Cambridge Audio Dacmagic Plus - any info yet?

[Jason36]

Hmmm interesting...I was going to consider the DacMagic Plus for my laptop...mainly because it has a built in Headphone Amp and can also take 192kHz 24bit via the USB. However I wouldnt be using the Wireless function.

Be interesting to see what the lower model has before I rush in and spend £350.00 on the Plus.

 

[mitch65]

Hmmm interesting...I was going to consider the DacMagic Plus for my laptop...mainly because it has a built in Headphone Amp and can also take 192kHz 24bit via the USB. However I wouldnt be using the Wireless function.

Be interesting to see what transfer rate the lower model will have before I rush in and spend £350.00 on the Plus.

Thinking along the same lines Jason - DAC and built in headphone amp into laptop......looks an interesting time for CA.

I see you got the Denon AH-D2000s, how are you finding them?

 

[Jason36]

Hmmm interesting...I was going to consider the DacMagic Plus for my laptop...mainly because it has a built in Headphone Amp and can also take 192kHz 24bit via the USB. However I wouldnt be using the Wireless function.

Be interesting to see what transfer rate the lower model will have before I rush in and spend £350.00 on the Plus.

Thinking along the same lines Jason - DAC and built in headphone amp into laptop......looks an interesting time for CA.

I see you got the Denon AH-D2000s, how are you finding them?

Hiya Mate,

Yep the Denon's arrived yesterday....initially I wasn't sure about them and really thought I had made a mistake....because the Bass is so much more present than the Grado's.

However by last night and Definately today I love them.....They are just so different to the Grado's and dare I say....better??? I can't believe how airy the Denon's sound for closed back cans and the detail they find is amazing.....and they are so dam comfortable.

Im just listening to Tori Amos' new album on My iPad through Spotify and I really can't tell I'm wearing headphones....her voice is just so captivating.

Definately one of the best purchases I have made.....now when does that new DacMagic Plus come out??? :?

 

[eggontoast]

However by last night and Definately today I love them.....They are just so different to the Grado's and dare I say....better??? I can't believe how airy the Denon's sound for closed back cans and the detail they find is amazing.....and they are so dam comfortable.

Im just listening to Tori Amos' new album on My iPad through Spotify and I really can't tell I'm wearing headphones....her voice is just so captivating.

Soooo.....When are you upgrading to the AH-D5000 or 7000's lol

 

[Jason36]

However by last night and Definately today I love them.....They are just so different to the Grado's and dare I say....better??? I can't believe how airy the Denon's sound for closed back cans and the detail they find is amazing.....and they are so dam comfortable.

Im just listening to Tori Amos' new album on My iPad through Spotify and I really can't tell I'm wearing headphones....her voice is just so captivating.

Soooo.....When are you upgrading to the AH-D5000 or 7000's lol

Hahah part of me wishes I had spent the extra £100 I could have got the 5000's for.....however I am far from disappointed with the 2000's.

Next upgrade for me will be a DAC / HPA for the Laptop.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok thanks Andy

Frank

 

[Anonymous]

First 'Review' i've read for anyone interested......

EDITED BY MODS - House Rules

....and on sale NOW !!!!!!!

http://www.richersounds.com/product/cd-players-recorders-dacs-cassette-decks/cambridge-audio/dacmagic-plus/camb-dacmagic-plus-b

 

[Jason36]

Sounds positive....and an improvement sound wise over the old DacMagic.

I think I need to find a local store to demo one of the with my Laptop and Denon AHD2000's, could be just what I am after...especially with the USB catering for up to 192kHz 24 bit.

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly what I want one for.....Computer/Hard Drive based music.

Have a Creative PCI 24/96 sound card in laptop which sounds ok but recently tried a Sqeeze Touch

which sounded better but couldn't handle the volume/quality of music on the hard drives(2 hours to

load a half full 750GB HD,then constant rebuffering).

So looks like i'm stuck with laptop for the time being....hence interest in better DAC...

 

[tyranniux42]

Could be interested if there's a 384khz upsampling one with the wireless & better USB minus the headphones. Will await info eagerly on all developments and hang fire on buying one for now.

Cant see what difference the higher rate upsample will give.

 

[Anonymous]

I recently posted about buying a headphone amp, it seems this dac can do it all, i may hold of buying the v-can 2 and buying a v-psu 2, i will wait for the review to come in and try and get a demo.

 

[Anonymous]

Cant see what difference the higher rate upsample will give.

