Upgrade from the Lavry?

[juzmister]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking to improve my digital rig and think the weakest chain in the link is the Lavry...

The Little dot and HD650 complement each other really nicely and I would like to get a better DAC to go with.

I'm willing to spend up to $1600 or so

Thanks!

 

[bergman2]

you are in for a hard slog indeed...as it is, the lavry holds up very well against dacs costing much more so ur upgrade will probably end up being more a sideways move...one option is the cambridge 840c (cd player) which alot of people are raving about...BUT i would suggest upgrading your amp to a full balanced unit to allow you to go fully balanced with the da10 and your cans...that would be much more cost effective and yield solid gains....2 cents

 

[Caution]

His amp is already fully balanced

 

[bergman2]

the little dot in the tag line is a balanced unit????

I didn't know they made one???

 

[bergman2]

in that case, i'd try tube rolling and play with some ic's and pc's...i would also scout out some local high end audio stores and do some auditioning...

 

[juzmister]

Hm my interconnects are pretty decent and the stock tubes aren't too bad...Usually I figure that I can get more gains from a component change than a mod...

I'm considering getting a balanced pre-amp...

 

[majkel]

Get something more musical, less studio-like. Stello, NorthStar, Audio Note...

 

[bergman2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by juzmister /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hm my interconnects are pretty decent and the stock tubes aren't too bad...Usually I figure that I can get more gains from a component change than a mod... I'm considering getting a balanced pre-amp...

what kind of transport are you using...a cd transport feeding the lavry? mp3 player? or computer?

if you are using an mp3 player or computer what kind of rips are you using? 128's? 256's? VBR's?

if so i would suggest trying wavs or flacs...my lavry really perks up with the better the source i use...i just have a hard time believing that in the system you have the lavry is the 'weak link'...

 

[juzmister]

It's a great dac, just feel like I could do with an upgrade in that part of my rig...I use flac with a macbook pro-optical-lavry

 

[juzmister]

Any ideas?

 

[xenithon]

As alluded to above, I'd start looking at non pro-oriented gear. I think a very well implemented, non oversampling D/A might just do the trick. The likes of Audio Note and 47 Labs come to mind.

 

[juzmister]

Thanks for the advice mate...will start hunting!

 

[Currawong]

What optical cable are you using from your MacBook Pro? Going up to a Van Den Hul Optocoupler which, rarely, can be had in the proper mini-optical to Toslink configuration, made a noticeable difference in my set-up.

I'll take the Lavry off your hands if you do find something you like better though.

 

[juzmister]

can't you just use an adapter?

 

[xenithon]

You can but IMO there is a lot more to it. I think VdH are quite underappreciated in terms of the Optocoupler....not just the material itself, but also the connectors and the lens shape/accuracy.

I know many do not agree that cables make any difference - I respect their thoughts - but I personally did notice non-insignificant benefits when using the Optocoupler, in particular in the mini-Toslink to Toslink config.