Well, in case you thought this was a negative thread on the V-DAC, well my friends, it’s a very positive one…
Took delivery of one about two months ago. Finally got around to do some serious listening with it, so wanted to share a few thoughts.
At the moment, there is a wide variety of DACs out there and the selection is going to increase, given the present trend. The selections are plenty- USB, Coax, Optical, BNC inputs etc…and various output flavors also….IMO- bring em’ on, the more the merrier, so you can tailor and implement them in your particular/unique application.
I remember almost three years ago when I joined this wonderful and wallet draining community
, that the options were very limited in reference to DACs. There were some, no doubt, but selection was nowhere near where it is today. I still have my Entech NC, purchased in 2006 for $39.99 and still going strong…
Now, the V-DAC.
IMO, Musical Fidelity is not known for “blinging” their gear. Basically a box with components inside. The V-DAC is no exception. A black box with white lettering, inputs and output. Bottom line is the sound...
What good is a cosmetically appealing piece of gear, if it does not deliver? (Just making a point, it’s not that bad aesthetically, it grows on you)…
Remember, take what is said with a grain of salt, pepper, garlic..etc. Everyone’s gear differs, music preferences are different and so on….So, I’ll try to make it as concise as possible with the gear used.
Grabbed some gear and laid it out for these thoughts….Excuse the towel, but if I scratch the dining room table, wifey will make other uses of the gear, and it won’t be comfortable.
Gear Used
CD players (Marantz CD5001, Sony CE335)
Laptop- Acer 4530 w/ optical, Acer 5520 w/ optical…
Audioengine A5 speakers (setup #1- Acer 5520 (optical) --V-DAC--RCA to mini directly into the A5s and (setup #2- Acer 5520 (optical)--V-DAC--Woo Audio WA2 (pre-amp out)--A5s.
Headphones used- Beyer DT880 (250 ohm), Grado RS2 (32 ohm), Ultrasone HFI-680 (recabled by Scott, S2 Audio)(75 ohm).
Headphone amps used- SS- K.I.C.A.S (non-caliente), Tube Hybrid- MF X-CanV3 (Siemens 6DJ8s), Tube- Singlepower PPX3 Slam (Tung Sol 5687 x2, RCA 6SN7GT x1)
Music (15 songs)…Genres I listen to- House/Trance, Rock, Hip-Hop, Freestyle.
House / Trance
1) Proff- My Personal Summer (Anjunabeats Vol. 6)
2) Fragma- Toca’s Miracle (Richard Durand Remix) (M.O.S. Clubber’s
Guide To 2008 (Germany)
3) M6- Amazon Dawn (AVB ASOT 2008)…
Rock
1) Dream Theater- Metropolis Part I (Images And Words)
2) Rush- Tom Sawyer, YYZ (Live) (Different Stages)
3) The Cure- Lullaby (Disintegration)
4) Metallica- Master Of Puppets (Master Of Puppets)
Freestyle
1) TKA- One Way Love
2) TKA- Scars Of Love
3) Joyce Simms- (You Are My) All In All (Original 12” Mix)
Hip-Hop
1) 2 Pac- Can U Get Away (Me Against The World)
2) Biggie- Big Poppa (Ready To Die)
3) Trick Daddy (ft. Twista & Lil’ Jon)- Let’s Go
4) Marques Houston (ft. Chingy, Nate Dogg & I-20)- I Like That
First thing I noticed with the V-DAC was the gain. Had to lower the volume a bit with each amp. No degradation of sound, just higher volume. My initial thought of the V-DAC was- “bring it on” so to speak. Up front and asking for more. Not bright, just keeping everything balanced (low, mids, highs)…Extension is there without clouding any of the other frequencies. Clarity is maintained, while the bass kicks. Don’t get me wrong, I love bass, when it’s called for, but not at the expense of losing mids or clouding highs. The V-DAC does this quite well. Gives it to you as a total package, while at the same time, you can decipher the frequencies and not be bothered with tooooo much of anything. Very balanced indeed.
I love reference songs- we all have them and test gear with it. Metropolis has a lot going on at various stages of the song and the V-DAC keeps up with it. These reference songs I chose, have nice basslines with vocals, that tend to sound one dimensional sometimes (too much vocals or too much bass), the V-DAC does not fall into that category, just letting the music flow as it was intended to be.
