DacMagic and rDAC... yet to be convinced.

[SteveR750]

I have found myself thinking exactly the same as ESP2009 excellent post . I am also fed up with the endless search for the perfect sound. It just isn't there and never will be. Enough is enough, It really is a load of old cobblers. You really don't have to spend much money at all to get an excellent system. Most of the comments on this forum about various bits of equipment are down to individual perception and therefore fairly irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. And yes that includes my past posts. It should be about enjoying music through decent equipment. Yes it is a bit of fun, but it is also expensive to continuously change kit. This is why I have sold off most of my old kit. Purchased a budget setup that sounds lovely. And brought a holiday on the proceeds. The irony is that I have almost gone full circle as regards equipment. It was nice to sit down and listen to 12 songs by Neil Diamond tonight without even worrying about the sound. The end !

I'm in a similar place. I'm completely fed up with the whole thing and I'm in the middle of doing something that I wouldn't have even imagined doing not so long ago. As part of this process I've listened to a favourite album on a very simple little system today and enjoyed it more than I have for a very long time.

Time and money aren't infinite and the more time I spend getting stressed about whether the sound is perfect or not, the less chance I am getting to enjoy the music and (just as important) do other things.

snap. I only had a peak to ask about J River MC 16 upgrade (is it worth it) and thought about upgrading my dacmagic to a Rega...stupidly also had a chat with one of the chaps at Roksan and am thinking about speakers too. No I'm not, another new road bike means I have no money for hi fi other than a Rega. Worth the change? bearing in mind I have found source nirvana with my laptop streaming lossless

 

[dannycanham]

Currently wondering why the Emotiva is "too cheap" yet at £349, it's a tad pricier than the DacMagic that's been raved over, and about £50 cheaper than the equally raved over M1 from Musical Fidelity. Yet, anyone can get a hold of this to try out at home and demo for themselves...fantastic product I think and a neat design too.

Not heard it.

On first look. I thought it was just a dac and if that was the case it shouldn't be thought of as cheap. A look at the insides shows it has a proper power source in the opposite corner to the main board. If the rdac and dacmagic had followed that design rather than a few dollar wall wart; the rdac likely wouldn't have the muddy bass and the dacmagic likely wouldn't have the harshness. The design alone looks like it was built to put up a fight against the next level of dacs.

With a pre amp though the electronics for the power supply usually get fancier. The audiolab 8200 had to add a fair bit to the power section when it added the pre amp to maintain quality.

IF it manages to do a good job their then fair play, but for the price I would be suspect that it has cut enough corners to put it amongst the (good) budget dacs.

 

[the record spot]

As a recent shootout had it, the XDA-1 held its own nicely. Of course, we have all manner of electronics out there that pack in the goods into their cases and many sound excellent from Harman to McIntosh. It's usually in hifi where this kind of thing surfaces as an objection or as some faddish notion out of the 80s minimalist concept. Thankfully the aforesaid firms - and others - show this needn't be the case. Emotiva merely extend it.