[lofthanza]

1. Does the dacmagic xs have an amp of its own?

2. Does the XS give you clipping in the sound? Coz mine gave me much clipping until i swapped the usb cable with one of the audioquest usb cables, and the clipping seems to have gone away.

 

[lofthanza]

Does anyone know if I could use the dacmagic xs as a preamp? I mean can I hook it up to an external amp for example? Will that be considered double amping or is it perfectly fine?

I contacted Cambridge Audio
And this was their answer.



Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for contacting Cambridge Audio. The DacMagic XS is primarily designed for headphones, but you can connect it to amplifiers also.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OK-dVQ1qM24

I hope this helps with your request. If you require any further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards,

Chris
Cambridge Audio

 

[Percival]

I did already say that it worked as a preamp. Yes, it does contain an amp (not sure of the power) and no, I've never heard clipping.

 

[toxicdrift]

I connected it to a  Aune B1 and drove the AKG K7XX  and  i didnt have any issues at all,  works perfect
 
 

 

[jimgallaher]

Richersounds are selling the Dacmagic XS today for £49 at that price I had to buy one, it'll be used primarily when travelling with my Macbook air and Beyerdynamic T51P's.

 

[lofthanza]

I don't think it will make a worthwhile difference with the T51p. I have both, and I don't think that the dacmagic xs is a great device, add that to the fact that the T51p is very easy to drive.
The xs can reveal itself slightly better with those headphones that are a little more demanding than the t51p.

 

[toxicdrift]

i just purchased the v2 ...should have it with me by the 10th. 

 

[jimgallaher]

I don't think it will make a worthwhile difference with the T51p. I have both, and I don't think that the dacmagic xs is a great device, add that to the fact that the T51p is very easy to drive.
The xs can reveal itself slightly better with those headphones that are a little more demanding than the t51p.

I've tried the xs with my AKG K702 and K550 and to my ears it's more suited to the T51P given that it's my travel pairing of choice. The difference between with and without the xs isn't huge but definitely noticeable and worthwhile imo.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

I just picked the v2 version up. I think it sounds fairly decent. Not as good as the Oppo HA-2, but that would make sense.

 

[rafaelcoll]

Did anyone tried the DacMagic XS on PS4 USB port? Does it works? I am willing to buy this DAC to use as all around (PC and PS4) paired with a Q701 headphone.
Thanks in advance.

 

[toxicdrift]

i dont think it will work on a ps4.. needs drivers for windows (xbox one). only works on mac without a driver. You should consider a aune b1 to drive the q701.. powered my k7xx  with ease .. dacmagic still better then most to drive the akg if u want small form factor.. but id recommend a proper amp for sure if u want to hear the full potential 

 

[rafaelcoll]

Thanks Toxic.
 
After being answrerd by a valuable member, my next step is to move to the following options:
1. Parasound ZDAC
2. Cambridge Audio DAC Magic Plus
 
I turned Denon DA-300USB away after reading some review talking about its limitations to low impedance cans.
 
Any recomendation or opinion on the guys above?

 

[romainsecco]

How is the DacMagic XS with streaming services (Tidal, Spotify, etc)?

 

[harry501501]

  How is the DacMagic XS with streaming services (Tidal, Spotify, etc)?

 
I use it with Tidal and it works great. I use it mainly with my Dunu Titan 1 IEMS, Sony MDR100AAPs or HD25iis. It's a great little DAC and gets the very best out of these sets. It has great detail, lots of space between instruments and vocals and surprisingly great sub bass, punchy and accurate. I have to turn it up just over half way on Tidal's own volume and get great response. i love this thing.
 
I tried it with HD650s and as expected it only gets them to moderate volumes. Don't get me wrong at the volume you get you hear decent detail and bass, but it won't get anywhere near the best out of energy thirsty sets like these.
 
But for hungry IEMs it will do fine.
 
I had a Fiio e10k before this, and although you can possibly push the e10k a bit more volume wise they are nowhere near as classy as the DACMAGIC. Night and day IMO. The DM has bags more detail, a thinner airier sound... which is never bright or weak, highs are FAR better. It makes the e10k sound thick, congested, boring and too meaty. It has much better soundstage and imaging and resolution is also better than e10k. For £49 from Richer Sounds it is one of my favourite recent purchases, superb value actually. i was going to get the Dragonfly but not any more.
 
EDIT : Spelling

 

[harry501501]

I was just thinking of all the sets I'd sent back cos i didn't think they sounded as good as they were hyped up... if only i had this little DAC at the time
 
Dunu Dn2000s come to mind!