[Head Injury]

Quote:

okey. if you suggest 500 is pretty enough than please give advices which DAC I should buy for 500.
i need optical out (i think, or usb?) ?
 
6moon lies ?
THD number is the most important value for DAC's ?
 
my car audio amplifier has: 0.009% THD (Helix A4)
 
 
maybe best synergy would be stay with Musical Fidelity ?
it has a DAC called M1DAC. (on the picture the lower deck)

 
I already recommended the Cambridge Audio DacMagic and Yulong D100 for $500 and under. They're both very solid. There's the ASUS card too but you can't use that.
 
You need optical in, coaxial in, or USB in. You want your DAC to have RCA outs to feed an amp. Your current amp has a USB in because it has a DAC built in. If you have a coaxial cable (or any extra RCA cable) and a coaxial out on your PC, that's the way to go. Optical would probably be second best, followed by USB.
 
6moons doesn't lie so much as all of their reviews are highly subjective and very prone to bias.
 
THD isn't the most important, but it is important. That's the only thing I can find about the Octave, and if it's bad then I don't have much faith in good engineering throughout the rest of the DAC. Some components (tubes for example) are used because they have high THD, but I try to steer people toward quality.
 
Synergy only exists between colored components, which are best avoided anyway. The M1DAC doesn't have spectacular measurements but they're fine. The frequency response seems very flat, -0.1dB from 10Hz to 20kHz. SNR is a solid 119dB and THD is an inaudible 0.0025%. If the looks are worth it to you, you won't go wrong by choosing it.

 

[agoston.berko]

wow thanks.
i think if i upgrade my DAC section i want the best digital connection which is out there and its OPTICAL OUT.
 
i have more trust in Musical Fidelity than something from Yulong or Cambridge Audio...
where do you discovered the flat freq response of M1DAC ? i cant find the graph.
 
the freq response of M1DAC is 10Hz to 20 kHz
[size=x-small]the freq response of M1HPA is [size=small]15Hz to 75kHz [/size][/size]
[size=x-small][size=small]why ? thats sounds stupid.[/size][/size]

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

wow thanks.
i think if i upgrade my DAC section i want the best digital connection which is out there and its OPTICAL OUT.
 
i have more trust in Musical Fidelity than something from Yulong or Cambridge Audio...
where do you discovered the flat freq response of M1DAC ? i cant find the graph.

I'm going by the published specs in the .pdf manual you can download. Manufacturer specs should always be taken with a grain of salt, of course. There's no graph, but they claim 10Hz-20kHz +/- 0.1dB which is very good.
 
Coaxial and optical are both good. Optical actually has some disadvantages when it comes to jitter, but the M1DAC reclocks the signal so that won't matter. Use whichever you have available, neither will make a difference.

 

[knowhatimean]

Actually, rather than optical, a good digital coxial cable is the preference of most audiophiles . (which is why most half way decent DACs include coaxial rca digital inputs. The 'toslink' or 'optical' outputs are a favored output of the Home Theatre crowd for quick connection to their A/V receivers rather than a preamp, integrated or headphone amp) . There are exceptions of course, but generally you have to spend a bit more on optical cables for comparable digital coaxial cable quality. Optical is preferable to USB, but it is second to coaxial or "I2S" (Which is a HDMI connection, & is only showing up on some hi-end componnents currently)

 

[ZARIM]

I will recommend to try D100 or Matrix Quattro DAC, both has really good built in AMPs section and they can easily drive the PS1000.

 

[Acix]

Ever is a long term here on headfi, but for now you can try one of the SPL amp's, or the Violectric's. About the DAC, I'll recommend the Apogee Duet, or the Apogee Mini DAC

 

[agoston.berko]

thanks for the suggestions. very kind.

 

[agoston.berko]

Trade UP yourself to the elit-league ! Thats what headfi is all about

 

[agoston.berko]

anybody heard PS1000 with Anedio D1 DAC ?
it has a headphone output.

 

[bixby]

Quote:

I don't know how good the M1HPA's DAC is. If the specs they list in their manual includes the DAC, it's probably pretty good.
 
"High-end audio" hardly applies to DACs. You can get a very good DAC for under $500, and any more might not make an audible difference. Just because you spend a lot on your headphones doesn't mean you need to spend a lot everywhere else.
 
I doubt the Metrum Octave is on par with the Anedio. I can only find a reliable THD number on it from the manufacturer, and it's an unimpressive 0.04% compared to the D1's 0.0003% including noise. Whether or not that's audible is up in the air, but it's not good. Then you have the fact that the only "professional" review is by 6moons, famous for reviews of $1000 boxes that magically improve sound for no real reason. I wouldn't trust it without knowing more about it.

specs who cares about specs.  Didn't we learn anything in the 70s and 80s.  Cheap receivers with .001% THD and they sound like crap.  Oh, wait a moment, many may not have been around in those decades 

 
The best advice one can get here is to go listen to some of these pieces. and @ agoston.berko Asking for opinions from people who have not heard it is like asking for someone to pick a car for you without you ever driving it.  A tip, is to use the search function instead of posting about 5 questions in 3 or more posts asking how things compare.  If people actually did hear BOTH of the items you are asking about it is probably posted somewhere here on headfi.
 
 

 

[bixby]

 
Quote:

Actually, rather than optical, a good digital coxial cable is the preference of most audiophiles . (which is why most half way decent DACs include coaxial rca digital inputs. The 'toslink' or 'optical' outputs are a favored output of the Home Theatre crowd for quick connection to their A/V receivers rather than a preamp, integrated or headphone amp) . There are exceptions of course, but generally you have to spend a bit more on optical cables for comparable digital coaxial cable quality. Optical is preferable to USB, but it is second to coaxial or "I2S" (Which is a HDMI connection, & is only showing up on some hi-end componnents currently)

what are you talking about:  I2S is an HDMI connection, not even close at least when we are talking about dacs. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C2%B2S
 
And stating that optical is preferable to USB, that's a sweeping statement.  Try listening to a GOOD USB implementation and come back and tell us it sounds worse than toslink.
 
Throwing around these misconceptions or opinions as facts are what is diluting the value of headfi for people who really want to learn and listen for themselves.
 

 

[agoston.berko]

i also dont care about numbers but here in europe i cannot try gears so easily like you in the USA. we dont have canjam.
grado also usa.
anedio also usa.
very hard to try them.
only if i purchase it from USA and pay extra VAT.
 
so you say so easy: go listen to some of these pieces. head-fi is for information change. not for: go listen to it advices. thats not helping.
and why is it not allowed to ask community member about synergy ?
 
i dont understand

 

[tme110]

A combination that I like a lot but don't hear much about on here is the roc or NFB-10.  Granted it seems like overkill for any grado but they mine respond very well to it and it has quite the punch.

 

[padam]

I have a Lavry DA11 and I am not far from you if you want to have a listen, I think the hp out is decent for low impedance phones..

 

[stokitw]

Just get Grace M903 or M902.
No need to waste your money and time fooling around if you are fixed on PS1000 (same applies to GS1000)
PS1000 will sound ok in some cheap set up as long as you don't overdrive it.
So you can save up to M903.