Are all DACS created equal?

[admin_exported]

Hello to all. I play my music from a Mac streamed to a Zone Player 90 in the living room connected analog to the avr. I'm researching dacs to improve the sound quality of my music of apple lossless and Pandora. My options are the Arcam rDac, Cambridge Audio DacMagic, Musical Fidelity M1DAC, Rega Dac and Peachtree Audio Nova. In their descriptions the word upsampling is used. What does this mean? Which of the mentioned dacs is the better option for streamed music? What should I focus on? Please also give me advice with regards to cables since I'm using the one's supplied. I want to make things right and I'm going through "if I knew then what I know now I would have done things differently" with regards to the separates and avr which I also use for movies. Keep in mind that the Nova is also amp serving 80wpc. I make this point because later in the year I'm looking forward to upgrading my speakers and I'm debating if I should get an integrated amp or a more robust and powerful avr since I also watch movies.

 

[Superaintit]

Short answer on the dacs: they don't sound the same. Listen and you'll know. IMO the Rdac is musical and natural but has a bass that is not very detailed/subtle. The dacmagic is a little bit like meat and potatoes to my ears. I prefer the Rdac because it's more refined. I haven't heard the rest you mention. Anyway, the only thing to do is LISTEN for yourself. There are markedly different presentations between brands and dacs are no exception.

Also try different connections as for instance the usb connection on the Rdac is to my ears by far the best. The optical is inferior on the Rdac to my ears. This can be different for other dacs.

On the amps: stereo amp is in almost all cases better for stereo. You can however use an avr amp as pre and a stereo amp to perform the stereo duties.

On the digital optimalisation: try high resolution files from the likes of HDtracks for improvements. Make sure your dac and streaming connection can handle the speads! Most streaming can only handle 44.1 khz(cd).

Hope the above doesn't confuse you. Just list what you want, prioritise and have an audition.

Edit: I think adding a stereo amp in the equation will make a bigger difference then a higher end dac.

 

[iMark]

The only thing I can say about this that I have tried several options with our equipment with CDs and ALAC files. It's not state of the art but very enjoyable.

Amp is Denon DRA-1000 + Infinity Overture 1 speakers. (More than 10 years old).

1. Direct to amp Sony MDX-D3 (with decent Ixos cables)

2. Direct to amp Pioneer DV-565 (with decent Ixos cables)

3. Pioneer DV-565 as a transport to DACMagic to amp

4. MacBook optical to DACMagic to amp

5. MacBook USB to DACMagic to amp

6. MacBook to Airport Express to amp

7. MacBook to Airport Express to DACMagic to amp

I think 4 and 7 deliver the best sound, with 3 also very good. I wasn't too impressed with 5. Option 7 is the option we use most now.

The DAC makes quite a difference in our ears, even with our old equipment. I can't compare with other DACs but I really like the DACMagic and it has a lot of inputs. It also makes the Pioneer sound really good with both music and movies (stereo). The DACMagic sounds a lot better than the DAC in the Airport Express.

I can really recommend getting a DAC as an upgrade for the Airport Express and old DVD players.

 

[The_Lhc]

Not sure the Peachtree should be on the list, as it's an integrated stereo amplifier, rather than just a DAC. It would make a nice solution though, given the space in the back for a ZP90, but you'd have to make sure you like how it sounds and that you could use it in conjunction with your AV amplifier.

 

[garyw77]

Think i agree with the rDac option, i had the DacMagic and found a huge improvement for my set up moving to the Arcam. I run it through the Digital Coaxial via a M2Tech HiFace which in my opinion beats the optical and USB input and also makes total use of the rDac with full 192khz when Pure Music upsamples. The HD tracks sound superb with excellent bass definition open mid range and sound stage and clear crisp treble.

I also second the opinion that a stereo amp would make a big difference too. This should maybe be the first step before moving on to the dac.

But of course you need to try and audition them if you can and see how they all fit into your system.

 

[roger06]

Superaintit:
The dacmagic is a little bit like meat and potatoes to my ears.

Hi Super

Would you mind elaborating on that please? I'm not really sure what you mean - and I'm interested in the DACMagic / rDAC comparison...

Thanks

 

[Superaintit]

roger06:Superaintit:
The dacmagic is a little bit like meat and potatoes to my ears.

Hi Super

Would you mind elaborating on that please? I'm not really sure what you mean - and I'm interested in the DACMagic / rDAC comparison...

Thanks

The dacmagic to me isn't very subtle. It presents a meaty, energetic musical picture, but it overlooks small details. All IMO of course.

 

[iMark]

Compared to the options I mentioned the DACMagic is very revealing in our system. Much better than any of the DACs in the other equipment we use. Best piece of kit we bought in years. Of course I can't rule out that the rDac would be even better but I haven't heard it.

 

[the record spot]

Revealing, detailed, accurate, but one of the least capable bits of kit at conveying the life in the music I've heard. A staggering disappointment and a shining example of hype over substance. Terrific functionality, great build, but cold and clinical are just as easily applied to the performance. I would imagine the rDAC is an improvement while the Firestone Audio piece has nothing to fear IMO.

 

[csq2]

Nuforce Icon HDP beats all the dacs mentioned above in terms of sound quality. It also features a quality headphone amplifier.

 

[garyw77]

6th.replicant:garyw77:
Think i agree with the rDac option, i had the DacMagic and found a huge improvement for my set up moving to the Arcam. I run it through the Digital Coaxial via a M2Tech HiFace which in my opinion beats the optical and USB input and also makes total use of the rDac with full 192khz when Pure Music upsamples...
Out of interest, what settings do you use with Pure Music?

I'm currently demo'ing Pure, and also have a Mac, hiFace/coax and an rDAC but I'm finding Pure to be a tad bright. (Using Pure in HOG and set to Memory playback and Preallocate.)

Ta

I have my Pure Music set up as the following:

In Preferences: -

In Audio Set Up - Output Device and Input Device set as M2Tech HiFace @ 192khz , Enable "Hog Mode", Keep limit rate at 384Khz.

In Audio Settings > Signal Modifiers - Dithered Volume Control "ticked" with standard pre-configured settings at 24 bit , and stereo channels ticked.

In Music Server Settings > Basic - Gapless Playback, Hybrid Memory Play and Preallocate memory ALL ticked.

In Music Server Settings > Advanced - Unsampling method "Maximum Fidelity" - Nothing else ticked.

When playing back on the main console i have the "Advanced" button ticked (In green) with MEMORY PLAY and UPSAMPLE both on (Highlighted in green)

During playback under the info scrolling bar shows " 64 bit Upsampling to 192Khz (Maximum Fidelity SRC) "

I found using Pure Music to upsample made for a much better sound and the move from the DacMagic to the rDAC removed the brightness.

The rDAC being able to accept the 192Khz through the coaxial i think made the difference to the maximum of 96Khz of the DacMagic.

Definitely a more detailed presentation using the Pure Music as opposed to i Tunes.

The cable I'm using from the M2Tech HiFace to the rDac (Audioquest VDM-5) is a cracker, detailed and recommended

Hope the info helps