[oqvist]

neutral I would say

 

[apatN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is this DAC on the bright or the warm side?

Not warm nor bright but rather smooth and neutral imo.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not warm nor bright but rather smooth and neutral imo.

Neutral and smooth, sounds good to me. How are the high frequencies?

I called to our local importer and they said that next batch arrives in April. Otherwise I would've taken one for audition last week. It seems that this DAC is quite popular. Even the demo units are sold out here.

 

[apatN]

^ I really can not state more as this is my only (and first) DAC but I have at least no complaints because of the highs.

 

[amham]

My experience over the last several weeks of ownership is, in fact, it is a neutral sounding DAC. That is, it presents a smooth and balanced perspective. No outstanding characteristics within the extremes, somewhat flat in terms of soundstage, expecially the first weeks. With a good "warm-up" (break-in if you will) the soundstage begins to open up with a larger, rounder, fuller presentation. Compared to my Benchmark USB there is a noticeable flattening overall with less detail or clarity, just not as immediate. Out of the box it was a BIG disappointment but...give it time...it is getting better to my ears. I would say that it is well worth the money spent, particularly given all of the connection options. I have had many well reviewed, relatively affordable DAC's over the years including PS Audio Ultralinks (3 versions), DAC-in-the Box's, Benchmark and can state the DacMagic is competitive given the price. However, if you can swing it, buy the Benchmark...clearly superior.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I put our findings in the recent colorado head-fi meet impressions thread. FIVE of the 6 DACs we tried were all very close, and much more spacious and detailed and alive than the portable DAC we slipped into the test as a comparison (and that portable sounded identical to the Pico in previous testing). Two of the five were very slightly above the other 3, to my ears, but it could have been due to volume differences when doing rapid switching. I summarized things for everyone there, but they are free to chime in too: Colorado Springs Stax/Ortho/Dacs Meet Impressions - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

 

[wiatrob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amham /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...With a good "warm-up" (break-in if you will) the soundstage begins to open up with a larger, rounder, fuller presentation. ... Out of the box it was a BIG disappointment but...give it time...it is getting better to my ears.

My experience exactly - I had not listened to the DAC since finishing my y1, as ithad been trounced by the Apogee and Stello in our November shootout... i was ready to put it up for sale, but after listeeningwith top[ notch sources through top notch gear to O2MkIIs - well, I'll give it another chance!

See HA's impressions in the thread above. I'll be chiming in soon. Hmmm, wonder why none of us Coloradans owns a Benchmark... Different thread I suppose.

 

[dallan]

Yes it did seem to open up with use, but the biggest change was getting the optic input going and off the usb as i said earlier, what a difference!

 

[El_Doug]

indeed - this is why I now run my DacMagic via coaxial from my 1212m, instead of going usb

of course, i found the difference to be much more subtle than any of what ive read from your meet

 

[dallan]

^^Indeed

 

[El_Doug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallan /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^^Indeed

i've been watching a lot of David Attenborough recently, for some reason I cant stop saying "indeed"

 

[dallan]

^I just keep seeing Duggeh avatar and it catches my eye and then he responds indeed so often it just kinda starts to roll off your tongue.

 

[Maxvla]

Christopher Judge > David Attenborough imo

 

[josep]

Btw, as the DacMagic is concerned, I liked it but find the bass and rythm a bit wanting (compared to a good reference, my Meridian G08 player).
However the basic desing is good, so I see this unit as a great base to do mods: psu as a start, and this gives usually good news on the bass...
Some other DAC units already use good components, and the 'thinking' is something we cannot mod. But here the 'thinking' is good, and we can better components around the DSP (upsampling digital filter) and DACS...

 

[josep]

(duplicated

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