Why not? (I'm interested to know thoughts on this upsampling thing aside from Cambridge's blurb)

As soon as the silver one is available I intend to buy it :cheer:

Rob

 

[Anonymous]

When are we likely to see a WHF review? oke:

RS in Chelsea tell me that the silver model is likely to be a special order and they're not expecting shop stock just yet. So may be one to order online when the silver one finally appears. :type:

 

[quadpatch]

I recently bought a pair of Denon AH-D7000 headphones and am loving them both from portables and through a Fiio E7+E9 DAC/Amp but am looking for something that would push the D7000's a bit further (with a PC via USB).

All I want is something that boosts audio quality from a PC / Laptop to the headphones. The DacMagic Plus looks great (even specifies 'Asynchronous USB' which seems rare as hell at this price) but I am worried that I would be paying for a lot of functionatily that I don't need.

I am wondering whether this would be a better choice over something like the CEntrance DacPort (£279) http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/CEntrance-DACport-DAC/product_5559. I don't really care about the portability, audio quality is paramount. If anyone has any opinions on this either way I would appreciate the insight.

 

[ruivasco]

When are we likely to see a WHF review? oke:

it seems that February What Hi Fi answers to your question...anyone who have read the magazine could tells us what they saying?

 

[wbarr]

4 stars. Arcam R-DAC rated better. Too bright, apparently. Given that I'm listening in the context of a Cyrus system, can't say I agree. Likewise, while R-DAC is good, didn't think it sounded better. Still, that's why we can all have opinions and it's hardy a bad review for the CA. V little said about the headphone amp, other than it shares the bright sound characteristic. Headphone amp, in my view, is pretty decent - nothing stunning, but ok.

 

[SteveR750]

Too bright??! The old DACmagic was brighter and coarser, and that got 5 stars.

 

[The_Lhc]

Too bright??! The old DACmagic was brighter and coarser, and that got 5 stars.

Cheaper though wasn't it?

 

[SteveR750]

Yes, but there is also additional functionality that the original didn't have in a headphone out. OK might not explain the price delta completely, but the jump from £220 to £350 in DACs is hardly a whole category. If it had been £500 the I might accept that argument even if not in agreement.

 

[Ajani]

Yes, but there is also additional functionality that the original didn't have in a headphone out. OK might not explain the price delta completely, but the jump from £220 to £350 in DACs is hardly a whole category. If it had been £500 the I might accept that argument even if not in agreement.

It may not be a new category, but that's a 59% increase in price. for that kind of extra money they may have expected more. Also, we need to keep in mind that there is a lot more competition in the affordable DAC market now than when the previous Dacmagic debuted. So WHF may just prefer the competition.

 

[ruivasco]

Too bright??! The old DACmagic was brighter and coarser, and that got 5 stars.

Have you heard both?What are the main differences?Some folks say they sound the same!

 

[wbarr]

I've upgraded from the Dacmagic to the Plus. There is a large difference in sound. Plus has a wider soundstage and sounds much more natural to my ears. Sound is a bit lighter (less obvious mid bass), but also less brittle sounding with edgy recordings. That's why I don't understand the criticism of the Plus that's it's bright in WHF. They compare it to the Arcam r-Dac, which is a pretty stonking DAC, but, in my view, always sounds just a touch leaden and slow. Both the r-Dac and the DacMagic pPus have different sound signatures, so probably worth auditioning both if you care to consider buying either.

Now, anticipating a question about whether the Plus is worth £150 more than the vanilla DacMagic, that's much harder to answer. Put it this way - I still have my Dacmagic, which is now doing the business in my study, attached to my PC and an old Project Headbox II headphone amp. I thought I'd try the old Dacmagic back in the my hifi, as it would make sense to have the Plus connected to my PC, as I could make use of the new USB connection and 2.0 driver. That idea lasted about as long as it took me to get to the first chorus of 'Everywhere' on a 96khz FLAC of Fleetwood Mac's 'Tango In The Night'. After having listened to the Plus in my system since early December, going back to the old Dacmagic was just not an option. It just sounded so much more constrained, dull and artificial (and it's not at all). You pays your money...

 

[SteveR750]

Some say it's better, some say it's not; no doubt a few will say it's worse. It's always been that way.

Stating the obvious, I wouldn't have bought and kept it if I didn't think it was better., and without getting too analytical about it, its smoother and has a wider, bigger soundstage. The USB input is better than optical which surprised me, and the £12 lindy gold plated USB cable is maybe slightly better than the cheap thing that came with it. The headphone amp is better than the one on the K2 FWIW.

I'm not sure there is much value in doing a %age cost delta comparison for anything less than £500 - the actual £££s difference is perhaps more meaningful. Higher priced stuff then yes it probably is.

 

[wbarr]

Just added a Squeeze-Upgrade linear power supply + filter (ta Mark Grant). First impressions are that it makes a substantial difference to performance. Soundstage seems more tightly focused and bass is deeper. Will report further as supply runs in and I do a comparison against the supplied wall-wart.