Call me a heretic but my DACmagic is replacing my Cyrus CD6S!

[Alonso73]

That's it, my Cyrus CD6S is going on ebay. Ive had it for a few months and thoroughly enjoyed it but last month I bought a DACmagic (the new one) and these are my conclusions:

1.- I think I must have £3,000 worth of kit but £5 ears (which in a way Im grateful for)

2.- Could I tell a difference (blind-folded / swmbo switching inputs) between the Cyrus and the DAC? (DAC fed Apple Lossless files through Airport Express optical out): Yes. Could I say which was better? No. The DAC seemed brighter though but thats it.

3.- Its difficult to argue against the DAC/AE's infinite convenience of accessing ALL my music collection (that sits on a NAS) through my iphone remote app

I would grately appreciate your input. Am I commiting a HiFi sacrilege? Do I need to have my ears checked? Will I regret this? Am I missing something big here? Whats your experience?

Whats my system? Cyrus CD6S CD player, Cambridge Audio DAC Magic, Pathos Classic One MkII amp, Chord Carnival SilverScreen speaker cable, Merlin Chopin XLR balanced interconnect (DAC to Amp), Supra DUAL RCA interconnect (Cyrus to Amp), Mission V62 floorstanding speakers (to be replaced by Neat Motive 2) and a REL T3 sub

 

[Anonymous]

Alonso73:Could I tell a difference (blind-folded / swmbo switching inputs) between the Cyrus and the DAC? (DAC fed Apple Lossless files through Airport Express optical out): Yes. Could I say which was better? No.

That says it all. Your ears, your kit, your money. It the DacMagic gives you the same listening pleasure for a fraction of the price, you'd be a fool *not* to flog the Cyrus!

 

[Clare Newsome]

It's never heresy to go with what your ears tell you, and furthermore that you're happy with the usability of - if you're listening to (and enjoying) more music, then briliant!

(Just make sure you back up that NAS drive regularly...)

 

[idc]

I commited the same 'herasy' some time ago when my traditional hifi was traded for a bottle of malt and I went all itunes/ipod/speaker dock........I have not looked back and I love the sound as well as the convenience it has given me. Go for it!

 

[the record spot]

If it floats your boat, then pop your cork while you can. Enjoy! And pardon all the unneccessary metaphors.

 

[Anonymous]

I do know what you mean. I have an expensive Bel Canto PLayer PL2 - it does sound great but so does the digital music I send through my Squeezebox. I rarely listen to my cd's any more. I will likely put the Bel Canto up on ebay or audiogon soon. I think you're smart to recover what you can from things you are no longer using.

 

[Anonymous]

I did the same, sold my Naim CD5 and now use a Squeezebox directly into my Supernait controlled by an ipod touch, I honestly cannot tell the difference between the the 2systems..........

 

[Alonso73]

Hey guys... first of all, I was impressed by the speed (and quality) of your feedback. As you could see, this was my first post of this forum and I thought that my 'newbie' comment was going to 'drown in a sea of more experienced contributions' but I was proved wrong!

Regarding the DAC/CYRUS issue... well, you have confirmed what I thought but I just didnt want to make a rash decision without asking you guys.

The great thing is that I will continue to buy CD's; with everything that that brings, like access to the the printed booklets, a true back up, supporting the artist, but they wont need to occupy expensive real-estate in our little shoe-box house and I will be able to pick-and-choose instantly from a great interface (ie. My iphone - which I happen to be in love with!)

Today I was just looking at my set up (literally) and wondering (as in 'in wonder') how interesting things have turned around. I mean, a digital source (lossless files) sent wirelessly through a home network but piped into (in my case) a hybrid Transistor/Valve amp.. I dunno, It felt like strange bed partners of old & new technologies comfortably working together....

Once again, thank you.

