Cambridge DACMagic, anyone? (THREAD II)
Oct 24, 2009 at 6:49 PM Post #316 of 645
DacMagic between Sonos ZonePlayer and Arcam Solo = spectacular improvement. Everything opens up and breathes.
 
Oct 24, 2009 at 10:22 PM Post #317 of 645
Quote:

Originally Posted by Menisk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Lovin' the careful storage of your HD600s right there.
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No headphone was harmed during making of that reply.
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Nov 6, 2009 at 2:30 PM Post #318 of 645
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced the DacMagic sounding better when its been on a while. Usually I notice better sound signature when mines been on for say an hour or two. Could be in my head though. Even one else sense something similar?
 
Nov 6, 2009 at 9:19 PM Post #320 of 645
I used to power up roughly an hour before. However due to a very finicky power switch and my resistance to send it back for warranty repair I leave it on now. Consistently good sound this way.
 
Nov 7, 2009 at 12:23 AM Post #322 of 645
Quote:

Originally Posted by music joe /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I used to power up roughly an hour before. However due to a very finicky power switch and my resistance to send it back for warranty repair I leave it on now. Consistently good sound this way.


You could put it on a power strip and use that to turn it on and off if needed.
 
Nov 13, 2009 at 10:29 PM Post #324 of 645
I think some of you may know this already about the DacMagic, but there is a big difference between the quality of the balanced out and single-ended(RCA) connection on this unit. I can hear quite a bit of sub-bass distortion thru the RCAs. It's not present using the balanced connection via phantom balanced-to-rca-connectors to my amp. You can check this out for yourself by grabbing a lossless/320kbps version of John Legend's "Greenlight" and listening to the bass drops from 15secs to 25secs. Cheers.
 
Nov 13, 2009 at 11:23 PM Post #325 of 645
Quote:

Originally Posted by tylernm /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I think some of you may know this already about the DacMagic, but there is a big difference between the quality of the balanced out and single-ended(RCA) connection on this unit. I can hear quite a bit of sub-bass distortion thru the RCAs. It's not present using the balanced connection via phantom balanced-to-rca-connectors to my amp. You can check this out for yourself by grabbing a lossless/320kbps version of John Legend's "Greenlight" and listening to the bass drops from 15secs to 25secs. Cheers.


I purchased some Neutrik XLR to RCA adapters and tried this.
I must say I only spent about 1 hour comparing between standard
RCA>RCA and XLR>RCA but I came away feeling that the XLR>RCA
signal provided a louder signal which seemed overly bright (hot?).

I'll try this again when I get a chance. Thanks for your impressions!
 
Nov 13, 2009 at 11:33 PM Post #326 of 645
Quote:

Originally Posted by FauDrei /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I certainly see your point. I was also VERY pleased with DacMagic/Solo combination.

It is just that that God damned Roc headamp was too tempting... price in Solo range, built like WW2 panzer (and sized as one as well), with enough power to drive your hairdryer and, above all, - four class A channels for balanced wannabes...
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Needless to say, once I got it (and properly burned-in the s*itload of it's caps) it acted like open window directly to my sources... I was simply served with unambiguous presentation of the machine limits of my DACs... person.
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And that was it.

We all implicitly know that there are better setups than the ones we have. But when the explicit proof of that slaps you - you loose a substantial layer of satisfaction that your gear provide. I just knew I'd be, sooner or later, connecting something better to those current signal transferring sockets that Roc has. I've just decided to make it sooner (...and regained bigger fatter layer of satisfaction
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).

Ignorance is bliss - in some cases it really IS better not to know... So enjoy your setup and don't let anything or anyone peel your audio satisfaction...
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I have to ask, how does the Roc compare with the Solo?

Nice setup!
 
Nov 14, 2009 at 1:17 AM Post #327 of 645
Quote:

Originally Posted by thathertz /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I purchased some Neutrik XLR to RCA adapters and tried this.
I must say I only spent about 1 hour comparing between standard
RCA>RCA and XLR>RCA but I came away feeling that the XLR>RCA
signal provided a louder signal which seemed overly bright (hot?).

I'll try this again when I get a chance. Thanks for your impressions!



I narrowed the problem down a bit. It seems when you have cables plugged into both XLR and RCA jacks you get the distorted bass on the RCA, even if the other end of the XLR isnt plugged into an amp. I think there is some sort of jack sensing that engages the XLRs circuit path. I took out the XLR cables and used just the RCA, and the RCA's bass sounded fine.

Long story short, don't use both types of connections simultaneously.
 
Nov 15, 2009 at 1:30 AM Post #328 of 645
That's too bad. I'll look at it regardless, since I want to use the RCAs for my speakers.
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Nov 15, 2009 at 3:24 AM Post #329 of 645
Quote:

Originally Posted by tylernm /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I narrowed the problem down a bit. It seems when you have cables plugged into both XLR and RCA jacks you get the distorted bass on the RCA, even if the other end of the XLR isnt plugged into an amp. I think there is some sort of jack sensing that engages the XLRs circuit path. I took out the XLR cables and used just the RCA, and the RCA's bass sounded fine.

Long story short, don't use both types of connections simultaneously.



Weird problem, I have the same setup right now, with XLR to RCA to the Millet, and RCA outs to speakers, no distortion problems here.
 
Nov 15, 2009 at 6:22 AM Post #330 of 645
yup i have the same problem. weird bass distortion on rca's if i have the xlr's connected
 

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