[nicholars]

Can you reccomend me some DAC's which have smooth treble ?
 
At the moment I have a DACMAGIC and I find it a bit harsh / artificial sounding.
 
I confirmed this by trying an Arcam rdac, it was definately smoother but was not as good in some other ways compared to the dacmagic such as the bass was not as good and I didn't like the look of it much.
 
I don't really want to spend more than about £200 - £350, what I am looking for is excellent sound quality all round but WITH SMOOTH TREBLE and no sibilance /  harshness / grain
 
Can anyone give me any suggestions?

 

[nicholars]

SORRY PLEASE MOVE THIS TO THE SOURCES FORUM THANKS.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I think you should look at your headphone and amp before you ever start looking at a DAC for the concept of "smooth treble."
 
Very best,

 

[Tjj226 Angel]

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-106207-jolida-glass-fx-tube-dac-ii.aspx
 
This is probably one of the best dacs out there in my opinion. It is a dac/tube preamp that gives your music a richer and warmer sound than your average dac. 
 
485 USD is just under 300 pounds, but I do not know if they sell these things in the UK. Maybe they will do international shipping for another 50 pounds?

 

[lorriman]

http://www.musicdirect.com/p-106207-jolida-glass-fx-tube-dac-ii.aspx

This is probably one of the best dacs out there in my opinion. It is a dac/tube preamp that gives your music a richer and warmer sound than your average dac. 

485 USD is just under 300 pounds, but I do not know if they sell these things in the UK. Maybe they will do international shipping for another 50 pounds?

Even if they do international shipping: import taxes add about 35% to the cost (the taxes are levied on the shipping also). You also have to factor in returns, which could be expensive, so add $2.5 ( 5% failure rate for $50 return shipping) . So really the $486 is going to end up being about £446 (including returns factor). Generally import costs in dollars is an almost $ for £ match, which is why you see imported products priced that way much to the UK consumer's fury.

 

[nicholars]

Quote:

Heya,
 
I think you should look at your headphone and amp before you ever start looking at a DAC for the concept of "smooth treble."
 
Very best,

 
I agree with you that speakers are most important... But I have noticed that DAC's can make a difference. For example Arcam rdac was smoother than Dacmagic. I have already got an amp now so I cannot really get another, People generally say that my amp is smooth anyway (NAD 326bee) so I dont think that is the problem... Could be wrong though

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

 
I agree with you that speakers are most important... But I have noticed that DAC's can make a difference. For example Arcam rdac was smoother than Dacmagic. I have already got an amp now so I cannot really get another, People generally say that my amp is smooth anyway (NAD 326bee) so I dont think that is the problem... Could be wrong though

 
Heya,
 
I started using a Maverick TubeMagic D2 ... a tube DAC, and I like how it pairs with my speaker amp to my Hifimans. Definitely warmer and nicer than a typical solid state pre-amp out DAC. So yes, I get where you're going. Just making sure you've already done what you can with the more obvious equipment first.
 
Very best,