 

[Anonymous]

Alonso73,

Was not so long ago I was thinking the same thing. High-end hifi with over 2,000 cd's on a unit upstairs. Having to go up and down stairs to get music when it could be at my finger tips with a remote. However the Gods must have been watching over me as I got a virus on my computer which is well protected. Consequently I lost hundreds of albums I spent hours down loading onto iTunes. I had even purchased some stuff from the iTunes store which was lost.Yes I know you can make back up's, I now find the risk too high That was my wake up call.

Why not just add a hifi hard drive to your quality system as I'm sure you will regret selling it.

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:
(Just make sure you back up that NAS drive regularly...)

Quite. Offsite storage preferably. Can't imagine the hassle of ripping every CD I have myself, and the risk of losing it all is just too high. Yes you still have the CDs, but you'll never get the time back...

 

[Alonso73]

I.D.C.:
Why not just add a hifi hard drive to your quality system as I'm sure you will regret selling it.

Do you reckon Ill regret selling the Cyrus? I mean, by keeping it im not protecting my lossless files. I do have a NAS in RAID1 config (meaning 2 HDD mirroring each other, if one decides to spontaneously combust, the other will have the exact data) worst worst worst case scenario, if both go bust at the same time, I still have the 'hard copies' (yeah, ok, hours/days of re-ripping) Everything I dont have the originals, is kept on a third drive sitting inside a cupboard at my mother in-law's place

I know that nobody here is trying to convince anybody of any particular way of doing things and we're just sharing our ideas but since my £10 ears cant tell if the Cyrus sounds better than my DAC/Lossless set up, I thought I might as well kill 3 birds with one stone and pass the Cyrus on to someone else, while getting some of my money back AND have all my music at the tap of a touch-sensitive screen!

One additional benefit of the music-files over CD's is The Great Democratizer..... Shuffle Play! I mean, It literally surprises you every time with stuff you either forgot you had or stuff you didnt expect to enjoy. It takes all the pain of choosing which cd to play, most of the times I dont know what I want to listen to and expect the covers and sleeves to push me into a choice, all based on what I can remember a particular album was... which in itself is quite limiting cause our tastes change .... anyway... rambling now. Sorry.

Lets see where this HiFi adventure leads me to, I promise to keep you all updated. What would I do with the money from the Cyrus, probably it will go into (the savings) for another Pathos Classic One Mk II amp to run it in mono next to the current one! What do you think?

 

[Alonso73]

WestCoastFun:I do know what you mean. I have an expensive Bel Canto PLayer PL2 - it does sound great but so does the digital music I send through my Squeezebox. I rarely listen to my cd's any more. I will likely put the Bel Canto up on ebay or audiogon soon. I think you're smart to recover what you can from things you are no longer using.

QuestionQuestionQuestion

Why did you choose to go for a Squeezbox and not for itunes plus an ipod touch/iphone as remote set up? I mean, I kind of know why I would go for one and not the other but I dont want to say just so I dont bias your answer (not that I would) but I want to know which was your logic...

 

[Anonymous]

I can fully appreciate where you are coming from, lets be honest it is the future so your one step ahead going down that route.

 

[Anonymous]

Alonso,

It's great that you're enjoying you're enjoying your digital music so much.

Unless I've missed something, you do not say whether you're using a PC or Mac. If you're using a Mac then I'd urge you, just once, to try connecting your Mac digital output directly to your DAC and play some uncompressed AIFF files. I am willing to bet you'll be stunned further still, particularly if you download some hi resolution audio files.

If you're using a PC then there are many many other options to explore in terms of software, that will improve your experience further still over what you're already hearing .. On the PC, if you intend using iTunes, you need to use the Airport Express to avoid Windows' dreaded K-Mixer or the Vista equivalent. Other software, such as Medamonkey, XXHighEnd, JRiver and Foobar allow the use of ASIO or WASAPI which bypass any Windows audio processing and produce amazing output.

Life's easier with the Mac. But you can play more with the PC.

Above all, enjoy. Don't become too much of a fiddler like me.

