Burr Brown Vs. Wolfson Vs. Cirrus

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Does it really matter when it comes to the make of the DAC? Marantz keep mentioning about their superior Cirrus Super DAC - any thoughts?

Consider everything remains the same in a component, does the use of one particular DAC make or break the system?
 

Thaiman

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[quote user="unleash_me"]Consider everything remains the same in a component, does the use of one particular DAC make or break the system?[/quote]

Every DAC has it's own charactor, Burr Brown has warm sounding , Wolfson tend to be a little digital rather than analog etc etc.
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Thaiman"] ...Every DAC has it's own charactor, Burr Brown has warm sounding , Wolfson tend to be a little digital rather than analog etc etc. [/quote]

Interesting.

Inspite of getting a WHFSV 5 Start rating and using 2 seperate Burr Brown DACs, the Pioneer PD-D6 was termed "bright" by these guys.

Wonder why!
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="Thaiman"]Every DAC has it's own charactor, Burr Brown has warm sounding , Wolfson tend to be a little digital rather than analog etc etc.[/quote]

Sweeping generalisations, and there is so much more in a CD player to influence the sound than just the DAC it uses,
 
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Anonymous

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I would say the conversion process is the most important part of any digital system, and the analogue sound you get out will be heavily influenced by the quality of the converters over everything else.
 

Thaiman

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[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
[quote user="Thaiman"]Every DAC has it's own charactor, Burr Brown has warm sounding , Wolfson tend to be a little digital rather than analog etc etc.[/quote]

Sweeping generalisations, and there is so much more in a CD player to influence the sound than just the DAC it uses,

[/quote]

Yes, everything count, it was just for example....sorry I shouldn't make statements like that without some evidence
emotion-1.gif
 

Andrew Everard

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...and the industry marketing luminary shall remain nameless who once stood up at a conference and said 'the new player uses four Brer Rabbits'
 

JoelSim

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[quote user="Andrew Everard"]...and the industry marketing luminary shall remain nameless who once stood up at a conference and said 'the new player uses four Brer Rabbits'
[/quote]

It sounded all warm and fluffy, until Dr Fox came on the DAB and it lost total control.
 

John Duncan

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[quote user="Andrew Everard"]...and the industry marketing luminary shall remain nameless who once stood up at a conference and said 'the new player uses four Brer Rabbits'
[/quote]

I remember the review: "lacks restraint".
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Andrew Everard"] Sweeping generalisations, and there is so much more in a CD player to influence the sound than just the DAC it uses...[/quote]

So...does that mean the DAC is not 'that' important provided the rest of CDP components are up to the task. If it is so, then why do companies give so much importance to the DAC they use and advertise it loudly?!

Does it also mean a "better DAC" can take care of an otherwise incompetent system?!
 

Thaiman

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Excuse my sweeping statement kinna post, from my experienced, DAC play a very big part in "How cd player will sound!" as in bright, smooth, fast...etc

I don't mean the like of power supplies, clock or transport has no part in it though. of course they are all important!
 
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Anonymous

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DACs obviously have a huge part to play in cd replay, otherwise why would people use transports and then spend £££s on separate DACs which they then say improves their systems?
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Wild Willy"]DACs obviously have a huge part to play in cd replay, otherwise why would people use transports and then spend £££s on separate DACs which they then say improves their systems?[/quote]

Exactly the point why I asked the question in the first place!
 

fatboyslimfast

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Well, bear in mind that in any DAC the 'A' component (analogue) can make a huge difference, and it could be that the overall design of the circuitry, as well the as the analogue section being isolated from a lot of other "noise" could be the reason a £100 Beresford can (NB, not *will*) outperform a £300 CD player...
 
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Anonymous

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Accepting the fact the Beresford is a standalone DAC, does that design of circuitry make so much difference in actual operation? If so, then if Beresford can do it at a very reasonable price and get a better sound output, why cant the bigwigs do the same and improve the sound? Afterall, am sure they have much more infrastructural capabilities and R&D backing them up.
 

