[remilio]

   
If you really want an excellent bargain ($300-400) and don't care about being limited to essentially CD quality the Parasound and similar era PCM63K-based DACs are excellent. But at Purrin said, you'll probably not quite get the micro detail of a newer, more expensive DACs. They are for the kind of people who have large classical CD collections IMO, as the presentation of the usual difficult instruments such as piano and violin is wonderful.

Thanks for the answer! Unfortunately, D/AC 1600 is about 600-650$ in Russia, while used M51 for example can be found for 750-800$ So, Parasound doesn't look like a bargain in that regard

 

[Currawong]

@remilio Wow, that IS a radically different market. I know the European Union has a similar issue in that what is good value depends very much on whether a product was made inside the Union or tax has to be added to it on import. Japan likewise tends to massively over-price European gear and the second hand market is a rip-off too.

 

[remilio]

  @remilio Wow, that IS a radically different market. I know the European Union has a similar issue in that what is good value depends very much on whether a product was made inside the Union or tax has to be added to it on import. Japan likewise tends to massively over-price European gear and the second hand market is a rip-off too.

It depends on a brand - NAD, Sennheiser etc have superb prices, while some other North American or EU brands are very expensive. Vintage and discontinued ones etc is a whole different story - it purely depends on a seller - for example, a week ago I bought a perfect condition HeadAmp KGSS for 700$ ) If Parasound was 400$ here, I'd pick it without even asking

 

[fzman]

so, BMC???   ....     anyone????
 
I am also curious

 

[Argo Duck]

^ By far the BMC PureDAC is the best DAC I have heard (the others being Meier StageDAC, Beresford Bushmaster, Schiit Bifrost - uber not yet installed, Eastern Electric MiniMax). But I have not heard any of the DACs or DAC-combinations (e.g. Bifrost+Wyred) listed here.

IIRC Boatheelmusic tried it but detected the Sabre 'digital sheen' :eek: I don't hear this (maybe brain hasn't learned to recognise it) but interestingly my other Sabre dac the MiniMax comes bottom of my stable. It has a "pristine purity" about its treble which is like mid-Winter air and frost. Remote, cold, distinct. Marred by a muddy low-end (this in SS mode), it's definitely my least favorite with the LCD2r1 or LCD3F.

Relative strengths of the BMC: more low-level detail, especially in the bass and lower mids; a lot more bass information - e.g. texture - than from these other DACs, giving perceived "more bass"; nicely controlled and extended top end, no false detail, certainly more "organic" than the MiniMax.

It gives me the impression, though I can hardly claim it is an educated one!, that I hear the music rather than the DAC. (I think similarly of the Wolfson-based Meier Stagedac, which however does the bass less well and gives less low-level detail. The other Wolfson contender - the Bushmaster - is a surprisingly "direct-sounding", transparent DAC, a bargain).

All of this FWIW, TME, I like apple pi etc.

 

[boatheelmusic]

As mentioned, I MUCH preferred the PS audio PWD to the Puredac.

Instead of "miracle engineering" , it relies on solid engineering (11 power supplies, robust reclocking, selectable phase, sampling rate and filters).

It is also made in the USA, not in Asia if that matters to you. ( BMC suggests it's German, but check for yourself)

Then there's that Sabre sheen, as many with highly resolving systems consistently report.

Oh, and the PWD is currently available for less than the BMC.

I've heard both in my system, and no comparison.

Having said that, the BMC is pretty.

 

[hans030390]

I thought the PWD sounded pretty good (wasn't really my thing or to my tastes in the end, though), but I was disappointed by the selectable filters given they didn't implement any of the filters with low pre and/or post-ringing for 16/44 playback (based on my measurements), which is one of the really cool things about the Wolfson chips.

 

[boatheelmusic]

Absolute nonsense.

The PWD's five filter choices are the Wolfson choices.

Pm me for more, or do the homework.

Respectfully,

Bill

 

[Chris J]

^ By far the BMC PureDAC is the best DAC I have heard (the others being Meier StageDAC, Beresford Bushmaster, Schiit Bifrost - uber not yet installed, Eastern Electric MiniMax). But I have not heard any of the DACs or DAC-combinations (e.g. Bifrost+Wyred) listed here.

IIRC Boatheelmusic tried it but detected the Sabre 'digital sheen' :eek: I don't hear this (maybe brain hasn't learned to recognise it) but interestingly my other Sabre dac the MiniMax comes bottom of my stable. It has a "pristine purity" about its treble which is like mid-Winter air and frost. Remote, cold, distinct. Marred by a muddy low-end (this in SS mode), it's definitely my least favorite with the LCD2r1 or LCD3F.

Relative strengths of the BMC: more low-level detail, especially in the bass and lower mids; a lot more bass information - e.g. texture - than from these other DACs, giving perceived "more bass"; nicely controlled and extended top end, no false detail, certainly more "organic" than the MiniMax.

It gives me the impression, though I can hardly claim it is an educated one!, that I hear the music rather than the DAC. (I think similarly of the Wolfson-based Meier Stagedac, which however does the bass less well and gives less low-level detail. The other Wolfson contender - the Bushmaster - is a surprisingly "direct-sounding", transparent DAC, a bargain).

All of this FWIW, TME, I like apple pi etc.

WRT the Beresford Bushmaster:
I fully agree!

 

[boatheelmusic]

WRT the Beresford Bushmaster:
I fully agree!

Not even in the same ballpark as the others.

 

[Chris J]

Not even in the same ballpark as the others.

A bottomfeeder.

I'll remind you that it is a $300 DAC.
Can you suggest a better DAC for $300 or $400?

 

[boatheelmusic]

Well, yes.

The emotiva DC1 is $500 new, or $400 factory demo.

 

[estreeter]

Not even in the same ballpark as the others.

A bottomfeeder.

 
The DAC or Stanley ?  

 

[hans030390]

Absolute nonsense.

The PWD's five filter choices are the Wolfson choices.

Pm me for more, or do the homework.

Respectfully,

Bill

 
I have measurements on hand and can assure you they did NOT match the low-ringing filter results from a couple other Wolfson DACs I measured...will PM you since I can't link them here due to HF forum rules. BTW, I am only speaking for the Mk1, not Mk2, which I should have specified (I've mentioned that I only had the Mk1 a few times before, though).

 

[boatheelmusic]

   
The DAC or Stanley ?  

Not Stanley, he's great!