CA DACmagic or B&W 685

[admin_exported]

Hi all!

I have the Cambridge Audio 740A and I am wondering if I should upgrade the age old speakers first or add a DAC to my basic Sony dvd player. Since my room is only 10'x10', I am thinking of bookshelf speakers only. I currently have the Mission 760i speakers from the 90s, which are modified with Mission 753 woofers. I am thinking of the B&W 685, is it a good match for 740A or will it be significantly better than my existing 760i? Please advice.

 

[John Duncan]

I'd say DAC - your Mission speakers are at least approaching hifi (though they can be improved, obviously), your sony DVD player is not......

 

[d_a_n1979]

IMO i think you'd find a big difference by upgrading your speakers 1st and then that'll let you know how your system sounds before spending c£200 on a DAC.

I also think that upgrading your DVD player to a stand alone CDP or a better quality DVD player (i.e. Arcam) would be a much better upgrade as well!

However, IMHO, i dont find that C/A and B&W marry well; but as ive always said, everyones hearing is different so you may find that they sound good. What i am confident in saying is that the 685's will be a big upgrade to your current speakers!

You could also see if the hifi shop may lend you a decent CDP to trial with your system and you can then see what difference that makes!

 

[matthewpiano]

The 740A, and your Missions, deserve a MUCH better source and, if you can stretch to it, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the matching 740C. Its quite simply the best £500 CD player I've heard and I think it will make the biggest difference to your system. The 740A is a very revealing amp and will currently be showing up your DVD player. Don't write those little Missions off. They were stunning little speakers in their day and (having had a pair myself) I recall that they thrive on the end of a really top quality source and amp. They might have been budget speakers but they always required better than budget partnering kit to come on song. You don't mention speaker stands. If you don't have them I'd suggest a nice pair of Atacama stands will give your 760s a chance to show what they can really do and provide a rock solid foundation for any future speakers you might upgrade to.

...although I can't comment on the dubious 'upgrade' your speakers have been subjected to.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

matthewpiano:The 740A, and your Missions, deserve a MUCH better source and, if you can stretch to it, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the matching 740C. Its quite simply the best £500 CD player I've heard and I think it will make the biggest difference to your system. The 740A is a very revealing amp and will currently be showing up your DVD player. Don't write those little Missions off. They were stunning little speakers in their day and (having had a pair myself) I recall that they thrive on the end of a really top quality source and amp. They might have been budget speakers but they always required better than budget partnering kit to come on song. You don't mention speaker stands. If you don't have them I'd suggest a nice pair of Atacama stands will give your 760s a chance to show what they can really do and provide a rock solid foundation for any future speakers you might upgrade to.

...although I can't comment on the dubious 'upgrade' your speakers have been subjected to.

I don't know anything about your speakers but they are definitely not the weakest link. I agree with Matthew but instead of spending £500 on the 740C, go for the DacMagic and use what's left to get better speakers. The DM is at least very close to the 740C in quality and also gives you the opportunity to add other sources to it. In your small room that system with some half decent standmounts will sound great.

 

[matthewpiano]

I haven't heard the DACmagic so can't comment although I'm personally more in favour of a one box CD solution.

Just as a minor point, the 740C also allows additional sources to benefit from its DAC via two digital inputs. I have my Sony DAB tuner routed through mine and it sounds superb.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank for the suggestions! I am surprised that most of you think the 760i speakers would hold up.....at least for the time being. I am leaning towards the DACmagic if I can get close to 740C in terms of sound quality at 1/2 the price of 740C. There's no way that I can try the 685 with the 740A since I can't find a dealer in my area and the fact that B&W don't match too well with CA gear. More suggestions are welcome!

 

[Anonymous]

I would think you would get a far better improvement by getting a £300-ish CD player rather than a DAC for the Sony DVD player...by far. The Arcam CD73 & some of the new Marantz CD players will be much better than a DVD player which was created for the sole purpose of playing movies! More importantly, which Sony DVD player is it? I have a Sony DVP-NS355 and it's utterly awful in every sense and I doubt the transport is upto providing a signal worth anything to such a good DAC.

However, your speakers are trŠs bon! Really, they were good in their day and with uprated drivers from an even better pair of speakers, I bet they are still fantastic! My little Mission E30s are pint-sized gems that are incredibly underrated!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Hughes123:I would think you would get a far better improvement by getting a £300-ish CD player rather than a DAC for the Sony DVD player...by far. The Arcam CD73 & some of the new Marantz CD players will be much better than a DVD player which was created for the sole purpose of playing movies! More importantly, which Sony DVD player is it? I have a Sony DVP-NS355 and it's utterly awful in every sense and I doubt the transport is upto providing a signal worth anything to such a good DAC.

However, your speakers are trŠs bon! Really, they were good in their day and with uprated drivers from an even better pair of speakers, I bet they are still fantastic! My little Mission E30s are pint-sized gems that are incredibly underrated!

Hughesy, you are so wrong here. The DacMagic will be much better than a £300 cd player. I've had budget cd players and a very good one (albeit in a dvd player - Arcam FMJ DV27a). The DM with any half decent transport (and this includes a dvd player) is up alongside the 740C - a very well regarded £500 player. Obviously with the external DAC, the dvd player alone could not live with a £300 cd player. For the record, I used a £50 Sony upscaling dvd player originally with my DacMagic and I can't tell the difference with my new transport - the £300 Sony BD player.

 

[Anonymous]

Does this mean that a £300 DVD player (a Marantz DV6001, in this instance) combined with a CA Dacmagic would probably sound as good as, if not better than, a £400-500 CD player on its own?

Basically, I don't know whether to buy a new CD player or the Dacmagic and would very much appreciate some advice. Cheers.

 

[John Duncan]

Quote from a recent review (paraphrasing) - "it won't beat a modern £1,000 player or a vintage £1,500 one"......

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I was never going to spend more than £500 on a CD player anyway, so it sounds as if the DACmagic is worth consideration. The Marantz DV6001 was praised for its CD playback at the time of its release, so it seems likely that connecting it to a good stereo amp via a DACmagic will produce favourable results.

 

[Anonymous]

I currently have the CA 640A, CA 740C and Mordaunt-Short 914i. I also have the new DacMagic. I haven been comparing Apple Lossless via the DagMagic with the CA 740C, but struggle to hear the difference. The CA 740C might just be that extremely little bit better than the DacMagic, but I really struggle to hear the difference. Both combinations sounds great. Feeding Apple Lossless to the CA 740C DAC and comparing that with CD player is identical (which you can expect as it is used the same DAC).

So now I am not sure what to do; go completely computer based with the DacMagic and sell the CA 740C or keep the CA 740C and sell the DacMagic.

I will be selling one of them (both Silver) so let me know if you are interested or if you are based around south west london you can come along and listed to both.

 

[Anonymous]

It's encouraging that the DACmagic is comparable to a £500 CD player. Many thanks for the offer, but I'm based in sunny Cymru, I'm afraid.