Finally have the money...............Rega Dac or not?

[admin_exported]

Hi all

I have finally saved up enough money (£500) for a rega dac. I would like to get some opinions before i blow my money on a dac this week. My question is, is there anything else on the market i should be considering? Only other two i can think of are the Arcam Rdac or Music fidelity M1 dac. The only source is my laptop as i play all my music from it, minimum 320kbps.

only reason why im really hesitating and thinking twice now is because the rega dac is not asynchronous where as something like an Arcam Rdac is. As i play all my music from my laptop surely Asynchronous would be better for me but after reading countless reviews i cant help but feel the Rega dac is another league compared to the Rdac.

If anyone has any suggestions then please let me know and before anyone asks, i cant audition any type of DAC at all due to where i live

 

[CnoEvil]

How do you like your music presented eg. Smooth, musical, detailed, in yer face etc.?

The Dacs tend to follow the house sound for a particular brand.

 

[AL13N]

i cant audition any type of DAC at all due to where i live

That's a shame. Is it not possible to order from a company who will allow you to return it if you're not happy?

Auditioning is important, as the following thread exemplifies:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/spot-the-bottleneck-or-do-i-have-cloth-ears-or-either-my-300-

Good Luck

 

[Anonymous]

How do you like your music presented eg. Smooth, musical, detailed, in yer face etc.? The Dacs tend to follow the house sound for a particular brand.

All i listen to is dance music eg: trance, drum and bass etc I like alot of detail, would like it to be music, controlled bass but not too in your face

 

[CnoEvil]

How do you like your music presented eg. Smooth, musical, detailed, in yer face etc.? The Dacs tend to follow the house sound for a particular brand.

All i listen to is dance music eg: trance, drum and bass etc I like alot of detail, would like it to be music, controlled bass but not too in your face

Firstly, I think the above suggestion of getting a trial by post is a good one....it might be worth making a few phone calls (to the companies themselves if necessary - all are helpful)

If you don't want to blow £500 on chance.....the Musical V-dac does most of what you want for £175

IMO The Arcam would be the smoothest and the MF MI the most detailed/up front (though not overly so), with the Rega being the most musical and holding the middle ground.

Just a few thoughts

Cno

 

[Anonymous]

How do you like your music presented eg. Smooth, musical, detailed, in yer face etc.? The Dacs tend to follow the house sound for a particular brand.

All i listen to is dance music eg: trance, drum and bass etc I like alot of detail, would like it to be music, controlled bass but not too in your face

Firstly, I think the above suggestion of getting a trial by post is a good one....it might be worth making a few phone calls (to the companies themselves if necessary - all are helpful) If you don't want to blow £500 on chance.....the Musical V-dac does most of what you want for £175 IMO The Arcam would be the smoothest and the MF MI the most detailed/up front (though not overly so), with the Rega being the most musical and holding the middle ground. Just a few thoughts Cno

I dont live in the UK at the moment so trials are out of the question. i will be buying the DAC online from a uk website.

thanks for the suggestions. I know the V-dac is a good dac but seeing as though i already have a beresford 7520 i think that would be more a sideways step rather than a big upgrade.

I think it comes down to the M1 dac and the rega dac in the end. All i have seen for the rega dac is positive reviews and alot of praise for it

 

[edplaysdrums42]

Hi There

Its a shame you are buying on reviews and other peoples views alone and cant audition, i nearly bought the Rega myself but managed to get a home audition and i preferred my Dacmagic. i am auditioning an Audiolab 8200 and the dac is very good, the CD player sounds fantastic. Audiolab are supposed to be bringing out a standalone dac (dont know when?) but then if you cant audition then it makes no odds.

Good luck with your purchase, hope you like whatever you get.

Cheers Ed

 

[Anonymous]

Hi There

Its a shame you are buying on reviews and other peoples views alone and cant audition, i nearly bought the Rega myself but managed to get a home audition and i preferred my Dacmagic. i am auditioning an Audiolab 8200 and the dac is very good, the CD player sounds fantastic. Audiolab are supposed to be bringing out a standalone dac (dont know when?) but then if you cant audition then it makes no odds.

Good luck with your purchase, hope you like whatever you get.

Cheers Ed

Having to buy blind is a pain in the ass, but i bought my beresford blind and based purely on peoples reviews and opinions and i loved it.

and yeh, i do know about audiolabs new dac which is going to be called 'mdac', i could be wrong though. Noone has any idea when its going to be relesed and im feeling rather impatient so im going to buy a new dac this week and after audiolabs new dac is released, if it gets rave reviews then i can always sell the rega dac (i saw one for sale on ebay yesterday which went for more then the RRP so they def hold there value)

Audiolab 8200 - I thought about buying one of these as well but £700 is too much for me, £500 max is my budget .

 

[Helmut80]

I think the fact that the MF M1 DAC can be had for 349 in some places, 300 if willing to buy used 6 months old, it would be my choice as I did not find the Rega impressive enough to justifiy another 150-200.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi all

I have finally saved up enough money (£500) for a rega dac. I would like to get some opinions before i blow my money on a dac this week. My question is, is there anything else on the market i should be considering? Only other two i can think of are the Arcam Rdac or Music fidelity M1 dac. The only source is my laptop as i play all my music from it, minimum 320kbps.

only reason why im really hesitating and thinking twice now is because the rega dac is not asynchronous where as something like an Arcam Rdac is. As i play all my music from my laptop surely Asynchronous would be better for me but after reading countless reviews i cant help but feel the Rega dac is another league compared to the Rdac.

