Do you think a Dacmagic will make any difference to my setup?

[admin_exported]

I have been considering getting a Cambridge Audio Dacmagic for a while now. My understanding of reading most reviews is that it will be most effective on older lower end gear. I am planning on using it between my old technics amp and cd player but im not sure if it will make much of a difference having never heard a dacmagic before.

My other option is to upgrade the CD player but thats a much more expensive route. Has anyone tried the dacmagic with a budget system?

 

[manicm]

What's not satisfying you in your current system? I had a very old Technics CDP, had no remote control even, but for the love of God did it major on imaging and dynamics.

 

[Anonymous]

I guess im just a little bored of the sound. I would like there to be a little more seperation between the instruments and notes.

 

[shafesk]

Hey Mohsin, I have a Dacmagic for over a year now. It WILL DEFINITELY IMPROVE YOUR SETUP! I've been using it with my laptop as well as my ps3 and it makes a huge difference. If you get one from Richer Sounds they will give you a 14 day money back guarantee I think. So if thats the case, what have you got to lose? Trust me, give it a try. I always believe in changing source first

 

[manicm]

Changing the DAC in this case is only changing part of the source. And it might not give Mohsin the increased seperation he desires.

I'm guessing Mohsin still wants to play CDs as his primary source. In this case I would investigate another CD player - like the Marantz CD6003?

Also, your amp was quite a star in its day. I usually believe in source first but here your speakers may not be doing your amp justice.

 

[atkins4725]

shafesk:

Hey Mohsin, I have a Dacmagic for over a year now. It WILL DEFINITELY IMPROVE YOUR SETUP! I've been using it with my laptop as well as my ps3 and it makes a huge difference. If you get one from Richer Sounds they will give you a 14 day money back guarantee I think. So if thats the case, what have you got to lose? Trust me, give it a try. I always believe in changing source first

I'll 2nd this..... It transforms the sound of my ipod. I play my cd's through a CA 650bd and with the DacMagic connected the sound is clearer & more detailed when the volume is raised.

If my eyes serve me correctly the DacMagic can bought in silver for £200 at richer sounds, nothin to lose if it can be returned!!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

manicm:
Changing the DAC in this case is only changing part of the source. And it might not give Mohsin the increased seperation he desires.

I'm guessing Mohsin still wants to play CDs as his primary source. In this case I would investigate another CD player - like the Marantz CD6003?

Also, your amp was quite a star in its day. I usually believe in source first but here your speakers may not be doing your amp justice.

I agree. Contrary to the OP's thoughts, I believe the Dacmagic and other similar level DACs are wasted on budget equipment. I think that the OPs speakers are the weak link. Also, the Dacmagic really shines when fed lossless files rather than a cd from a spinner. Just my opinion.

 

[northernsoul]

manicm:

Changing the DAC in this case is only changing part of the source. And it might not give Mohsin the increased seperation he desires.

I'm guessing Mohsin still wants to play CDs as his primary source. In this case I would investigate another CD player - like the Marantz CD6003?

Also, your amp was quite a star in its day. I usually believe in source first but here your speakers may not be doing your amp justice.

I disagree, I think your Q-Acostics speakers are good enough to handle the upgrade and will benefit from having the DM as part of the source. If you have a laptop or PC then you can easily stream from this to the DM and will achieve great results with it. Like a previous post says you get a money back guarentee from RS so you have nothing to loose. You can also look at the MF V-Dac and if you have a local Superfi to you they usually have them in stock, although not sure on the return policy with that retailer!

 

[simon3102000]

get one man their awsome! I dont run my cd layer through it mind, no need for that but when i plug my laptop into it it is awsome also works well with a ps3, can be a bit picky with xbox as you cant set the audio to pcm stereo like you can on the ps3 so if your dvd hasnt got pcm stereo then your out of luck.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your replies. I have considered changing the speakers before but its quite alot of work looking for new speaker. Just out of curiousity what would be my speaker recomendations in the sub £400 category? I dont need too much low end as I have my sub hooked up via the high level to the amp.

 

[mitch65]

Ditto most of the previous comments, the DacMagic is a little star!

 

[Anonymous]

The sound quality of a DAC can always be disputed. To my ears a budget DAC like the DacMagic, as well as similarly priced Chinese stuff, sounds reasonably good.

An expensive CD player might sound better. But buying a CD player today is a little like buying a dedicated 78 rpm turntable in 1956 -- it might, or it might not, make your 78 records sound better than an allround turntable, but there's no way it can play your new LPs...

