Calling for a new DAC

paulkebab

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Hello again forum. Well, it's nearly 'that time' again to treat myself to something expensive. Err don't get carried away now guys, I'm talking reality not artefactonium, with polyphactohedron particle hemimetric polyalloy construction, just, a simple, DAC. OOps I said simple but anyway, what I would like some advice on is a worthy and meaningful upgrade to the Arcam iRDAC I have, and love. Alright, to the nitty-gritty - the overall sound as everyone knows is smooth and rounded, plenty of bass with a sweet top. My ears are changing OMG I'm nearly 60.. shoyt.. and I want a more pronounced treble or top, bass isn't an issue, in fact it's turned down by 20%. I can take a few windings off the choke in the crossover to take the edge off the bass and probably up the midrange a bit but this won't address my (I hate to admit) old-age tinnitus affected HF range. I believe the Audiolab is a bit clinical and bright, which might be right up my audio pained street, other DAC reports have been more to flat response, although Gazzip's findings on the Chord DAC sound like my desired profile but I'm not prepared to spend that much...yet!

Advice and pointers always appreciated, thanks.

Budget? Hmm off the top of my head a grand but convince me and I'll pay... how much?? Oh alright then.
 
I doubt even throwing a grand at a new dac will totally out perform the arcam I'm afraid,it will maybe better slightly but not worth the outlay . I'd look at changing something else,if it must be a dac though a second hand chord Hugo or Hugo tt if you can find one in that kind of price range,another option is arcams own d33 which was around the 2k mark when released and can sometimes can be found at great prices (haven't heard it though).but I reckon that's where you'll need to look for a significant upgrade if at all a significant upgrade is possible when it comes to dac's.
 

Native_bon

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I just recently got the chord 2Qute dac running off my Oppo 105EU & its totally transformed the sound of my system. It replaced an Audiolab M-dac. The Chord out performs the M-dac in all areas. The 2Qute is the most musical source I have used till date period. The Only thing I would have you check is to see if you amp/pre amp can handle the high output of 3v RMS. Must say the 2Qute is quite analogue sounding, but this will depend what you pair it with.

The only real disadvantage of the 2Qute is lack of a pre amp section.
 

paulkebab

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looks good but I need 2 optical inputs and 1 co-ax, output wouldnt be a problem. As you say, I might need to stretch the budget a bit to justify the outlay.

Found a D33 for a smidge under a grand
 
paulkebab said:
looks good but I need 2 optical inputs and 1 co-ax, output wouldnt be a problem. As you say, I might need to stretch the budget a bit to justify the outlay.

Found a D33 for a smidge under a grand

Cannot really comment on the D33 other than it got good reviews but if your hearing is going the same way as mine then I'd recommend a DAC with switchable filter settings.
 

DocG

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Fundamentally changing the sound character thru a new DAC is IMO the hard way (well, the impossible way) to get where you want to get (not unlike swapping cables actually). Just think of it: which manufacturer would tune his DAC for your aging ears?

Alears' suggestion of a DAC with selectable filtres goes somewhat in the right direction.

But to me, what you need is an equalizer. These have a bad name, because the older, analogue devices caused phase issues, fixing a problem while screwing up the sound in another aspect. But nowadays we have digital EQ, without these nasty side effects. And it's a flexible solution too: if your hearing gets worse, you can pump up the treble a little more. And if you have visitors, you can just turn it down again, so it's not ear piercing to them. In short: you're in control!
 
DocG said:
Fundamentally changing the sound character thru a new DAC is IMO the hard way (well, the impossible way) to get where you want to get (not unlike swapping cables actually). Just think of it: which manufacturer would tune his DAC for your aging ears?

Alears' suggestion of a DAC with selectable filtres goes somewhat in the right direction.

But to me, what you need is an equalizer. These have a bad name, because the older, analogue devices caused phase issues, fixing a problem while screwing up the sound in another aspect. But nowadays we have digital EQ, without these nasty side effects. And it's a flexible solution too: if your hearing gets worse, you can pump up the treble a little more. And if you have visitors, you can just turn it down again, so it's not ear piercing to them. In short: you're in control!

