I finally set up my new black little box that is the DacMagic. First impression out of the box is that it's very small and light but solid to the touch and looks the part. The psu plug supplied is heavier than the DAC!
At the moment I am using the Sony DVP NS78 budget upscaling dvd player as transport. QED Silver reference coaxial into the DAC and Chord Chorus II XLR from DAC to Cambridge Audio 840A v1 (Chord Odyssey 4 bi-wired to RS6s).
This is early stages but the first thing that I noticed (I was playing late at night, kids and missus in bed) was that I readied myself with the 840 volume very low and when I pressed play on the remote, the sound was much much louder than I expected! Anyone know of a reason why this might be the case? I had been using an Arcam dvd player before straight to the 840 and the difference in volume at low levels is significant.
Anyway, back to the sound. Sublime. I was expecting a lot and it sounds gorgeous. I have not whacked the sound up yet but the 840 sounds better the louder it gets so I can't wait for the weekend! At low levels though, you can pick out the detail. Terence Trent D'arby's debut album hasn't sounded so good since I listened to it on vinyl in '88. The bass was very deep and taut and it just sounded proper! I am not the best at explaining things like this but will update at the weekend when I get more time with my cds.
One more note is XLR cables (these are my first so I don't know if they are all built in the same way) - they just seem so much more secure than RCA.
At the moment I am using the Sony DVP NS78 budget upscaling dvd player as transport. QED Silver reference coaxial into the DAC and Chord Chorus II XLR from DAC to Cambridge Audio 840A v1 (Chord Odyssey 4 bi-wired to RS6s).
This is early stages but the first thing that I noticed (I was playing late at night, kids and missus in bed) was that I readied myself with the 840 volume very low and when I pressed play on the remote, the sound was much much louder than I expected! Anyone know of a reason why this might be the case? I had been using an Arcam dvd player before straight to the 840 and the difference in volume at low levels is significant.
Anyway, back to the sound. Sublime. I was expecting a lot and it sounds gorgeous. I have not whacked the sound up yet but the 840 sounds better the louder it gets so I can't wait for the weekend! At low levels though, you can pick out the detail. Terence Trent D'arby's debut album hasn't sounded so good since I listened to it on vinyl in '88. The bass was very deep and taut and it just sounded proper! I am not the best at explaining things like this but will update at the weekend when I get more time with my cds.
One more note is XLR cables (these are my first so I don't know if they are all built in the same way) - they just seem so much more secure than RCA.