Dacmagic 100

[Cypher]

Anyone here experience with this DAC ? I can get it for not much money but I'm not familiar with the cambridge audio sound.

 

[Tacty]

i think it have balanced and transparent sound...it is pretty neutral as far as i can tell...i was using for some time cheap behringer uc202, but ca 100 is much much better, more details, but not in your face style, free of harshness, with more dynamics...it is a clear step forward...

 

[Tacty]

i think it have balanced and transparent sound...it is pretty neutral as far as i can tell...i was using for some time cheap behringer uc202, but ca 100 is much much better, more details, but not in your face style, free of harshness, with more dynamics...it is a clear step forward...

 

[Tacty]

i think it have balanced and transparent sound...it is pretty neutral as far as i can tell...i was using for some time cheap behringer uc202, but ca 100 is much much better, more details, but not in your face style, free of harshness, with more dynamics...it is a clear step forward...

 

[Cypher]

Thanks man. I just ordered one................

 

[Blackdawn]

Cool, hope you like it. Whats the difference between the CA 100 and the original CA dacmagic? Any better? Doesthe 100 sound slightly harsh or smooth? Did you comapre to the MF V90 dac?

 

[Cypher]

Sorry for responding a bit late.........I was a bit busy the last couple of days.

I returned the Dacmagic 100. It sounded a bit too clinical for me and it wasn't working the way I wanted.

I'm now gonna choose between the Beresford Bushmaster and the V90-DAC. I'll make my decision next week but I think I'll try the Bushmaster. I had the Caiman and I liked it a lot so the Bushmaster will be a nice upgrade I think.

The V90-DAC looks very nice though

 

[Tacty]

@cypher

what's the rest of your system? i'm surprised that you found it clinical but most of the time i'm listening it with tube amp so maybe there is a catch...

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I would try the audio gd dacs with wolfan chip, great value - smooth detailed and musical.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[Cypher]

@cypher

what's the rest of your system? i'm surprised that you found it clinical but most of the time i'm listening it with tube amp so maybe there is a catch...

Pioneer A-30 amplifier, Dali Zensor 1 speakers (soon te be replaced by q acoustics 2020i).

I had a Beresford Caiman DAC and in my systems it sounded better and more musically engaging than the Dacmagic 100. I'm not saying it's a bad DAC, because it isn't. It's just not for me

Because I liked the Caiman so much I'm going to check out the Beresford Bushmaster............I think :?

 

[Cypher]

Hi,

I would try the audio gd dacs with wolfan chip, great value - smooth detailed and musical.

Cheers

Steve.

Which model do you recommend ? It needs to have a coaxial input.

 

[Tacty]

fair enough...it seems like that beresford is more forgiving dac and as such it might sound more relaxed...

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I bought the audio gd NFB-15.32, its superior to the cambridge, and arcam dac more natural tonal balance, deeper soundstage, it has a similar tonal balance to the rega dac - analogue and natural sounding. It has a twin wolfsan dac similar to the rega. It has coax usb, rca, toslink, and is also a headphone amp and can be run as a pre too. It has 9 filter settings as well. Have a look at the audio gd website or addicted to audio website.

There maybe a distributor in the UK. It beat my marantz cd63se for sound quality and even upgrded my consonance cd-120 linear I even preferred this to the rega apollo-r cd player ( more natural and 3D in soundstage). It is cd dependant though as it didnt sound as good on the marantz cd63se but sounded better on the consonance. It does improve with burn in and with good leads and power lead too.

There are reviews on head fi and reviews on digitalaudio on the audio gd 2/3 models. They rated one model as one of the best under $500 dac, not quite as good as the rega dac but close.

I hope that helps.

Warm regards,

Steve

 

[Tacty]

as far as i can tell rega dac and dacmagic 100 are using the same wolfson chip...but, it' s only part of the story because there are other elements influencing the sound like analogue stage etc...but be warned though, people are sometimes describing "analogue sound" like a good thing, but in many cases it means a certain rollof at certain frequencies..it sounds good on paper, but for me it gets borring after a while, because i'd like to have insight into music...with rolloff and cutoff there is a danger on longer listening session: every music starting to sound the same...

