[bobeau]

Anyone have experience with one of these?

Stereophile mag gave it a class A rating a few years ago

http://www.stereophile.com//digitals...561/index.html

Also this comparison with the Bel Canto DAC 2 claims they're neck and neck in performance

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/d...2-mf-a324.html


I notice there's always a few for sale on Audiogon in the $550-600 area, which would make it a bargain compared to a used DAC-II (~$800), plus it actually is is a nice looking piece of hardware.

 

[jefemeister]

I lived with one for 3-4 months. The sound quality is good. I had it in a different system than my normal one so it's difficult to tell it's exact characteristics. I do have some major gripes with it though:

1 - It has limited connectivity options: 1 coax and 1 tosklink

2 - You can not manually select between the inputs. The two inputs switch automatically based on whichever one sees a valid data signal first and it won't release to the other input until the valid data goes away. My DVD player only stops transmitting a signal when it's powered down. So to go from DVD to Squeezebox I would have to shut off my DVD player which I guess is OK. But then to go back to the DVD player you can't just turn it back on because it's locked onto the Squeezebox. Solution? I had to actually reach around and pull the coax cable out of the back of the DAC so the data would disappear and cause the DAC to hunt for the DVD signal. Also, if you have both data sources off the DAC will continusouly search for data while constantly flashing super-bright blue LEDs at you. I'm not sure what MF was thinking with this.

3 - The DAC has button to switch between 96 and 192 kHz upsampling. Good idea in principle I suppose but guess where they put the button? On the rear panel. That's really useful huh?

4 - It has a digital output connector which is a loopback of the digital input. Maybe you can think of something to do with it, but I'm at a loss.

This is obviously a rant, but I really was quite happy with the sound quality. I got it on audiogon for around $650 if I remember right. I personally would have sold it for the above mentioned reasons, but I got it because I was assiting my roomate in building a system. He has it now and loves it, but he only has one data source and doesn't care about the 96/192 thing.

 

[bobeau]

Thanks for the feedback.

Fortunately none of this applies to my current situation as this is only used in a computer as source setup for my headphone rig, so one input only. I think I'll put an offer on one for $550 (that is claimed to be 'minty').

 

[jefemeister]

I agree that in your scenario it will be nice except for possibly the flashing LED thing. At any rate, that unit holds its value very well and you'll definitely be able to recoup your money easily should you decide to try something else.

 

[bobeau]

I don't think the flashing thing will be an issue either... my computer is always on.

I just want something like the Bel Canto 2 SQ-wise without spending much more than $500, and at the very least if I don't like it as you say it's a no lose situation getting my money back.

It seems like a bargain on the used market - esp. if it's in the same class as the Benchmark, Bel Canto, Apogee, etc, and is another option for the computer as source folks who don't want to pay those prices.