[fredpb]

I have an ancient Rega Planet, Acurus amps, and Vandersteen IIc Signature speakers. I have decided the Rega and Vandersteens are very laid back as a combination.

I would like to upgrade the Rega, but it still works well. So I was considering a coax/rca input DAC. I am not up to date on the latest offerings.

I have a limited budget, so I guess used products are reasonable alternative.

The last one I remember looking at a while ago was the Bel Canto?

Any suggestions?

 

[krmathis]

How about letting us know your budget? Since you tell that you have one...
$200, $500, $1000, $2000, ...

 

[fredpb]

I am hoping around the $200 mark. LOL...I should not be spending on this at all!

Used is ok. Something better than the Rega Planet....it is very dated. The red display is faded quite a bit.

I looked at the new Bel Canto and PS Audio...way to pricey.

I might look at a new Marantz.

Had the technology improved enough so a reasonable player is worth upgrading the Rega?

 

[obobskivich]

yes and no, there are players that are "better", but they're much more expensive than $200

DAC wise, I can't think of much at $200 that isn't designed for USB, maybe the Beresford or the Firestone Spitfire, no idea if either of those is really an upgrade though

just as a weird alternate idea, what about a tube buffer, instead of a D/A? (if you just want to play with the sound)

 

[1UP]

I've heard the Planet and $200 isn't going to go that far for a credible DAC or CDP upgrade, tbh.

I didn't think the Planet was laidback rather than a bit veiled, though it was quite responsive to cable changes in the test system. Maybe you could look at changing your interconnect to the amp, or indeed the speaker cables.

 

[dura]

I found the Rega planet 2000 to have a kind of dull, rolled-off sound and a very small soundstage. Stil had it for 4 years, once in silver once in black, because other similair priced CDP's I couldn't stand to listen too for longer then 10 minutes.
My current Apollo while looking the same OTH sounds great. No more severe rolloff treble to get rid digital nasties, but a very specious clean en clear sound that I can really enjoy.

 

[wilsynet]

For less than $200, perhaps the Gigalab Moon NOS DAC for sale on Ebay.

If you're willing to buy a DIY kit, the AudioSector NOS DAC from Peter Daniel would be a very good choice at slightly more than your stated budget.

 

[Kraps]

$200 is a very low mark even for a second hand machine if you would like to really hear the difference. I myself made hit improvement of my MF E60 by adding a EUR 300 second hand Parasound DAC 1000. To my ears it would beat any $2000 standalone cd player i've heard so far. I think these pop-up on ebay from time to time. and if you go for DAC 1500 for some more cash you could get balanced output (if you need it of course)

 

[Currawong]

The fully upgraded Zero comes to about that. If you can solder -- at the very least replacing the RCA jacks -- you can push it quite a bit further.

 

[fredpb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif yes and no, there are players that are "better", but they're much more expensive than $200 DAC wise, I can't think of much at $200 that isn't designed for USB, maybe the Beresford or the Firestone Spitfire, no idea if either of those is really an upgrade though just as a weird alternate idea, what about a tube buffer, instead of a D/A? (if you just want to play with the sound)

I obtained a Musical Fidelity XFI, used, and am trying that out.