 

[Cypher]

Stephennic ; thanks for your answer but I think I'll go with the Beresford Bushmaster. The Beresford Caiman is the best sounding DAC I've had so far so it's only logical that I'm interested in the Bushmaster. It also got some great reviews on the web

 

[Blackdawn]

Good luck with the Bushmaster, where do you buy it from? I couldn't get it to come up in the shop section.

With regard to speakers - are you still finding the Zensor 1's are too light in the bass? Its a shame Pioneer don't make some 8 Ohms speakers which go well with the A30. The ones I see on their site at the top look nice - but a bit too compact. think I'll stick to my BA A26's.

 

[stephennic]

as far as i can tell rega dac and dacmagic 100 are using the same wolfson chip...but, it' s only part of the story because there are other elements influencing the sound like analogue stage etc...but be warned though, people are sometimes describing "analogue sound" like a good thing, but in many cases it means a certain rollof at certain frequencies..it sounds good on paper, but for me it gets borring after a while, because i'd like to have insight into music...with rolloff and cutoff there is a danger on longer listening session: every music starting to sound the same...

Hi,

Interesting even though they use the same dac chip the rega and cambridge sound quite different, the cambridge tends towards towards the pecise, lean and brighter the rega more organic, fuller and smoother. Just add another thought - analogue can also mean more natural/organic sounding and can actually have more color and tonal variation. For example eva cassidys voice on one dac can sound cold forward and analytical on another warm and hearing all the various tonal variations that just connect you emotionally with the music.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[stephennic]

Stephennic ; thanks for your answer but I think I'll go with the Beresford Bushmaster. The Beresford Caiman is the best sounding DAC I've had so far so it's only logical that I'm interested in the Bushmaster. It also got some great reviews on the web

Great enjoy the BC Dac, I just read some great reviews on it. Head fi has a great forum on this unit, stereo net as well. I would always have a listen first before purchasing as I have bought stuff on reviews before and made some mistakes.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Cypher]

as far as i can tell rega dac and dacmagic 100 are using the same wolfson chip...but, it' s only part of the story because there are other elements influencing the sound like analogue stage etc...but be warned though, people are sometimes describing "analogue sound" like a good thing, but in many cases it means a certain rollof at certain frequencies..it sounds good on paper, but for me it gets borring after a while, because i'd like to have insight into music...with rolloff and cutoff there is a danger on longer listening session: every music starting to sound the same...

Hi,

Interesting even though they use the same dac chip the rega and cambridge sound quite different, the cambridge tends towards towards the pecise, lean and brighter the rega more organic, fuller and smoother. Just add another thought - analogue can also mean more natural/organic sounding and can actually have more color and tonal variation. For example eva cassidys voice on one dac can sound cold forward and analytical on another warm and hearing all the various tonal variations that just connect you emotionally with the music.

Cheers

Steve.

I agree. Analogue sound doesn't mean you have less insight into the music. The Caiman DAC I had had the same insight as the Dagmagic 100 but presented in a more musical way and sounded better to my ears.

 

[Cypher]

Good luck with the Bushmaster, where do you buy it from? I couldn't get it to come up in the shop section.

With regard to speakers - are you still finding the Zensor 1's are too light in the bass? Its a shame Pioneer don't make some 8 Ohms speakers which go well with the A30. The ones I see on their site at the top look nice - but a bit too compact. think I'll stick to my BA A26's.

There's a dutch Beresford distributor. That's the only place you can buy Beresford DAC's in Holland. Be he has a very good reputation and seems a like a very nice guy

The Zensor 1 speakers will be picked up next week...........I've sold them. I already have bought a pair of Q Acoustics 2020i speakers. I heard them 2 weeks ago and I just got to have them. IMO a real improvement on the Zensor speakers.

 

[Tacty]

it really depends of the complete system...since it is hot these days instead of a tube amp i'm using yamaha as-500 as part of my summer setup. dacmagic 100 even with yamaha sounds far from cold and clinical...but, my speakers are vienna acoustic haydn grand, not the usual suspect in most of the partnering kit for dacmagic 100...all cables are van den hul...who knows how it will be if i change one of its components...