[Denver Max]

Pacific Valve has a number of DACs under ~$300. All are from DIYEDEN (?).

Between the SVDAC05, The Modified Great March, and the Musiland, do any of you have any inclination to which one is the best buy?

I'll be building a setup from it. I can do USB or Toslink, already have the DT990 and think that with one of these and a Darkvoice or Little Dot I could make myself a pretty good setup.

Any ideas?

 

[spacemanspliff]

Modified Great March is under $300? That is the best one then.

 

[cheezies]

I recently purchased the SVDAC04-U, their website lists SVDAC04, but if you look at the description, it's actually a SVDAC04-U model, which is slightly better than the SVDAC04.

I haven't received it yet so I don't know how it sounds. But from the Chinese reviews I have read, it'll probably be better than my notebook.

 

[Redo]

DAC AM Modified or the DAC AH Modded

 

[d-cee]

yeah don't forget the DAC-AH!

 

[TheAnomaly]

i was attracted to the Pacific Valve site recently as well, because of my interest in lower-cost DACs. my DAC would be used mostly with a computer...coax or optical doesn't matter. would it be down to the Great March modified or DAC-AH? how do those compare to the new Beresford? those are the major ones i've been considering.

edit: and as a starting point; is the site reputable?

 

[HankTheTank]

Not to take the thread too much off the topic, but has anyone heard or know of some reputable reviews of the Great March II from Pacific Valve? Also, if I don't go with that I was also considering some of the others listed and for all who have asked if anyone has heard a couple of the DACs could you possibly give a brief summary of how they compare or what their individual strengths are? Cheers!

 

[spacemanspliff]

Pacific Valve is reputable. The Great March modified is better than the STOCK DAC-AH. If you shop around on audiogon or here you might catch a dac-ah modded for around $350 or so. That is better than most dacs and is very analogue sounding. The Beresford sounds very neutral and clean with mods which are fairly simple to do yourself. I simply said F-it and sent Ori $525 for a Black Zhalou lol.

 

[coolshot]

i've had the great march 1 modded. It was better than your typical Soundcard. However, ever since the Zhalou started coming out with all these mods, nobody gave the GMII a chance, therefore, not a lot of reviews/impressions on it.

 

[Turn&cough]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pacific Valve is reputable. The Beresford sounds very neutral and clean with mods which are fairly simple to do yourself. I simply said F-it and sent Ori $525 for a Black Zhalou lol.

I have a stock Beresford MarkIV which I'd like to mod however I'm not quite sure which mods are worthwhile and which ones aren't and I don't want to get into the desoldering/soldering/desoldering/soldering thing. Which is why I'm now itching to upgrade but I'm not sure towards what. How would you rate the Ori Zhalou compared to the Beresford. The only other DAC I had a chance to compare it with was a Paradisea(which I sold)

 

[vcoheda]

i haven't ordered from PV, but this place is pretty well known (and i assume used) on Head-fi. if there was anything bad about their products or service, i'm sure there would have been some threads about it. so i assume it is a fine place to order from.

 

[TheAnomaly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacemanspliff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pacific Valve is reputable. The Great March modified is better than the STOCK DAC-AH. If you shop around on audiogon or here you might catch a dac-ah modded for around $350 or so. That is better than most dacs and is very analogue sounding. The Beresford sounds very neutral and clean with mods which are fairly simple to do yourself. I simply said F-it and sent Ori $525 for a Black Zhalou lol.

i see. i'm not too handy with soldering or modification of these sorts of things, so i'd be looking for something pre-modded or just stock to begin with.

PV has a DAC AH Modded on their site...would the mods you speak of be in addition (or in lieu of) to those? there's also the Modified Great March, which is ~$100 more, so would it be the best option from that site if the Modified DAC AH is not the "best" one?

 

[Denver Max]

Any impressions of the Musiland?

The modded great march sounds like a good option. I may go with that. I am somewhat intrigued by the digital gain/volume control on the Musiland, and the ability to use it as a headphone amp with that control.

Thanks guys.

 

[Jo6Pak]

Is the modded DAC AH worth the upgrade from the stock AH? Meaning, is there an AUDIBLE difference? I will be using it with a DV336i and Senn HD595. Pop/rock, heavy on the female vocals.

THANKS!

 

[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jo6Pak /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is the modded DAC AH worth the upgrade from the stock AH? Meaning, is there an AUDIBLE difference? I will be using it with a DV336i and Senn HD595. Pop/rock, heavy on the female vocals. THANKS!

not sure about the one pacific valve offers

but yes, my modded DAC-AH sounds heaps better than stock