[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Hmm, I feel I've dodged a bullet. I was so close to pulling the trigger on impulse. I'm tired of the buy/sell cycle so I want to make sure this dac purchase is one I can live with for a while. I'd appreciate you sharing any nuggets you glean from A2A about the M-DAC.

 Yep, I'll be all over that!
 
 The DacMagic Plus will start popping up everywhere and I doubt that any negative reviews will have any impact on it's sales
 ~ the original pretty much trail blazed the DAC market and a lot of people will undoubtedly buy this unit unheard.
 I don't recommend the same for you though ~ see if you can hear it for yourself.
 
 Any reason for ditching the Audio GD FUN and NFBSE-10?

 

[SpudHarris]

Quote:

Hmm, I feel I've dodged a bullet. I was so close to pulling the trigger on impulse. I'm tired of the buy/sell cycle so I want to make sure this dac purchase is one I can live with for a while. I'd appreciate you sharing any nuggets you glean from A2A about the M-DAC.

One thing I can tell you about the M-Dac is that that the Headphone Amp section which is high current, class A is really impressive. I also feel as though I dodged the proverbial bullet. Had I known this DAC was out I would have bought it as I was in the market for an upgrade, I didn't know until after I'd bought the M-Dac....
 
 

 

[olor1n]

Quote:

[...]
 
 Any reason for ditching the Audio GD FUN and NFBSE-10?

 
 
I loved the FUN (particularly with the HD650) but I gave it away when I upgraded. The 10SE has a great amp section and the dac is certainly a step up in terms of resolution. I heard great synergy with the LCD-2 (balanced) but I found it somewhat dry and abrasive with the HD650 which is my favourite and main headphone. Had to part with the 10SE because of this.

 
Quote:

[...]

One thing I can tell you about the M-Dac is that that the Headphone Amp section which is high current, class A is really impressive. I also feel as though I dodged the proverbial bullet. Had I known this DAC was out I would have bought it as I was in the market for an upgrade, I didn't know until after I'd bought the M-Dac....
 
 

That's good to know. I'm selling my Lyr and if the M-DAC's amp section is adequate it'll save me having to shop for another component.

 

[rx79ez08]

Were you using USB mode 1 or 2 (i.e. ASIO software or not), although my unit USB in is faulty (getting it exchanged in near future).  The demo unit I got from Carlton Audio and Visual certainly didn't sound as bad as what you make it out to be.  I am using an ATH-W3000ANV with it.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Were you using USB mode 1 or 2 (i.e. ASIO software or not), although my unit USB in is faulty (getting it exchanged in near future).  The demo unit I got from Carlton Audio and Visual certainly didn't sound as bad as what you make it out to be.  I am using an ATH-W3000ANV with it.

I was using WASAPI and J River Media Centre ~ unit was tested with USB input and Digital 1 (Coax input)
using an Audiophilleo 1 USB to SPIF converter ~ no difference to my ears in this case.
 
I'm looking forward to hearing it again, but it was bad enough in it's current state not to bother comparing
it to the Burson 160D or Violectric V800 with the V181.

 

[rx79ez08]

There are two modes of USB input with the DacMagic Plus, one is normal plug and play with Windows.  The other one uses a Cambridge Audio ASIO driver.  I assume you were using mode 1, not mode 2?

 

[rx79ez08]

I am not talking about WASAPI or other additional software with something like J River or Foobar.  That is on top of the driver you use.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

There are two modes of USB input with the DacMagic Plus, one is normal plug and play with Windows.  The other one uses a Cambridge Audio ASIO driver.  I assume you were using mode 1, not mode 2?

Ahh so there is a Cambridge Audio ASIO driver available then? Nothing came in the box, may have helped to read the documentation then.

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 Just found it :-
 
 
Windows 7 ASIO USB audio set
 
ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output
 
WASAPI as it bypasses the Windows Kernel Mixer (and the distortion this adds).
 
use ASIO the media player will normally require some kind of output plug in, but it is only pos
 
use ASIO in Class 2 USB Audio mode (which allows transmission of higher data rates), using a 
dedicated driver (such as the free 
 
ASIO is preferable to all Kernel streaming audio transport methods (eg. WASAPI or Di
it delivers lower latency, lower jitter and no mixing of audio streams
Using the free Cambridge Audio USB 2.0 
driver in conjunction with ASIO will give the best performance possibl
In order to run the Cambridge Audio driver and play 24
 
the following minimum spec; 
- 1gb RAM 
- 1.6GHz core2 or amd equivalent
- Made after 2006 (UHCI compliant chipset)
- XP/Vista/7 with latest service packs installed
The example below shows how to configure your Windows 7 PC for use with a Cambridge Audio USB 
product using ASIO as an output method.  foobar2000 is the media player used in this example.
1. Connect your Cambridge Audio USB product to your PC using a USB Typ
Switch on your Cambridge Audio USB prod
operation – see product user manual for details.  
A message will appear at the bottom of your screen informing you that a new device has 
been discovered.  Shortly afterwards, an error message will appear informing you that the 
device was not installed properly.  This is because the free Cambridge Audio USB 2.0 driver is 
required but has not yet been installed
2. Download, save and unzip
www.cambridge-audio.com/DacMagicPlusSupport
The downloaded zip file must be unzipped and can be saved to a convenient location on 
your PC, such as the desktop.  
                              
