor to each and they would be a good match with the Denons. If you do get such a rig, try some more acoustic music too. I found as I went up the gear chain that I started appreciating other types of music more as they were rendered with more clarity.

 

[Bizong]

Would i be better saving a little bit of money to get the Roc instead? I guess to me it seems a little bit weird spending more on the DAC than the amp. I can always save more money here as i want these products to last.

Also with my md5000's the high's are a little bit harsh (not fully burnt in, around 50 hours). Would this DAC/Amp i'm getting help this problem?

 

[Bizong]

I think I've got my choices slimmed down fairly well now.

1. Audio GD Dac-19 + Roc (is the Roc ACSS compatible and does it pair well with denon's like the C2?)
2. Not sure on DAC for this + GS-1
3. Maybe a Meier Concerto + not sure on DAC

Pretty much leaning towards the Audio GD combination now because it's the only real one i've decided on a DAC for. Unless someone can recommend some good dac's for around 400-600 for the other amps I'm pretty set on the audio gd's.

 

[K3cT]

I wouldn't recommend the ROC with the DAC19. ROC is meant to be used balanced with its accompanying balanced DAC which is not released yet. DAC19 is meant to be paired with the C2.

Oh and spending more for the source is not crazy at all.

 

[Ypoknons]

I just listened to a Burson HA-160 and a Harmony EAR90. Both were lovely and happen to be in your price range.

 

[Bizong]

ah ok I did not know that about the Roc, I'm glad you told me that. I see now that it's meant to be paired with the Reference 7, 2 and 1 which are way above my budget unfortunately.

Those amp's look great and I'll consider them and look more into them but the hard part is I really need to find accompanying DAC's for these individual Amp's I'm finding. Do you think i should make a seperate post in the Source section or just keep this to avoid clutter?

 

[yossi126]

Find someone to build you M3 (MMM) and y2. DIY are great value.