It'd be geat to see What HiFi run a large article on computer audio and how to setup different systems. I'd be willing to help out and know a fair bit about it too.

Matt.

 

[Anonymous]

I replaced my Cyrus CDXT with an iMac as my main source when I couldnt tell the difference between them.

 

[Dr Beat]

Hi schbeemb

I am setting up as an alternative source to my amp, a PC based music library. I am now using a simple 3.5mm jack cable to connect to my amp's 2 RCA plugs. The sound is great . However, i would like to ask you if you know how i can improve the sound further. For e.g you suggested that we by pass the sound card on the PC, how do we do this? Currently, i have borrowed a friend's CA DAC Magic to bypass the PC . Works like a charm and i can certainly vouch for the vast improvement in sound quality.

But, if you already have a DAC on board the pre-amp, eg the Cyrus DAC XP, how do you connect the pc USB port to the digital input on the amp? Is there a cable of some sort that has USB on one end and a digital plug on the other, that we can use? It's supposed to a superior DAC on the Cyrus and i wanted to use that one instead of setting a DAC again on the DAC Magic.

Any suggestions/ ideas - all appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

I lissent to a dac magic and it sounded not good compared to my mission DAC5.

It sounds undistorted but the dac magic has no natural sound that is analog with deph in sound image.

I know for sure that the cyrus will sound better.

Maybe it has more distorsion, but that will quikley fade away compared to the warm analog natural sound of the cyrus.

The stereo image is also bad from the dac magic, it has good left and right but no deph in sound image.

It sounds flat.

This is a sad message, dont do it.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

duboracle - the OP has said that in a blind test he couldn't tell the difference. The fact that you may be able to shouldn't influence his choice - it's his system and his ears...

OP - go for it. My Alpha 6 will be going on ebay soon, as I haven't used it in 6 months...

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Dr Beat:Is there a cable of some sort that has USB on one end and a digital plug on the other, that we can use? It's supposed to a superior DAC on the Cyrus and i wanted to use that one instead of setting a DAC again on the DAC Magic.

A bit OT, but you would need a sound card (internal/on-board or external USB) with a digital out socket.

 

[drummerman]

I partly agree with you with regards to the somewhat 'flat' image the Dacmagic seems to portray compared to older players which initially perhaps seem more organic. I heard the same when comparing with a five year old Denon cdp.

I think its a case of most modern upsamplers pushing music out wide and forward compared to older players or those that don't use the now common 24/192 or whatever DAC's. Thing is I'd rather hear whats on the disc without my player adding distortion even if it means that some badly recorded stuff doesn't sound quite as good.

Personally and apart from it's obvious versatility I think the DM is superb and not far off some of the best players I've heard for much more money.

Perhaps they will use wolfsons latest dac for version 2. AVI did and the difference was noticeable but it may end up as good as the companies top player which kind of would defeat the existence of the latter.

 

[Anonymous]

Dr Beat,

The quality of your output depends on a number of things but most importantly your audio card and/or DAC, drivers and the playback software.

The key is bypassing the internal audio processing that happens within Windows to achieve a bit perfect audio output. In XP this is known as the K-Mixer. Vista has an improved audio engine but hey, why should we allow Microsoft to play with our audio when many media players allow us to bypass it ?

This output can be carried to your DAC via USB, firewire or a digital output.

I always recommend Mediamonkey as a good player to begin with (and use for good actually). After installing simply install the ASIO and waveout plugins from the same website.

If you're using the Cambridge Audio DAC then selecting ASIO under the output options tab within Mediamonkey should give you fabulous sound. Give that a go first and let me know how you get on (mks0001@hotmail.com).

The above is simplistic but setup should be a breeze using that DAC.

 

[Alonso73]

Schbeemb:

Unless I've missed something, you do not say whether you're using a PC or Mac. If you're using a Mac then I'd urge you, just once, to try connecting your Mac digital output directly to your DAC and play some uncompressed AIFF files. I am willing to bet you'll be stunned further still, particularly if you download some hi resolution audio files.