If anyone has any suggestions then please let me know and before anyone asks, i cant audition any type of DAC at all due to where i live

Hi JezBaker

As good as the rDac is Rega's DAC adds offers impovements in areas such as dynamics, coherence, resolution, scale, weight and depth.

I feel Rega's DAC analogue like presentation (very reminiscent of their record players) also helps it tonally integrate with the A-S500 and Silver RX2's.

Rega's DAC performance and tank like build quality helps it to fully justifies its asking price and one which gives more than a fair taste of the performance of their flagship Isis cd player at a 1/12 of the price.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Rega's DAC is higher grade in comparison to Arcam's. The former uses better parts.

About the above mentioned Musical Fidelity, I suspect it sounds laid back following its tradition. In my opinion, it's not a DAC for rockers. Some may find it lacks grip.

Arcam's players have reputation of sounding punchy and with good dynamics, qualities which may suit your musical tastes.

Anyway, Rega is definetely better built in comparison to both. Taking into account money is not an issue, if I were you, I would choose Rega's DAC.

 

[Anonymous]

BUMP

bumping this thread as ive got 2 days left till i buy the dac and want to see more opinions before i decide

 

[Clare Newsome]

Shame you have to buy it this week - our review of the Rega DAC is in our next issue, which gets posted out to subscribers next Wednesday (4th).

 

[Anonymous]

Shame you have to buy it this week - our review of the Rega DAC is in our next issue, which gets posted out to subscribers next Wednesday (4th).

just my luck. Can you share any info regarding the review?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Sadly not - it's one of the key reviews in the issue, so I can't spill the beans until publication. Sorry!

 

[Anonymous]

'Key review' sounds good to me

From what i have read over the months about it and looking at peoples opinions/reviews on various forums, i think its going to do well (i could be wrong though) and right now im 95% convinced about buying it. I have read every review there is to read online. Will be very interesting to hear the review next week and if anyone reads it in the mag please summarize the review or at least say how many starts it got.(as i live aborad and cant buy the mag, but i am thinking of subscribing very soon).

 

[Clare Newsome]

If you're thinking of subscribing soon, you will of course have the option of our digtial edition to subscribe to - so you'll get your copy at the same time as readers here in the UK. More info here....

 

[Anonymous]

If you're thinking of subscribing soon, you will of course have the option of our digtial edition to subscribe to - so you'll get your copy at the same time as readers here in the UK. More info here....

Niceeeeeeee!!!!! i didnt know this was happening. This is great news! When will this be starting (Digital edition )?

 

[Clare Newsome]

We'll definitely be up and running from the July edition (on sale 2 June), though the June issue (complete with Rega DAC review...) may also be available online - will confirm as soon as I know. At the moment, everyone in the UK appears to be on holiday, so getting much done is proving difficult!

 

[datay]

Since you actually have the £500 burning a hole in your pocket, you may as well get the Rega. You'll only wonder what it would have been like if you don't.

Worth bearing in mind some people finding very little difference between dacs, so as I say, if you have the budget, get the one that appeals to you for whatever reason, which would appear to be the Rega. Should go for good prices secondhand anyway if you end up wanting to shift it.

 

[Anonymous]

Since you actually have the £500 burning a hole in your pocket, you may as well get the Rega. You'll only wonder what it would have been like if you don't.

Worth bearing in mind some people finding very little difference between dacs, so as I say, if you have the budget, get the one that appeals to you for whatever reason, which would appear to be the Rega. Should go for good prices secondhand anyway if you end up wanting to shift it.

I already knew months ago i wanted the REGA, just wanted to see last opinions before i buy it and yeh, if i dont like it, it will be going on ebay straight away,, but i seriously doubt thats going to happen!! (a second hand 3 month old one, went for £500 on fealbay couple of days ago) so im not worried about losing any money

I will post my views and how it compares to my beresrford 7520 after its been run in for a while

 

[Anonymous]

JezBaker

you deffinatley won't be dissapointed with the rega dac i swapped my dacmagic for the rega dac and staight out of the box i knew i had made the right choice. it really put the dacmagic to shame ( and i thought that sounded great) but the rega just sounds like real hifi it threw up a massive wall of sound which i just never heard before and continues to improve even watching tv amazes me with these small details that just comeout of the soundstage AMAZING.

enjoy i know you will

regards

80's boy

 

[Anonymous]

JezBaker you deffinatley won't be dissapointed with the rega dac i swapped my dacmagic for the rega dac and staight out of the box i knew i had made the right choice. it really put the dacmagic to shame ( and i thought that sounded great) but the rega just sounds like real hifi it threw up a massive wall of sound which i just never heard before and continues to improve even watching tv amazes me with these small details that just comeout of the soundstage AMAZING. enjoy i know you will regards 80's boy

good to hear, cant wait till it arrives

 

[Anonymous]

A touch off topic I know, but what are your thoughts on the Beresford you have?

I have a Cyrus One and some Tannoy R1 speakers, play music from my PC and want to get an idea of the sort of sound one could expect from the '7520.

Many thanks

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

Im no expert when it comes to dacs but i would say the beresford 7520 is very detailed and has great dynamics, Has more detail then the dacmagic i reckon. Its a very good sounding DAC and excellent value for money. Ive been very happy with it for the 6 months i have had it . Maybe someone with a bit more experience can enlighten us with their views on the 7520