I posted a couple of weeks ago a picture of my new Blok Stax 400 rack - well i have completed what i set out to do in this particular period of change and the Rega P3-24 is being sold along with my V-Dac and some of the proceeds have bought a new Arcam rdac. First impressions are very good indeed - i actually bought it on a sale or return demo basis for a week but i am pretty sure it wont be returning. It is better than the V-Dac and shows its extra price on build / looks and sound which is much fuller than the Musical Fidelity one, with better bass and a smoother treble and much more in keeping with my CD player now. I know there are many great dacs out there - but this one seemed the right price and sound quality given my existing separates and was at the limit of what i wanted to spend as well. The rest of the money is going towards new speakers - next years planned upgrade item 🙂
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Dac Change
- Thread starter crusaderlord
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Thanks - building my system has been great fun and although it is now mostly complete there will always be new things to try.
4 years ago i had an ageing NAD CD and Amplifier (C 304 i think it was) with black mission speakers on shelves crammed into the corners and i never really listened to it and used my headphones instead. When the left channel finally went in the amplifier it set me on a series of upgrades through a replacement NAD and Epos M5 speakers onto some Arcam Divas and then the FMJ kit with Neat Motive, the core of which i have had now for over 2 and a half years.
Last year i added the wadia dock and a dac and this year i have changed the infrastructure including cables, power leads and finally got it on a decent rack and it has really brought out the best in the separates and reduced the number of sources used - in fact i now feel that overall set up plays a massive part in a system performance as a whole.
I would now say i have got this set up pretty much to a level i aspired to when i started, taking into consideration the room and space provided. It remains my hobby and one i really enjoy.
4 years ago i had an ageing NAD CD and Amplifier (C 304 i think it was) with black mission speakers on shelves crammed into the corners and i never really listened to it and used my headphones instead. When the left channel finally went in the amplifier it set me on a series of upgrades through a replacement NAD and Epos M5 speakers onto some Arcam Divas and then the FMJ kit with Neat Motive, the core of which i have had now for over 2 and a half years.
Last year i added the wadia dock and a dac and this year i have changed the infrastructure including cables, power leads and finally got it on a decent rack and it has really brought out the best in the separates and reduced the number of sources used - in fact i now feel that overall set up plays a massive part in a system performance as a whole.
I would now say i have got this set up pretty much to a level i aspired to when i started, taking into consideration the room and space provided. It remains my hobby and one i really enjoy.
Very intrested in your findings about the rdac. I'm in a very similar position myself, thinking about the rdac although I haven't heard one yet. IMHO I've always thought that my cd player has the edge on my dac magic, so I would be very intrested in your thoughts as you settle down with the new dac. How it sounds compared to your cd player etc.
Regards Andy
Regards Andy
Hard to judge at the moment between the CD and rDac - after all the CD36 has a quartet of Wolfson 8740 dac chips whereas the rDac has a new 8741 chip.
I am a bit biased as i love the sound of the CD36 - full bodied, rich with and steering slighly towards an analogue sound (more so than many other players anyway). There probably isnt too much in it which says a lot for the rDacs value for money. What i like is that the rDac sounds very similar to the CD and add much more than my old Dac which on balance was slightly thin sounding in comparison.
The Rega TT has now gone and the rDac is seeing good use with radio paradise and the itouch. Next stop will probably be a speaker upgrade but its going to be hard to significantly beat the motive 3's.
I am a bit biased as i love the sound of the CD36 - full bodied, rich with and steering slighly towards an analogue sound (more so than many other players anyway). There probably isnt too much in it which says a lot for the rDacs value for money. What i like is that the rDac sounds very similar to the CD and add much more than my old Dac which on balance was slightly thin sounding in comparison.
The Rega TT has now gone and the rDac is seeing good use with radio paradise and the itouch. Next stop will probably be a speaker upgrade but its going to be hard to significantly beat the motive 3's.
I understand the wireless option will cost an extra £100 later in the year. Now, if they can just add the XLR option too...
Oh, and offer a sexy black version.
Oh, and offer a sexy black version.
A free day and a chance to do some comparative testing like running the CD36 through the digital out and into the r-Dac just to see what the difference was and also comparing an apple lossless version of the same songs via the wadia and r-dac to the CD36 player.
By way of comparative background i used to have a wadia / Musical Fidelity V-dac combination and i would have said the CD36 was always noticeably better. I have to say now the CD36 v the r-Dac is a much more even match. I guess the surprise for me was the apple lossless version did such a good job - that said i can tell when it is ripped in a more compressed version.
My overall feelings are that the Wadia / r-Dac is now as strong as the CD36 - there is i think a very very slight benefit from the CD on overall soundstage coherence but i doubt i would be able to tell every time in blind testing. What i really like is that listening to radio paradise is really good.
So in summary the r-dac itself is excellent value, great sounding and can lift PC music up a great deal. It is worth its award winner status.
I have to say i am very pleased with my system at the moment - not least the addition of a Russ Andrews Signature Powerkord to the amp has really given things a benefit. Personally i am very impressed by what these mains kords can do.
By way of comparative background i used to have a wadia / Musical Fidelity V-dac combination and i would have said the CD36 was always noticeably better. I have to say now the CD36 v the r-Dac is a much more even match. I guess the surprise for me was the apple lossless version did such a good job - that said i can tell when it is ripped in a more compressed version.
My overall feelings are that the Wadia / r-Dac is now as strong as the CD36 - there is i think a very very slight benefit from the CD on overall soundstage coherence but i doubt i would be able to tell every time in blind testing. What i really like is that listening to radio paradise is really good.
So in summary the r-dac itself is excellent value, great sounding and can lift PC music up a great deal. It is worth its award winner status.
I have to say i am very pleased with my system at the moment - not least the addition of a Russ Andrews Signature Powerkord to the amp has really given things a benefit. Personally i am very impressed by what these mains kords can do.
Hi Crusaderlord,
Very nice setup.
As I'm in the process of getting speakers I'm curious how your neats sound together with arcam gear.
What are its strong points; any weaknesses? I'm searching for speakers that are neutral but lively/energetic.
Very nice setup.
As I'm in the process of getting speakers I'm curious how your neats sound together with arcam gear.
What are its strong points; any weaknesses? I'm searching for speakers that are neutral but lively/energetic.
The best reply i can give on the Neat Motive starts with my demo review in August 2008 (goodness 2 years already !)
http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/123586.aspx
I cant think of any weaknesses for the Arcam and Neat match - the main comment i do see on the forum levelled by non Arcam lovers is that they can seem laid back. The Neats are reviewed as dynamic, lively and punchy which seems to really well balance off any signs of the Arcams less lively qualities but also very much retains the smoothness in the vocals and treble that Arcam is great at.
Personally i think Neat make really great speakers - the Neat Petite sx in the next price bracket would be ones i would now try and i would probably put them up against the Proac 1SC or now the Response D1. However given these are almost double the price of the Neat Motives 3 these are great value.
But as always try before you buy - your taste may not match my own.
http://community.whathifi.com/forums/t/123586.aspx
I cant think of any weaknesses for the Arcam and Neat match - the main comment i do see on the forum levelled by non Arcam lovers is that they can seem laid back. The Neats are reviewed as dynamic, lively and punchy which seems to really well balance off any signs of the Arcams less lively qualities but also very much retains the smoothness in the vocals and treble that Arcam is great at.
Personally i think Neat make really great speakers - the Neat Petite sx in the next price bracket would be ones i would now try and i would probably put them up against the Proac 1SC or now the Response D1. However given these are almost double the price of the Neat Motives 3 these are great value.
But as always try before you buy - your taste may not match my own.
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