Oh no, I think I mentioned it. Its Mac all the way. And yes, right now its Lossless files (a sort of AIFF) through Airport Express' Optical Out into the DAC magic and then into the Pathos amp

Schbeemb:

Above all, enjoy. Don't become too much of a fiddler like me.

Well, I dont think I can do much about that. A fiddler I am... And its difficult cause I keep telling my self that it should all be about the music!

Schbeemb:

It'd be geat to see What HiFi run a large article on computer audio and how to setup different systems. I'd be willing to help out and know a fair bit about it too..

It'd be really good. The convergence between 0's & 1's and HiFi is here and its real. I wonder how much politics, lobbying and vested interests (e.g money poured into developing the XYZ transport this or X'000,000 investment in that) that are there stopping it from really taking off....

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Dr Beat:
Hi schbeemb

I am setting up as an alternative source to my amp, a PC based music library. I am now using a simple 3.5mm jack cable to connect to my amp's 2 RCA plugs. The sound is great . However, i would like to ask you if you know how i can improve the sound further. For e.g you suggested that we by pass the sound card on the PC, how do we do this? Currently, i have borrowed a friend's CA DAC Magic to bypass the PC . Works like a charm and i can certainly vouch for the vast improvement in sound quality.

But, if you already have a DAC on board the pre-amp, eg the Cyrus DAC XP, how do you connect the pc USB port to the digital input on the amp? Is there a cable of some sort that has USB on one end and a digital plug on the other, that we can use? It's supposed to a superior DAC on the Cyrus and i wanted to use that one instead of setting a DAC again on the DAC Magic.

Any suggestions/ ideas - all appreciated.

Maybe I'm mistaken here but are you saying that you have the 3.5 jack going from pc to DacMagic and then stereo cables from the DM to your amp? If so, there is a simple way to get a big improvement. Most pcs these days have an optical output but if yours doesn't, use usb and go from your pc to DacMagic with that. You will then be sending digitally to the DM rather than via analogue. Apologies if I've got this all wrong.

 

[idc]

This is a fascinating thread and similar to the post; http://whathifi.com/forums/t/199598.aspx about connecting a DAC Magic. Just as then, can any of you who have a computer based set up with Airports/DACs etc post pictures and a description of how it all goes together on the Your Systems part of the forum. OK so it will not be as pretty as some of the setups there, but its about the sound. My ipod only setup is nothing to the eye, but I still posted it to show how it can be done and the alternatives to the more traditional source/amp/speaker hifi.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

idc:This is a fascinating thread and similar to the post; http://whathifi.com/forums/t/199598.aspx about connecting a DAC Magic. Just as then, can any of you who have a computer based set up with Airports/DACs etc post pictures and a description of how it all goes together on the Your Systems part of the forum. OK so it will not be as pretty as some of the setups there, but its about the sound. My ipod only setup is nothing to the eye, but I still posted it to show how it can be done and the alternatives to the more traditional source/amp/speaker hifi.

Photos would be difficult as my rack is very heavy and to move it to get access for pictures is a challenge. I will explain mine as simply as possible. I have a fairly basic Inspiron desktop in my bedroom. I added a 1TB hard drive to it and that's where my media is stored. I back up to a 120gb external drive (will buy another when I need to). I rip cds using Windows Media Player to WMA Lossless. I have a Linksys Media Center extender (DMA2100) downstairs on my rack which connects to my AV receiver (and therefore my LCD) via hdmi. It's also connected to my DacMagic via coaxial. My DacMagic is connected to my stereo amp using XLR cables. I also have it connected to my Sky HD box via optical for radio. All my songs are streamed to the extender and I see my Media Center on my LCD. I navigate using the remote and pick songs, queue up songs, hit shuffle to my hearts content!