                                                         Windows 7 ASIO USB
USB audio set-up guide 
ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) is another method of audio transport which is superior to 
WASAPI as it bypasses the Windows Kernel Mixer (and the distortion this adds).
use ASIO the media player will normally require some kind of output plug in, but it is only pos
use ASIO in Class 2 USB Audio mode (which allows transmission of higher data rates), using a 
free Cambridge Audio USB 2.0 driver).  
ASIO is preferable to all Kernel streaming audio transport methods (eg. WASAPI or Di
jitter and no mixing of audio streams. 
 
Cambridge Audio USB 2.0 audio driver allows access to ASIO, so therefore using the 
driver in conjunction with ASIO will give the best performance possible. 
In order to run the Cambridge Audio driver and play 24-bit/192kHz content, the PC needs to have 
z core2 or amd equivalent
Made after 2006 (UHCI compliant chipset)
XP/Vista/7 with latest service packs installed
 
The example below shows how to configure your Windows 7 PC for use with a Cambridge Audio USB 
product using ASIO as an output method.  foobar2000 is the media player used in this example.
your Cambridge Audio USB product to your PC using a USB Type A to Type B cable
 
your Cambridge Audio USB product and ensure that it is set to USB Class 2 
see product user manual for details.  
 
A message will appear at the bottom of your screen informing you that a new device has 
red.  Shortly afterwards, an error message will appear informing you that the 
device was not installed properly.  This is because the free Cambridge Audio USB 2.0 driver is 
but has not yet been installed. 
, save and unzip the Cambridge Audio USB 2.0 driver from.   

 

[rx79ez08]

Further complicating the issue is out of the box when you plug it in, it is in USB mode 1 and for all intent and purpose it work.
You have to reset the USB mode to 2, then install the driver.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

Further complicating the issue is out of the box when you plug it in, it is in USB mode 1 and for all intent and purpose it work.
You have to reset the USB mode to 2, then install the driver.

 Gee, just read that too ~ Hmmm, how many DacMagic Plus owners do you think are going to read the documentation and pick this up?! 

 
 Thanks for the heads up ~ I will definitely install this next time I see the unit on Friday.

 

[opalfroot]

A few things
 

• USB for critical listening ? Really ...?
• USB 1 ?

 
Your finding are far removed from my own - not that either is right but I do feel your setup needs a look. I found the USB to be a little flat and less than impressive with the last DM and its quite a bit better in the new one - though still lacking compared to good optical/coaxial. I totally agree there should be a level indicator for the volume control though - not sure what they were thinking there.
 
My 2 Cents.
 

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

A few things
 

• USB for critical listening ? Really ...?
• USB 1 ?

 
Your finding are far removed from my own - not that either is right but I do feel your setup needs a look. I found the USB to be a little flat and less than impressive with the last DM and its quite a bit better in the new one - though still lacking compared to good optical/coaxial. I totally agree there should be a level indicator for the volume control though - not sure what they were thinking there.
 
My 2 Cents.
 

 Should get around to it in the next couple of days ~ will set it up properly this time with the ASIO driver at the store (not my laptop down
 there and it's pretty low spec so I did not want to start ASIO fiddling as we both know it likes to crackle with minimal resources on laptops
 that are already strung out)
 
 I'll run it through the Audiophilleo 1 converter like I initially intended for SPDIF connectivity. If it matters anything to some people
 the DacMagic Plus was using it's own cheap USB cable while the HDP did use a Wirelight Ultraviolet USB cable ~ for those that
 believe a USB cable can sound different then there's a discussion point potentially ~ doubt if it could make a difference, it would
 of played that much of a part in it's underwhelming performance.
 
 2nd test shall reveal all, hopefully <cross fingers>
 
 

 

[airs]

Mine shipped and will be here in Seattle on Tuesday.  *taps foot*

 

[estreeter]

Thanks for the feedback, Gwarmi - its always refreshing to hear the voice of dissent on HF, particularly when so many new products are greeted with such glowing praise from the get-go.