Proff- My Personal Summer starts off with nice bass and mid beats that sometimes tend to sound too sterile while clouding the keyboards in the backround. When the bass kicks again after two minutes, it is pure and just well, perfect…..Extended, tight, clear and not boomy, while maintaining that oomph, that brings a smile to your face. The big test for me was Lullaby….I know the intro is nice, but let’s see what you got when that awesome bassline kicks. Are you going to cloud up Rob’s voice while maintaining the beat? Well, it does it flawlessly….not clouding the vocals while retaining that bassline the song is known for…..tight bassline in the backround while Rob does his gloominess….Love the imaging, soundstage, clarity, extension while retaining the essence of the music……
TKA (I know old school), but when it hits, it just hits….Again, clarity and deep extended bass while retaining vocals. Nothing overpowering, just tight….
Rush Live----Fans and music in perfect coherence once the first note hits….Drums are everywhere, like Neil is in your head and at the same time the fan’s appreciation is heard just right, along with the drums…
I guess you guys get the point…Very balanced sound, while maintaining the music….
At $299.00, the V-DAC performs above the price, with USB, Coax, Optical inputs, and a small footprint, it’s a winner.
If you have read these boards for any amount of time, you would have noticed the word “synergy”, relating to various components and their ability to work well together while complimenting each other. The V-DAC lets the amp do its job while not overstepping the boundaries, and not doing or trying to do more than it’s supposed to do, while maintaining a musical flow together….
It sounded great with all 3 amps, letting them be what they are. They retained their speed, warmth, and depth.
All three inputs were used. Laptops (ASIO4ALL, KS and WASAPI) FLAC (Foobar & Winamp).
In case anyone is wondering- I currently own eight DACs (ten, counting my portables)(can't seem to let them go). I also have owned the DAC1 (for a short period of time). I have them integrated in my speaker and headphone setups and all get plenty of use. I have not done any head to head comparisons (no time)....Would like to though.....So, I'll try and take them one at a time and write a few thoughts on them....
Remember, just because something is not FOTM (Flavor Of The Month) anymore, it does not mean it's not good anymore. If YOU like it, that's what is important....Enjoy your gear.....
Next up DacMagic....
Cheers
Took delivery of one about two months ago. Finally got around to do some serious listening with it, so wanted to share a few thoughts.
At the moment, there is a wide variety of DACs out there and the selection is going to increase, given the present trend. The selections are plenty- USB, Coax, Optical, BNC inputs etc…and various output flavors also….IMO- bring em’ on, the more the merrier, so you can tailor and implement them in your particular/unique application.
I remember almost three years ago when I joined this wonderful and wallet draining community
Now, the V-DAC.
IMO, Musical Fidelity is not known for “blinging” their gear. Basically a box with components inside. The V-DAC is no exception. A black box with white lettering, inputs and output. Bottom line is the sound...
What good is a cosmetically appealing piece of gear, if it does not deliver? (Just making a point, it’s not that bad aesthetically, it grows on you)…
Remember, take what is said with a grain of salt, pepper, garlic..etc. Everyone’s gear differs, music preferences are different and so on….So, I’ll try to make it as concise as possible with the gear used.
Grabbed some gear and laid it out for these thoughts….Excuse the towel, but if I scratch the dining room table, wifey will make other uses of the gear, and it won’t be comfortable.
Gear Used
CD players (Marantz CD5001, Sony CE335)
Laptop- Acer 4530 w/ optical, Acer 5520 w/ optical…
Audioengine A5 speakers (setup #1- Acer 5520 (optical) --V-DAC--RCA to mini directly into the A5s and (setup #2- Acer 5520 (optical)--V-DAC--Woo Audio WA2 (pre-amp out)--A5s.
Headphones used- Beyer DT880 (250 ohm), Grado RS2 (32 ohm), Ultrasone HFI-680 (recabled by Scott, S2 Audio)(75 ohm).
Headphone amps used- SS- K.I.C.A.S (non-caliente), Tube Hybrid- MF X-CanV3 (Siemens 6DJ8s), Tube- Singlepower PPX3 Slam (Tung Sol 5687 x2, RCA 6SN7GT x1)
Music (15 songs)…Genres I listen to- House/Trance, Rock, Hip-Hop, Freestyle.