Good point. My suggestion of switchable filters was going in this sort of direction but not to the degree of adding another box. ;-)
 

paulkebab

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mention an EQ because after a bit of thought, maybe a DAC swapout wouldn't give me enough of what I want. I don't mind another box, can you suggest any that will address my issues? Would one of those DSpeaker Antimode units be a bit OTT?

Thanks for replying.
 
paulkebab said:
mention an EQ because after a bit of thought, maybe a DAC swapout wouldn't give me enough of what I want. I don't mind another box, can you suggest any that will address my issues? Would one of those DSpeaker Antimode units be a bit OTT?

Thanks for replying.

It might but cannot comment really as have no personal experience of said kit. There are others on here that use them I believe, perhaps they will comment.
 

-Erik-

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paulkebab said:
mention an EQ because after a bit of thought, maybe a DAC swapout wouldn't give me enough of what I want. I don't mind another box, can you suggest any that will address my issues? Would one of those DSpeaker Antimode units be a bit OTT?

Thanks for replying.

An Antimode would serve you very well. But it is more than a parametric EQ (as you know), and that comes at a price. If you can appreciate the bass management and room correction features, it's a very sound investment, IMO.

If a parametric EQ is all you need, you can get one for a far lower budget. Look at a Behringer DEQ2496 for starters. Not a looker, but it does what it says on the tin.
 

DocG

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I found me an ex-demo DEQX HDP3. It's more expensive than an Antimode, but it'll take care of EQ + speaker correction + room correction + active crossover duties.

It all depends what it is you need exactly. The Berhinger, mentioned above, looks like good VFM (going by the specs).
 

paulkebab

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looks very impressive but I think the Behringer will cover what I want, although I have some aesthetic reservations. I will never have subs ( I would consider but 'her who must be obeyed' hates them ) so the DEQX and the Antimode might be a bit wasted. She does actually love our setup as I do but sometimes it's so annoying with poorly mastered stuff, which I think is the main these days; decaying ears just make things worse. Well mastered material is a dream, I couldn't wish for more; this is where I think a DSP rather than a new DAC will serve me well and thanks to everyone who pointed that out for me.
 

paulkebab

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paulkebab said:
looks very impressive but I think the Behringer will cover what I want, although I have some aesthetic reservations. I will never have subs ( I would consider but 'her who must be obeyed' hates them ) so the DEQX and the Antimode might be a bit wasted. She does actually love our setup as I do but sometimes it's so annoying with poorly mastered stuff, which I think is the main these days; decaying ears just make things worse. Well mastered material is a dream, I couldn't wish for more; this is where I think a DSP rather than a new DAC will serve me well and thanks to everyone who pointed that out for me. It makes me wonder if more people than want to admit have the same or similar issues?
 

DocG

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paulkebab said:
looks very impressive but I think the Behringer will cover what I want, although I have some aesthetic reservations. I will never have subs ( I would consider but 'her who must be obeyed' hates them ) so the DEQX and the Antimode might be a bit wasted. She does actually love our setup as I do but sometimes it's so annoying with poorly mastered stuff, which I think is the main these days; decaying ears just make things worse. Well mastered material is a dream, I couldn't wish for more; this is where I think a DSP rather than a new DAC will serve me well and thanks to everyone who pointed that out for me. It makes me wonder if more people than want to admit have the same or similar issues?

Yes, it's ugly... uhm, purposeful. I would hide it if I could, frankly. *smile*

But I think you will be well served indeed!
 

MajorFubar

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paulkebab said:
It makes me wonder if more people than want to admit have the same or similar issues?

You raise a very valid point. There is so much emphasis on digital eq correction for the room but very little on correcting it for the frequency response of the listener's ears. The only problem is it would only ever sound right to one person at once.
 

paulkebab

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and thats me :) My partners ears are slightly worse than mine so it won't be an issue. If friends are round then I would probably bypass the EQ just to keep everyone happy.
 

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