Buying a £200 DAC will give you the sound quailty of a £800 CD player -- not only from your old CD player, but from any CD, DVD or BD player, as well as from your computer. Using the latter as your music source will even allow you to play not only your CDs, but also better-than-CD-quality material, as well as cheaper-than-CD but still good enough sounding AACs or MP3s.

In other words, buying a DAC will improve your music system in more ways than just sound quality for CD playback.

 

[manicm]

I have reservations, but I guess there's nothing to fear from a trial-run of the DacMagic then.

 

[Alec]

If you use a CDP id agree with the idea of getting a better one.

On a side issue though i think id disagree that a dacmagic cant improve a budget system. i say "think" as ive not heard a dacmagic, but i had a beresford dac in a budget system with monitor audio B2s and a NAD C320 BEE and it definitely improved things to my ears.

 

[shafesk]

Im sorry, people who say the dac-magic wont be a good upgrade to an entry set-up are just wrong. I bought the dac-magic to use it with mordaunt short 902i and ca340a and a laptop. I heard a huge difference. I upgraded later and the dac is still with me now. As manicm said theres nothing to fear from a trial and its definitely true.

 

[Anonymous]

shafesk:Im sorry, people who say the dac-magic wont be a good upgrade to an entry set-up are just wrong. I bought the dac-magic to use it with mordaunt short 902i and ca340a and a laptop. I heard a huge difference. I upgraded later and the dac is still with me now. As manicm said theres nothing to fear from a trial and its definitely true.

I totally agree with this opinion. The DacMagic will follow you through future purchases, and improve an entry level system substantially.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

shafesk:Im sorry, people who say the dac-magic wont be a good upgrade to an entry set-up are just wrong. I bought the dac-magic to use it with mordaunt short 902i and ca340a and a laptop. I heard a huge difference. I upgraded later and the dac is still with me now. As manicm said theres nothing to fear from a trial and its definitely true.

I should have made myself more clear; I meant using the DacMagic with a budge cd player, amp and speakers will not improve the sound that much. Lossless files through the DM is another thing.

 

[SteveR750]

I'm on the verge of getting one of these, but what about the upgrades that litter ebay? I was looking at one that claims:

DAC's power supply capacitors replaced with Rubycon Black Gate F
Raw power supply capacitors and all sectional power supply capacitors replaced or bypassed with Sanyo OS-CON and ERO tantals
Signal caps bypassed with Wima MKP
Digital output - polypropylene + MIT multi cap in parallel
Decoupling caps - Rubycon Black Gate F
Case damping with bitumen damping pads

which almost doubles the (albeit used) price. Anyone any experience?

 

[Alec]

Gerrardasnails:shafesk:Im sorry, people who say the dac-magic wont be a good upgrade to an entry set-up are just wrong. I bought the dac-magic to use it with mordaunt short 902i and ca340a and a laptop. I heard a huge difference. I upgraded later and the dac is still with me now. As manicm said theres nothing to fear from a trial and its definitely true. I should have made myself more clear; I meant using the DacMagic with a budge cd player, amp and speakers will not improve the sound that much. Lossless files through the DM is another thing.

Well thats ok then

 

[bay24]

In the £400 speaker area I would check out the avi neutron v or iv, great detail and separation IMO. The eb acoustics eb 1 would also be worth a go on the 30 day trial although I have not heard them. You could probably get some neat motive 3 for that price second hand which are also great little speakers! I think the dac magic could well be an improvement also, I plug all sorts into my 740c (airport, pvr. Dvd player) and I have heard an improvement every time!

 

[Anonymous]

hi I think the dacmagic is very over rated especially if you have a half decent cd player or bluray. I just purchased 1 from richer sounds set it up with my marantz cd6000ose as transport to dac then to amp pm7001ki and also wire the cd players analogue out straight into amp. after flicking between amp inputs and the settings on the dac magic found no real improvement at all. based on this i will be returning the dac for a refund . So i would consider like someone already said the cd6003 which also has a digital ipod input, or if you want to give the ball a kick the marantz sa8003.

 

[SteveR750]

I agree Ben, as a £200 DAC I cannot imagine it is anything more than a good budget / entry machine. I cannot imagine that it is consistently better than that found in CD players of say £1K +

 

[Craig M.]

my experience also, although i think the dm is better then a budget cd player, but not mid-range or higher - i thought my kandy cdp was better.