House / Trance
1) Proff- My Personal Summer (Anjunabeats Vol. 6)
2) Fragma- Toca’s Miracle (Richard Durand Remix) (M.O.S. Clubber’s
Guide To 2008 (Germany)
3) M6- Amazon Dawn (AVB ASOT 2008)…
Rock
1) Dream Theater- Metropolis Part I (Images And Words)
2) Rush- Tom Sawyer, YYZ (Live) (Different Stages)
3) The Cure- Lullaby (Disintegration)
4) Metallica- Master Of Puppets (Master Of Puppets)
Freestyle
1) TKA- One Way Love
2) TKA- Scars Of Love
3) Joyce Simms- (You Are My) All In All (Original 12” Mix)
Hip-Hop
1) 2 Pac- Can U Get Away (Me Against The World)
2) Biggie- Big Poppa (Ready To Die)
3) Trick Daddy (ft. Twista & Lil’ Jon)- Let’s Go
4) Marques Houston (ft. Chingy, Nate Dogg & I-20)- I Like That
First thing I noticed with the V-DAC was the gain. Had to lower the volume a bit with each amp. No degradation of sound, just higher volume. My initial thought of the V-DAC was- “bring it on” so to speak. Up front and asking for more. Not bright, just keeping everything balanced (low, mids, highs)…Extension is there without clouding any of the other frequencies. Clarity is maintained, while the bass kicks. Don’t get me wrong, I love bass, when it’s called for, but not at the expense of losing mids or clouding highs. The V-DAC does this quite well. Gives it to you as a total package, while at the same time, you can decipher the frequencies and not be bothered with tooooo much of anything. Very balanced indeed.
I love reference songs- we all have them and test gear with it. Metropolis has a lot going on at various stages of the song and the V-DAC keeps up with it. These reference songs I chose, have nice basslines with vocals, that tend to sound one dimensional sometimes (too much vocals or too much bass), the V-DAC does not fall into that category, just letting the music flow as it was intended to be.
Proff- My Personal Summer starts off with nice bass and mid beats that sometimes tend to sound too sterile while clouding the keyboards in the backround. When the bass kicks again after two minutes, it is pure and just well, perfect…..Extended, tight, clear and not boomy, while maintaining that oomph, that brings a smile to your face. The big test for me was Lullaby….I know the intro is nice, but let’s see what you got when that awesome bassline kicks. Are you going to cloud up Rob’s voice while maintaining the beat? Well, it does it flawlessly….not clouding the vocals while retaining that bassline the song is known for…..tight bassline in the backround while Rob does his gloominess….Love the imaging, soundstage, clarity, extension while retaining the essence of the music……
TKA (I know old school), but when it hits, it just hits….Again, clarity and deep extended bass while retaining vocals. Nothing overpowering, just tight….
Rush Live----Fans and music in perfect coherence once the first note hits….Drums are everywhere, like Neil is in your head and at the same time the fan’s appreciation is heard just right, along with the drums…
I guess you guys get the point…Very balanced sound, while maintaining the music….
At $299.00, the V-DAC performs above the price, with USB, Coax, Optical inputs, and a small footprint, it’s a winner.
If you have read these boards for any amount of time, you would have noticed the word “synergy”, relating to various components and their ability to work well together while complimenting each other. The V-DAC lets the amp do its job while not overstepping the boundaries, and not doing or trying to do more than it’s supposed to do, while maintaining a musical flow together….
It sounded great with all 3 amps, letting them be what they are. They retained their speed, warmth, and depth.
All three inputs were used. Laptops (ASIO4ALL, KS and WASAPI) FLAC (Foobar & Winamp).
In case anyone is wondering- I currently own eight DACs (ten, counting my portables)(can't seem to let them go). I also have owned the DAC1 (for a short period of time). I have them integrated in my speaker and headphone setups and all get plenty of use. I have not done any head to head comparisons (no time)....Would like to though.....So, I'll try and take them one at a time and write a few thoughts on them....
Remember, just because something is not FOTM (Flavor Of The Month) anymore, it does not mean it's not good anymore. If YOU like it, that's what is important....Enjoy your gear.....
Next up DacMagic....
Cheers
