[hishammatar]

Hello head-fiers

I have already posted a request regarding a doubt I have circa the benefit of adding a dac to a new (but quite cheap) cdp.
I have realized I have wrongly presented the matter, also given the zero replies.
I understood and try again for I'd love to hear the expert's opinion.

I have recently purchased the small denon cdp unit (dcd-f107) and a Little Dot mkIV as an headamp. All this outputting on a grado's sr80i.
Reading and reading I stumbled more than once in some of you guys advising to add a dac to 'revitalize' a cdp. But most of the times regarding an older cdp.
I have no problem in listening to cd only but I'm aware of the convenience of having a wav (or else) archive on an HD. So in that case the dac i guess it would be a no brainer.
Still I'd like to concentrate on the cdp only for now

So the bottom line is:

would I gain a considerable better performance in adding a dac to this cdp which sports a Burr Brown PCM1796?
Is the microchip the only thing that counts in a dac?
Is it realistic to think that only a hi-end dac would add something to my new (but cheapo) cdp? lets say 1000 usd or above?

Thanks for all of your replies.

Cheers
Robin

 

[estreeter]

Robin, I'm not an expert, but I know what the Topaz brings to my music, and it is significant. I auditioned several very good CDPs from NAD with a couple of different headphone amps before settling on the Topaz, but the point is that you need to hear the difference for yourself. If you have anything in the vicinity of a thousand USD, these would be my choices :

1. Grace M902 - purely on reputation, but I hope to hear it very soon
2. Stello DA100 Signature - an all-too-brief audition with the HP100 headphone amp - great combination, but expensive here.
3. CA DACMagic - gets mixed reviews here, but is exactly the kind of device you describe in your OP, and significantly cheaper than the other two.

This being Head-Fi , you will get 4 or 5 completely different recommendations, but the answer to your question is that a good DAC makes a lot of difference - its often not in the things you are straining to hear, its in the junk that you were subconsciously filtering when you amped your CDP.

 

[hishammatar]

Thank you Estreeter, appreciated your contribution. Yes that is more or less the amount I would like to invest on the unit. I know the cambridge but the other two options you gave me I need to do some research on.

Thanks again

Robin