DACmagic to DACmagic plus, worthwhile upgrade???

[atkins4725]

Thinking about replacing my current DACmagic to the new DACmagic plus. Would this be a worth while upgrade or a waste.

I currently use my 650bd as a source which then goes through the DACmagic --->650a--->b&w 683. The DACMAGIC also gets used for stuff like sky music channels and music stored on my mac.

Cant demo the DACmagic plus due to my local richer sound not having a demo room and the shop floor not really ideal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

So, did you upgrade? How does it sound?

 

[atkins4725]

Yup, I sure did but not all went well. In terms of sound it's a definite upgrade but when the DAC plus was connected to my sky HD box I was getting a cracking/popping sound through my speakers every time I switched channel and weirdly enough this only happened with the sky box. (I isolated the problem to the DACplus). I returned one unit and the 2nd did the same, that one also is was returned to RS. I've emailed CA who said they are looking into it.

Had no issue with a cd player, etc connected.

 

[Anonymous]

Yup, I sure did but not all went well. In terms of sound it's a definite upgrade but when the DAC plus was connected to my sky HD box I was getting a cracking/popping sound through my speakers every time I switched channel and weirdly enough this only happened with the sky box. (I isolated the problem to the DACplus). I returned one unit and the 2nd did the same, that one also is was returned to RS. I've emailed CA who said they are looking into it.

Had no issue with a cd player, etc connected.

So when you switched channels, I guess (a) the Sky Box was not handling the digital output well, it was transmitting the digital equivalent of a "spike" and (b) the DACplus didn't recognise this "spike" as a break in the digital stream and tried to convert it to an analogue signal which came through as noise. I noticed that my Wadia handles breaks in the digital signal e.g. if the TV audio signal breaks up, by muting for a moment then gently increasing the volume back to where it was and hence no "popping". Presumably this is due to the Wadia noticing a "break" in the digital stream and losing the clock, whereas the DACplus tries to keep the clock and just converts whatever it sees. But the source problem rests with the Sky box IMHO

 

[atkins4725]

When the sky box is connected to other sources such as my reicever or even the original DACmagic there is no popping so how does the fault lay with the sky box???

 

[Anonymous]

The Sky box must be sending an unclean digital signal when you change channels for there to be any kind of pop at all. The DAC plus just isn't very good at detecting the noise and ignoring it. At least that's my theory, might be something else altogether...

 

[atkins4725]

If i could be positive it was the sky box then i would happily go and get another dac plus and just give sky a call to replace my box or do what they need to. I was very happy with the sound from the dac plus, My main concern was any potential damage to my speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

The down side is that I dont think there is anything "wrong" with either your sky box or DACplus, they are operating as designed, replacing them won't fix anything. The upside is that I dont think it will damage your speakers, it more an annoyance factor which you may or may not be prepared to live with.

Do you have any nearby friends with a sky box so you can try swapping them over?

The other option is to use the analogue outs on the sky box directly into your CA 650a, but you lose SQ :doh:

 

[atkins4725]

I've already taken the DAC plus back so trying with another sky box isn't an option unless I was to go buy it again. RS must dread the sight of my face walking into their shop Been in quite a lot lately to return CA kit.

 

[Anonymous]

Definetely, it's a waste of money!

Keep your current DAC or get a better DAC like a REGA DAC, Musical Fidelity M1 DAC or the award winning Audiolab M-DAC.

If you don't mind purchasing Chinese brands, there're other options like Chamaleon Teradak (Philips 8X TDA1543), Audio-GD NFB-2 (Wolson WM8741), Lite DAC-60 (PCM-1704UK), Xindak DAC5 (AD-1852) and Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (ESS Sabre 9018 ).

 

[Larry]

In 2011 a huge amount of DAC´s came out, so the difficult thing is to choose the right one. Is your pricerange higher than the CA DAC PLUS ? Rega DAC should be good, but the design is a matter of taste. The Audiolab DAC looks great and got top review in What HiFi, but maybe it´s too expensive . Also keep an eye out for the CES show next week, a lot of new goodies could be presented.

 

[SteveR750]

Yes, I think it was, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. Smoother, fuller, weightier. Just sold my old magic within 30 minutes of posting on the bay for £15 more than I expected.

 

[Larry]

Also good things has been said about Matrix Mini-I, cost around 259 £. It has remote and build in headphone amp

 

[sortof]

Happy with your Calyx DAC?