[tomwu]

Hi guys,
 
Now I'm using DACmini for my Denon D7000. Pretty clear, bright with wide sound stage. However I found this pair seems lack of bass in some cases and speed a bit slow for me.
 
I'm mainly listening to Pop/French/Newage music, will be a bit classic as well. It will be used in office pluged on my laptop for FLAC music.
 
So think of change the DACmini to other brands such as Burson 160DS or Violectric V200 with USB input.
 
Any ideas?
 
Cheers
 
Tom

 

[MattTCG]

So you are looking for a full size solid state amp? And your budget? Just  guessing at how much you'd like to spend try:
 
Audio gd nfb series. The 5 and 10 are amp/dac and quite good.

 

[ZARIM]

The Burson 160D are very good sounding DAC/AMPs and they has more bass for your D7000 what DACmini is missing. The other AMPs/DAC you should consider are Yulong A18+D18.

 

[MattTCG]

either of those would be great depending on your budget...

 

[mikeaj]

Which "some cases" are you referring to?  With what music, at what volume?  I don't think anything here suggests lack of bass or speed:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/centrance-dacmini-cx-da-converter-measurements
 
Are you sure it's a new DAC/amp you really need, or new headphones or music (or EQ, or something else)?  If you really do get another DAC/amp, avoid those that are relatively "straight pipe" since that's what the DACmini does, and you'll get pretty much the same out of those.

 

[Dyaems]

IMO you wont get the "soundstage" your DACmini has when using the 160DS. i also feel that everything is "forward" when using the 160DS. i haven't heard the V200 yet (no one has in our country) so i cant comment on that.

 

[tomwu]

Thanks guys, sometimes I think I'm not that picky as when I was using  a HLLY SMKII($200), even it doesn't have this clean, clear easy sound stage as DACmini, it has more balanced (for my taste) sound.
 
i don't know what type of sound other DAC/AMP can give me. I don't have any friend here who has headphone system.
 
So to me, it's mainly find feedback from these forums for a blind purchase.
 
I just tuned equalizer on my foobar, gonna try for some time then see what am I going to go.

 

[jackwess]

Quote:

IMO you wont get the "soundstage" your DACmini has when using the 160DS. i also feel that everything is "forward" when using the 160DS. i haven't heard the V200 yet (no one has in our country) so i cant comment on that.

 
The Ds is not a soundstage monster, probably similar to the Dacmini on this aspect. However, if your main concern is bass, burson is recognized for building amps with a nice bass response. 

 

[tomwu]

Now with EQ settings in Foobar, I'm pretty happy now with DACmini and D7000
 
I found when listen to pop music, put more bass and reduce treble a little bit seem better fits my flavor, however with audiophile kind of music, even without EQ, bass is sufficient. Yep, so if I change to Burson or someother AMP, bass might be too strong in some cases.
 
Anyhow, pretty happy now and will keep the DACmini for a few years I think.
 
Thanks all for the comments/suggestions.