DAC Magic & Digital Music Appreciation Thread

[NigelF]

I don't work for Cambridge Audio but heard lots of good reviews about it, so starting a thread for those who already own dac magic, can you share your rest of equipments for e.g what is your source for e.g Sonos, Squeezebox, Roku, PS3, ATV, PC and Amp and Speaker and your experience in few sentences if your kit can beat a conventional system cost x-times more. I think this thread would defintly help those who are moving to Digital Music world and also for those who got the bug of upgrade to see which equipments partner well.

WHFS&V editors can also share their experiences as they own most versatile equipments then anyone of us.

 

[John Duncan]

iMac -> Apple TV -> dacmagic -> Primare A20 -> AVI Neutron V.

Beats my £800 Primare D20 CD player.

Next...

 

[PJPro]

?

(Beresford owner)

 

[John Duncan]

Yes, let's make it less brand-centric

 

[carter]

apple tv(lossless)---->dac magic---->onkyo 705(pure audio mode)---->rotel 1050 x2--->mordaunt short mezzo2s

 

[Zubkabera]

Squeezebox 3 with Dac Magic connected to Rega Brio and B&W 685 S3 beats my Arcam CD72, majority of music is ripped in Apple lossless or FLAC. Haven't thought about upgrade

Next...

 

[Anonymous]

Kit in my sig.

DacMagic is an excellent bit of kit, nicely priced and well specced (think XLR outputs). The DacMagic turns my Sony BDP into a decent CD player (and one that cost me less than £150). 6* product IMO. Well, down to 5* if you start to mention that PSU but otherwise it's all good.

 

[carter]

nodnarb4444:apple tv(lossless)---->dac magic---->onkyo 705(pure audio mode)---->rotel 1050 x2--->mordaunt short mezzo2s

sorry dont have much for it to beat but it beats geting up and puting a cd in every 10 minutes works great with my i pod touch to

 

[NigelF]

Fully support it, just mention any Dac you've got.

 

[Anonymous]

no dacmagic, but

macbookpro -> beresford 7520 -> rotel RA-04 -> Monitor Audio BR2s

really liking my system, generally lossless, but some 192k from earlier ripping and plenty of spotify.

I changed the interconnect between the dac and my amp from a 1m crimson to a 40cm silver high breed coherence and it really improved the sound stage, broadening it quite noticeably.

Mind you a mate has offered my his old Denon turntable, so I might yet discover the delights of vinyl =)

the multi artist playlist and ability to track my listening habits on lastfm do make for a very involving digital experience.

 

[Anonymous]

Buffalo linkstation NAS (lossless rips) - SONOS ZP90 - Dac - Yamaha A-S700 - Spendor SR5

simply awesome

 

[Craig M.]

mac mini - dacmagic - moon i3rs - atc scm19

ime, it sounds pretty good but can be beaten by a dedicated cdplayer. you do have to spend quite a bit more to better it though, and i think the weakest part of my combo is the mac mini. arcam37 = small improvement, roksan caspian cdp = big improvement, cyrus cdxtse + dacx = huge improvement.

if you already have a pc/mac to use as a source, then well worth getting to improve the sound. if you are thinking of buying a pc/mac and dac from scratch, you could get better sound for similar money.

to improve on the dm purely as a dac for use with a pc/mac, you have to spend a helluva lot more and get something that buffers/uses firewire, imo.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

NigelF:
I don't work for Cambridge Audio but heard lots of good reviews about it, so starting a thread for those who already own dac magic, can you share your rest of equipments for e.g what is your source for e.g Sonos, Squeezebox, Roku, PS3, ATV, PC and Amp and Speaker and your experience in few sentences if your kit can beat a conventional system cost x-times more. I think this thread would defintly help those who are moving to Digital Music world and also for those who got the bug of upgrade to see which equipments partner well.

WHFS&V editors can also share their experiences as they own most versatile equipments then anyone of us.

WMA Lossless files wireless to Linksy Media Center Extender - Clearer Audio Silver Line Coaxial DacMagic - Chord Chorus 2 XLR - Cambridge Audio 840A - Chord Odyssey 4 - Monitor Audio RS6 - sounds superb.

 

[Anonymous]

FLAC files on QNAP NAS -> Squeezebox -> CA 840C - a far better DAC than that DacMagic rubbish

-> Myryad MXi2080 -> Neat Motive 1

 

[vinod_david]

ca_blues:FLAC files on QNAP NAS -> Squeezebox -> CA 840C - a far better DAC than that DacMagic rubbish

-> Myryad MXi2080 -> Neat Motive 1

I have SB3 and CA 640c v2, can i use the 640 as a DAC and connect my SB3 to it ?

 

[Dave_]

vinod_david:ca_blues:FLAC files on QNAP NAS -> Squeezebox -> CA 840C - a far better DAC than that DacMagic rubbish

-> Myryad MXi2080 -> Neat Motive 1

I have SB3 and CA 640c v2, can i use the 640 as a DAC and connect my SB3 to it ?No because the 640c only has digital output's and not inputs like the 740c/840c do.

 

[knacker]

Apple Lossless Files>DAC Magic via Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable>Cyrus 6vs2>MS Mezzo 2 via QED XT silver

For me this sounds better than my Cyrus DAD3Q CD player by a long way

I will attempt to use Foobar when I get time to play around with Vista some time in the near distant future

 

[John Duncan]

ca_blues:CA 840C - a far better DAC than that DacMagic rubbish

 

[j4mm3r]

apple tv with apple lossless files connected to denon avr 2310 via hdmi, should i invest in a dac anyone?

 

[Anonymous]

SB3 feeding DacMagic into old Kenwood KA3020SE amp and Kef iQ5SE speakers. Using mostly WMA lossless and FLAC

Sounds good - very good, but something is missing compared to output from my Arcam CD73t - can't quite put my finger on it, but the sound from the Arcam is a bit warmer and more analogue somehow

 

[Anonymous]

Squeezebox 3 --> DacMagic --> Naim Nait 5i --> Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signature

I usually feed my SB3 with FLAC and other lossless format. Quality is qood but not match my Naim CD5i , may be it's the "Naim Synergy".

 

[Anonymous]

Media centre PC > Beresford TC7520 with new ops and DAC chip (see below) > Little Dot MKIII > Cyrus 8vs 2 > *cough* monitor BR2, desperately need new speakers, donations accepted.

 

[Anonymous]

Supernait with onboard Naim DAC fed from FLAC files via router from my PC laptop is an excellent system, I also feed the Supernait ( 5 digital inputs ) with digital output from Humax PVR and panasonic DVD............

 

[karlmc]

Old Laptop running Itunes 9 > Airport express > CA Dacmagic > Roksan Kandy LIII > Spendor A5.

Laptop is connected by ethernet to network. Airport to dac by TCI Coral optical. Dac to Roksan by Nordost Blue Heavan. Roksan to Spendors using Chord Odyssy 2.

My original source was an Arcam CD82T which now resides connected to my bedroom system.

 

[bezza79]

PC with Apple Lossless via USB to DAC Magic, then Merlin Mozart to Rotel RA-1520 feeding some B&W 683's. Also have a PS3 connected via a Chord Optichord to the DAC Magic, I really can't tell the difference between the two I love the sound equally as much from either. The convenience of using the Remote App on the iPhone makes the computer the favourite.

I've tried Orb and Windows Media sharing to stream music to the PS3 but much prefer using the iPhone remote.

I've ordered a S/PDIF lead as my computer motherboard supports it so will soon be trying a Coaxial from the PC to the DAC, S/PDIF lead £4 and 5m coaxial £10. I just can't stop throwing money around.....!!!