budget minded
New Head-Fier
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- Nov 5, 2012
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i've been researching DAC and amps to get a more liquid sound out of my system without getting too much into the realm of lower resolution easy on the ears overly romantic and lush sound, but a little less clinical sounding than what i have now too. i recently upgraded my system to a very revealing pair of energy RC10 5 1/4" 2 ways with my first aluminum domes ever, and am getting a dry lean sound now with my panasonic SA-XR55 class D receiver as well as DAC being fed from a 10 year old sony DVD changer. i'm sure i don't want to go all tubey as my sony sounds more thick and lush than my onboard DAC, but i prefer the razor precise imaging and treble resolution of the panasonic DAC more even if it's a bit clinical. it really sounds better on percussion in particular with "ruthless ambience" retrieval i can hear small studio rooms on more.
i've narrowed my search down to the sound and budget of the schiit gungnir DAC which sounds like it'd be more neutral and detailed tastes than yulong and eastern electric DACs with especially more bass slam for my minis with their ports plugged as i like the faster better damped punchy sound of acoustic suspension after lightning fast planars. i avoid soft warm sound like the plague practically and always chose acoustic suspension mini-monitors. with or without subs, and quicker 8" subs if given a choice.
for similar reasons, i'm also looking into the TBI millenia class D amp as it should have more ease and resolution than my current system, nice bass slam, and a musical liquid sound that bridges the best of solid state and tube. i already have a deep cycle 12v car battery i've never used for an instant power upgrade too. with a battery upgrade, the TBA amp is compared a lot to the sound of SET amps with a little more slam and resolution than lushness. i listen at low levels too and wonder if an amp with more control would be better for that.
i'm trying to figure out where i'll get the biggest improvement as my first step. in the past, i really loved the sound of my detail rich panasonic much more forgiving and slow soft domes versus NAD warmth i thought was like a wet blanket with NHT superzeros, but now think it's too much for my metal domes. ironically enough, i SLIGHTLY preferred the very similar to panasonic sound of the sony's DAC on NHT soft domes for some reason i can only imagine was because it fills the image out thicker and vocals have more body and sound less like tiny pinpoints.
my first instinct was to go with the DAC upgrade and start improvements at the source, and get a better idea of system synergy, but now wonder if a better amp pairing can make as dramatic an improvement as NAD to class D amplification on soft domes. a more musical amp would bring the panasonic sound i prefer closer to the sony musicality. that, and my panasonic got offed in round two of a shootout that a trends amp won, and the TBI supposedly clobbers not only that, but several other budget contenders like kingrex & ampino. i might be inclined to like the NAD more now which probably got paired with B&W & paradigm etc. a lot back in the day.
both my tired DACs and "dry etched" amp stage are in need of an upgrade. which component do you think would gain more from the first upgrade, source or amplification to get an easy lifelike sound that isn't too clinical or sickeningly sweet? for what it's worth, i really liked the warm laid back sound of a dragonfly DAC on a warm modded mc cormack amp and vandersteen unobtanium model 5s in a local shop... very mellow laid back sound compared to my current system, and maybe a little too thick and warm in the long run, but nice on vocals with a HUGE 10 foot image/spacing.
the DAC is also $200-$250 more than the amp if anyone wants to factor bang for the buck. i'd rather audition both units in my system first and see for myself, but i'm sure there's enough gear swappers here that would have more experience with source and amplification swapping. i'd also like to get a more solid image as i can't get my speakers much closer than a yard apart with my 42" wide screen in between them so i'm getting a little bit of L/R highlighting that would solidify more with the speakers another few inches closer as it was even more hollow in the center another 3-4 inches wider
i've narrowed my search down to the sound and budget of the schiit gungnir DAC which sounds like it'd be more neutral and detailed tastes than yulong and eastern electric DACs with especially more bass slam for my minis with their ports plugged as i like the faster better damped punchy sound of acoustic suspension after lightning fast planars. i avoid soft warm sound like the plague practically and always chose acoustic suspension mini-monitors. with or without subs, and quicker 8" subs if given a choice.
for similar reasons, i'm also looking into the TBI millenia class D amp as it should have more ease and resolution than my current system, nice bass slam, and a musical liquid sound that bridges the best of solid state and tube. i already have a deep cycle 12v car battery i've never used for an instant power upgrade too. with a battery upgrade, the TBA amp is compared a lot to the sound of SET amps with a little more slam and resolution than lushness. i listen at low levels too and wonder if an amp with more control would be better for that.
i'm trying to figure out where i'll get the biggest improvement as my first step. in the past, i really loved the sound of my detail rich panasonic much more forgiving and slow soft domes versus NAD warmth i thought was like a wet blanket with NHT superzeros, but now think it's too much for my metal domes. ironically enough, i SLIGHTLY preferred the very similar to panasonic sound of the sony's DAC on NHT soft domes for some reason i can only imagine was because it fills the image out thicker and vocals have more body and sound less like tiny pinpoints.
my first instinct was to go with the DAC upgrade and start improvements at the source, and get a better idea of system synergy, but now wonder if a better amp pairing can make as dramatic an improvement as NAD to class D amplification on soft domes. a more musical amp would bring the panasonic sound i prefer closer to the sony musicality. that, and my panasonic got offed in round two of a shootout that a trends amp won, and the TBI supposedly clobbers not only that, but several other budget contenders like kingrex & ampino. i might be inclined to like the NAD more now which probably got paired with B&W & paradigm etc. a lot back in the day.
both my tired DACs and "dry etched" amp stage are in need of an upgrade. which component do you think would gain more from the first upgrade, source or amplification to get an easy lifelike sound that isn't too clinical or sickeningly sweet? for what it's worth, i really liked the warm laid back sound of a dragonfly DAC on a warm modded mc cormack amp and vandersteen unobtanium model 5s in a local shop... very mellow laid back sound compared to my current system, and maybe a little too thick and warm in the long run, but nice on vocals with a HUGE 10 foot image/spacing.
the DAC is also $200-$250 more than the amp if anyone wants to factor bang for the buck. i'd rather audition both units in my system first and see for myself, but i'm sure there's enough gear swappers here that would have more experience with source and amplification swapping. i'd also like to get a more solid image as i can't get my speakers much closer than a yard apart with my 42" wide screen in between them so i'm getting a little bit of L/R highlighting that would solidify more with the speakers another few inches closer as it was even more hollow in the center another 3-4 inches wider
