DAC

[simonthesaint]

Hi,

With the better part of my music library is stored on my PC I wish to improve the quality of the music played through my Advance Acoustic MAP-105 amp and Tangent Clarity 8 speakers.

I've read about the Cambridge Dacmagic and other Dac's from the budget range below roughly £300/SEK 2800, but I've also read some articles on dedicated sound cards which supposedly would be able to copy an external dac. In addition I've been recommended to go for a ground loop isolator, which would deal with jitter etc.

Any recommendations? Should I go for an external dac, such as the Dacmagic? If so, do I need to bother about the ground loop? And how about a reasonably priced audiophile sound card? What gives most bang for the buck?

Cheers,

Mr. Karlsson

 

[Craig M.]

get a dacmagic, handles jitter very well. i thought a ground loop was a form of electrical interference and nothing to do with jitter? hook the dacmagic to your pc via optical, that way they are not electrically connected to each other, isolating the dac from potential noise from the pc.

 

[Anonymous]

Happy with my VDAC, no ground loop issues for me. Here (Holland) laptop psu's are not supplied with 3 prong earthed plugs, maybe that helps. Optical would be ok too, but of course you need an optical out.

No experience with HQ sound cards, the integrated ones I heard with analog audio out are really bad and all noisy/hummy so far. They often pick up interference of the high freq video card chip I think.

 

[True Blue]

Beresford Caiman DAC. Phenomenal

 

[Anonymous]

simonthesaint:And how about a reasonably priced audiophile sound card? What gives most bang for the buck?

Cheers,

Mr. Karlsson

An external DAC is said to have less issues with EMI compared to an internal soundcard. If you're using a computer to store your music on (and not a CDP) the EMI thing seems to be the only relevant difference between internal and external. I have never experienced any SQ problems using an good internal soundcard though. EMU has both. The (external) EMU 0202 is hard to beat in the bang for buck department. I used to use an 0404, it's SQ is excellent, but the 0404's buggy drivers drove me nuts. If you search you'll find a website with tons of user feedback on them, not sure if I'm allowed to link directly.

If you're worried about grounding problems (are you having such problems now?), you could opt for a DAC with a Toslink (optical) connection.

 

[True Blue]

True Blue:Beresford Caiman DAC. Phenomenal

Right, am at home now sorry for the short answer.

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/products/Caiman.html

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/products/Caiman.htmlI have my Caiman connected via USB playing I tunes off my laptop. In my opinion soundwise it would give most sub £1000 CD players a good run for their money!! Seriously. Especially when fed Lossless material.

Great sturdy build, excellent price and as stated phenomenal sound.

 

[Craig M.]

good call, the beresford also has a decent headphone amp too, much better then comes in the average amp.

 

[simonthesaint]

Hi,

I might be totally wrong concerning the jitter/ground loop thing.

 

[simonthesaint]

I live in Sweden so I don't have 3-pronged plugs either.

 

[simonthesaint]

No worries mate,

The Beresford Caiman seems interesting. However I can't find any local dealers selling them (Sweden). So I'll have to buy one from the UK or elsewhere unless it's beeing introduced anytime soon.

 

[Craig M.]

the beresford is only available direct from the manufacturer.

 

[simonthesaint]

Currently I'm transporting the music from my laptop pc to the Hifi-system the "unprotected" way.

I must admit that I can't find any toslink outlet on my toshiba laptop.

Have you listened to both the EMU 0202 and EMU 0404?

Are there any comparing reviews on dac's available on the web?

 

[simonthesaint]

OK, that explains why I couldn't find it elsewhere then.

 

[PJPro]

simonthesaint:
Currently I'm transporting the music from my laptop pc to the Hifi-system the "unprotected" way.

Unprotected?

simonthesaint:

I must admit that I can't find any toslink outlet on my toshiba laptop.

It may double up as a headphone socket.

 

[Anonymous]

simonthesaint:
Currently I'm transporting the music from my laptop pc to the Hifi-system the "unprotected" way.

I must admit that I can't find any toslink outlet on my toshiba laptop.

Have you listened to both the EMU 0202 and EMU 0404?

Are there any comparing reviews on dac's available on the web?

Right, a laptop, that changes things.

There's not a lot of "audiophile" soundcards for laptops, although EMU has the 1616M PCMCIA model. Not familiar with it though, and it's also more expensive.

No I haven't heard the 0202, just the 0404, If you search you'll find that users comment that the 0202 and 0404 are very alike. It is also very cheap, and it's external so you can use it with a laptop. I do not approve of EMU's drivers though, they're a true pain. I don't think you can get better SQ for the money though. Most laptops don't have toslink, but i wouldn't worry about it. I only mentioned toslink since your post indicated that you're worried about grounding issues connecting your dac.

 

[simonthesaint]

"I don't think you can get better SQ for the money though."

Compared to EMU 0202/0404, have you listened to the DACMagic by any chance? (just asking because because I'd like to know if there's any sound quality differences between these two DAC's.)

The DACMagic is the only d/a converter available in-store where I live, as far as I know. I live in a town (rather than a city) called Karlstad, which by the way is hosting the bi-annual WRC Rally event Rally Sweden, F.Y.I (this has got nothing to do with anything, I guess).

 

[idc]

Ground loop isolators here << clicky >> are only needed if you are getting obvious hiss through your speakers. I got one, called an in line choke, for my car and it stopped interference through the radio.

 

[Anonymous]

simonthesaint:

Compared to EMU 0202/0404, have you listened to the DACMagic by any chance? (just asking because because I'd like to know if there's any sound quality differences between these two DAC's.)

Yes. But it wasn't on my system, nor was it a side by side comparison. So that's pretty useless. There are people that have, and if you search you'll find them. If you like the DACmagic, by all means go for it, but you were asking for the best bang for buck. I'm surprised the 0202 gets so little attention given it's performance and pricetag.

 

[simonthesaint]

Thanks for the tip!

As my PC normally stands in a room seperate from the livingroom (where my HiFi equipment resides), having cables across the flor would not be in my (and certainly not in my girlfriend's) best interest. Dumb question perhaps, but are there any solutions for interconnecting dac's in general (and the dacmagic in particular) with a PC (music library) and amp/speakers, with maintained audio quality?

 

[idc]

You can connect a DAC to a PC by streaming with the likes of Apple Express, but that can limit functions. Otherwise take your pick from USB, digital optical or digital coax as all will produce excellent results. Then the DAC connects to the amp with RCA (phono) interconnects.