MykhailM

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After owning quite a few CD players with different Chips and auditioning various DACs I can say that any well known chip in Audiophile quality designed Tube DAC is worth to listen. The difference between chips implementation in CD players and dedicated DACs especially Tube output design DACs is entirely different league. I own MB™ DAC -WM1 Tube DAC and can not ask for more. Even if it costs a bit more money its worth to listen to, your music wouldn`t sound the same.
 

steve_1979

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MykhailM said:
After owning quite a few CD players with different Chips and auditioning various DACs I can say that any well known chip in Audiophile quality designed Tube DAC is worth to listen. The difference between chips implementation in CD players and dedicated DACs especially Tube output design DACs is entirely different league. I own MB™ DAC -WM1 Tube DAC and can not ask for more. Even if it costs a bit more money its worth to listen to, your music wouldn`t sound the same.

Say-NO-to-SPAM-325x321.png
 

audionut

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Comment for Andrew Everard:

Come on Andrew, give us more thoughts on DACs. You should know more than most of us. I have followed your career since your days as Hifi reviewer for Gramophone magazine.

I need a streamer DAC to connect directly to a Quad Artera power amp and Monitor Audio Gold 200 speakers for a minimalist system. I am waiting for the Audiolab 8300N to be released in summer 2016 because I already have an Audiolab Q-DAC which sounds good in this system, as does a Novafielity X40 - all these use ESS Sabre DACs. However they do sound a little bright with the ribbon tweeters. I also have a Naim Superuniti with a Burr Brown DAC in a separate system.

Recently, as a temporary 'fix', I bought a Yamaha CDN301 from RicherSounds for £195 (used via an old Quad 77 amp for volume control - bought many years ago after reading Andrew Everard's review). I have to say that I am amazed to find that this low cost CD/streamer sounds excellent in my system and does have a less bright treble even with ribbon tweeters. The Yamaha uses a Burr Brown DAC (not the top of the range Burr Brown DAC - which can be found in the Arcam CDS27) and this does give a richer, warmer sound with more texture in midband instruments and voices but perhaps missing the 3D solidity of instruments that is the best feature of the ESS sabre DACs. I am going to find it hard to decide which I prefer when I upgrade.

So, on the basis of many months listening to ESS sabre DACs and Burr Brown DACs, I would say the ESS is cool, analytical, finely etched and three dimenional. The Burr Brown is warm, with a more rich texture in instruments but less three dimensional. I am struggling to say which is best. It is a matter of personal choice (and that is very difficult).
 

ID.

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audionut said:
Comment for Andrew Everard:

Come on Andrew, give us more thoughts on DACs. You should know more than most of us. I have followed your career since your days as Hifi reviewer for Gramophone magazine.

I need a streamer DAC to connect directly to a Quad Artera power amp and Monitor Audio Gold 200 speakers for a minimalist system. I am waiting for the Audiolab 8300N to be released in summer 2016 because I already have an Audiolab Q-DAC which sounds good in this system, as does a Novafielity X40 - all these use ESS Sabre DACs. However they do sound a little bright with the ribbon tweeters. I also have a Naim Superuniti with a Burr Brown DAC in a separate system.

Recently, as a temporary 'fix', I bought a Yamaha CDN301 from RicherSounds for £195 (used via an old Quad 77 amp for volume control - bought many years ago after reading Andrew Everard's review). I have to say that I am amazed to find that this low cost CD/streamer sounds excellent in my system and does have a less bright treble even with ribbon tweeters. The Yamaha uses a Burr Brown DAC (not the top of the range Burr Brown DAC - which can be found in the Arcam CDS27) and this does give a richer, warmer sound with more texture in midband instruments and voices but perhaps missing the 3D solidity of instruments that is the best feature of the ESS sabre DACs. I am going to find it hard to decide which I prefer when I upgrade.

So, on the basis of many months listening to ESS sabre DACs and Burr Brown DACs, I would say the ESS is cool, analytical, finely etched and three dimenional. The Burr Brown is warm, with a more rich texture in instruments but less three dimensional. I am struggling to say which is best. It is a matter of personal choice (and that is very difficult).

Well, if you had been following him you would've realized this is a 7 year old thread, Andrew no longer works for what hifi, and no longer posts here.

Welcome to the forum :)
 

chebby

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audionut said:
Comment for Andrew Everard:

Come on Andrew, give us more thoughts on DACs. You should know more than most of us. I have followed your career since your days as Hifi reviewer for Gramophone magazine.

You haven't been following very well otherwise you'd know that he left WHF? about three years ago.

If you'd really been following him, you'd have also read his thoughts on lots of things - including DACs - from his articles and reviews in Hi-fi Choice, HFN&RR and his own blog, as well as Gramophone.
 

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