[dougbrad81]

hi,
i'm looking for an upsampling dac to use with my md deck. my bugdet is up to $300, but i would like to keep it under $250 if possible. also i would need it to be able to receive optical inputs. from a search on the board, the ones that fall under my price range is the msb link III(not sure if that's the proper name) and the art di/o. are there any other good options? the art di/o doesn't like a choice though, since it only has coaxical inputs and from read, it seems that mods are needed to fully reap it's benefits. i appreciate any reccomendations given.

 

[Orpheus]

are you sure you want a DAC for a mini-disc system!? if you want better sound, just listen to CDs instead! you're already listening to compromised sound--what's the point of using a good DAC when your source already has less frequency extension compared to CD and degraded sound quality?

 

[dougbrad81]

i really can't tell you why. maybe just curious? besides if it doesn't work out good, i want to use it with my computer at work.

 

[Orpheus]

or you can just buy a nice CD player!

well,... if you insist, i recommend the DACs by Monarchy (i'm a fan of their service and products.) very well built. i'm sure it performs well. and they go for $175 used on audiogon... maybe even less now. dunno if they have optical inputs though.

 

[dougbrad81]

well i do have Philips DVD963A which i find to serve me well for listening to cd's. but with poorly recorded or mastered cd's i prefer the sound of the cd being recorded to md. i guess it's because it masked the flaws. anyway i'll look into that dac you mention. thanks.

 

[Trawlerman]

An upsampling DAC might not be too good a decision. They are new tchnology and from what i've seen they are still relatively expensive.


However, in my experience a Minidisc deck does benefit in the most part from an external DAC. I wouldn't buy one specificallt for an MD deck but if you have a transport/dac combo then plugging your MD deck in makes a marked difference if it's a good DAC.

My MD deck is the SONY MDS-JA30ES and is built like a tank. A few years ago I got a Rotel RDD/RDP980 CDP & DAC that had 4 extra inputs and two outputs so was ideal for rigging up to Digital Recorders. My current DAC is a KRELL Studio which is a real overkill for mindisc but it sure puts out a sweet sound.

I wouldn't buy a Krell DAC for using just with my MD though. Talk about absolute overkill !



Sound As Ever

 

[Gallaine]

I'm not sure that the MSB Link III with the upsampling card is actually within your $300 price limit. The unit itself without the upsampling card retails for $499 and the upsampling card is additional $199. If you can find them used and in good condition for $300 total I'd snap it up.

I've seen new DACs around your price range e.g. Channel Islands and ART DI/O but not upsampling DACs. Perhaps you could find an upsampling DAC used for $300, but I kind of doubt it; I haven't really look hard so maybe you can.

Hmmm., one option might be an upsampling sound card that has a digital in. I haven't really looked at the computer audio market so I don't know if that type of card even exists yet - I know there upsampling sound cards but I don't know if they can upsample an external digital source.

 

[kuma]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trawlerman My current DAC is a KRELL Studio which is a real overkill for mindisc but it sure puts out a sweet sound. I wouldn't buy a Krell DAC for using just with my MD though. Talk about absolute overkill ! Sound As Ever

I used to put Marantz minidisc player/recorder plugged into the Krell kps25s' digital input.

Sweet.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I don't know of any that can be had for that price, but you may want to look at the Philips 963SA -- record to MD, record back to CD, then play through the Philips with upsampling on.

 

[Sol_Zhen]

I'm not sure what good an external DAC would do with a MD deck anyway because the ATRAC still has to be decoded anyway unlike a CD's PCM where the PCM is sent directly to the external DAC.

Would there really be an audible benefit?

 

[Trawlerman]

Absolutely.

You are right that the ATRAC data does need to be decoded but it's only decoded into PCM data anyway (many machines are now switchable between 16 and 20 bit outputs) and then ported to either an internal DAC (which tend be low quality ones) or the SPDIF outputs which you can then connect to a quality DAC.



The difference between the internal DAC on my JA30ES (which is a high-end model) and my Krell and ROTEL DACs is quite startling.



As an aside, the difference between the ADCs in the budget MD recorders and the ES recorders is also quite noticable. I've often fancied getting hold a Midiman Flying Cow and seeing how much of a difference between one of those and the internal ADCs.