Audio Addict
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2001
- Posts
- 4,737
- Likes
- 1,051
I don't have it yet. I bought in from the Dealer in St.Louis and they are here at RMAF. It will be the end of the month most likely before I get it.
Looking forward to your expressions. I am selling my w4s dac2 for a source update. I just don't think it will be a good pair with my new Stax O2. Any ideas on how good the puredac is compare to CD players of the same price range (both in balanced setup)?
Why don't you go for the W4S upgrade to the DAC2DSDse? I believe it would be a big jump and on par with what you'll be getting unless you're spending big money (Briscati, MSB, DCS)
I assume an upgrade to the W4s special edition would be a incremental change which is quite pricey. Before I could have a significant upgrade to the league of MSB I want to spend more wisely on products such as the nad m51. The bmc seems extremely promising since I would be able to afford it once I sold my dac2 and my unbalanced amp. In return I will get a balanced combo! Isn't it a good bargain?
It's actually pretty big with power supply, isolated USB and some exotic stuff too. The noise floor has been dropped big time. The guys I know who have done this are beyond impressed. I will be doing this as well. Of course I don't know this for fact but I'd bet this stands up to DAC's at multiple costs to this. Of course an MSB would be great but it's $8K. This is about $2.5K and an upgrade is like half that.
A DAC/Amp combo probably has a compromise in the amp section. Another consideration for this would be the Grace m903. If you believe Stereophile reviews they award the DAC an A+ rating in there with Briscati and MSB etc.
I am sure it will if you have quality hp or speakers and for this price great purchase! I think my dac is one of the best option to 3000euro. One my friend changed it for MA1 and said MA1 is in another class but it is normal new Meitner MA1 it is almost 3x more expensive.
I can report my impressions of this dac have only got better since my report a few weeks ago. My tube amps needed their signal tubes rolled to restore the 'neutral' sound I prefer - evidently my previous choices had compensated for some thinness in my other dacs. Very happy I took a chance with this one.
I agree the T1 works very well. So, indeed, does the LCD2, from which I've seen a new level of dynamics.
Mark,
They're pretty close. Having re-tuned the Taboo I find I still prefer it overall, whereas before this I was starting to think of selling it because the PureDac's amp is very good.
I can't be more precise about differences ATM, but generally I find its amp very 'right'-sounding and listenable (and a great fixed point of reference when tube-rolling), whereas the Taboo adds a sense of 'life' I personally value. I think by this I mean apparent increased micro-dynamics., i.e. fine textures are magnified by the Taboo without upsetting the overall picture. Arguably, the PureDac amp keeps everything in proportion. That aside, I don't notice anything 'faulty' or 'missing' or 'overdone' about either.
If you're into tube amps and you have one that's responsive to tube-rolling, it's clear this dac is a potential enhancement to such a system (large in my case). As for SS amps, my impression is the PureDac's hp amp handily outdistances mid-range contenders like Violectric V100 and Meier Concerto (still reserving judgement on the Meier Classic, which is pretty good IMO). Of course, the PureDac offers balanced out, whereas these others I've named are single-ended. Some people say balanced is better with LCD2, so maybe that's it. Personally, I don't know.
Final thought: with this dac and the Taboo I've dared to start thinking "end-game" in recent weeks, obviously meaning for me. For my needs, I've got both tube and SS bases covered with one dac and one tube amp. Those who've had experience with other dacs and amps in this league might set the performance bar higher than I do.
HTH.