Hi, is this considered a good dac?
I "upgraded" to this dac a year ago, because the great reviews I read about it. I didnt realize at that point what the dac did with the sound. After changing amps and speakers, trying to find the right combination for almost a year, I got to test a dac from an importer of audio equipment. I was amazed by how the sound changed, it sounded much bigger, more defined with much more weighed in the bass. The music became alive again. I eventually returned the dac.
When the opportunity the buy a used Marantz hd-dac 1 I decided to go with it. It can function as a pre-amp and has remote control for volume, which suited me well, since my new amp does not have remote.
I was shocked what the Marantz dac did with the sound. I tried several times with both dac's on many combinations of amps and speakers, only with same result. Arcam irDac killed the music. The sound became undifned, dark, lifeless and just sounded like a mess. Marantz brought life back to music. It sounded so much bigger, more live and authority in the bass like I have never heard before. Now you could argue that the Marantz it's more expensive than Arcam, but you get an preamp and headphone amp too. I don't think the Arcam did any good compared to other dac's at the same price point. The only good thing is that the Arcam can be used to control spotify on the computer when using the usb.
I'm suprised to see a product getting so much praise and "best dac award 2014" on what hi-fi, performs so bad in my setup. Yeah, we could discuss that it didnt really "fit" with my other equipment, but that means the Arcam irDac must be the most discerning audio equipment I have ever tried.
That's all I had to say. Very satisfied with my new dac !
I "upgraded" to this dac a year ago, because the great reviews I read about it. I didnt realize at that point what the dac did with the sound. After changing amps and speakers, trying to find the right combination for almost a year, I got to test a dac from an importer of audio equipment. I was amazed by how the sound changed, it sounded much bigger, more defined with much more weighed in the bass. The music became alive again. I eventually returned the dac.
When the opportunity the buy a used Marantz hd-dac 1 I decided to go with it. It can function as a pre-amp and has remote control for volume, which suited me well, since my new amp does not have remote.
I was shocked what the Marantz dac did with the sound. I tried several times with both dac's on many combinations of amps and speakers, only with same result. Arcam irDac killed the music. The sound became undifned, dark, lifeless and just sounded like a mess. Marantz brought life back to music. It sounded so much bigger, more live and authority in the bass like I have never heard before. Now you could argue that the Marantz it's more expensive than Arcam, but you get an preamp and headphone amp too. I don't think the Arcam did any good compared to other dac's at the same price point. The only good thing is that the Arcam can be used to control spotify on the computer when using the usb.
I'm suprised to see a product getting so much praise and "best dac award 2014" on what hi-fi, performs so bad in my setup. Yeah, we could discuss that it didnt really "fit" with my other equipment, but that means the Arcam irDac must be the most discerning audio equipment I have ever tried.
That's all I had to say. Very satisfied with my new dac !
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