good bye magic dac...

[John Duncan]

Clare Newsome:
But my Cyrus - which has played more like 99.9 percent of discs - doesn't ever crash, or get corrupted, or die and take all the data with it....

(I am, of course, playing devil's advocate* - I use iTunes/Airport Express/DAC at home as well).

* Great album, you must try it.

Indeed. But I've bought three copies of The Incredibles to replace the ones scratched by children.

And here's an experiment for you - which sounds better when you plug them into the exact same DAC - the Cyrus or the AE? And if it's the Cyrus, is it £935 better?

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:Clare Newsome:
But my Cyrus - which has played more like 99.9 percent of discs - doesn't ever crash, or get corrupted, or die and take all the data with it....

(I am, of course, playing devil's advocate* - I use iTunes/Airport Express/DAC at home as well).

* Great album, you must try it.

Indeed. But I've bought three copies of The Incredibles to replace the ones scratched by children.

And here's an experiment for you - which sounds better when you plug them into the exact same DAC - the Cyrus or the AE? And if it's the Cyrus, is it £935 better?

Unfortunately for HiFi co's this is quite true.

I expect they're finding it hard to compete with sources now.

A computer or streamer plus a DAC from the pro-audio side gets you much more sound for your money.

We still need the HiFi co's for amps and speakers though, so it's not all bad.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Charlie Jefferson:As relayed on another thread, I've got to chip in here with a vote for Mac/AE/DAC over CDP/DAC or CDP alone.

My ears, whilst not exactly being empirical data, tell me it's the former over the latter two combos on nearly all occasions.

Mac+Airport X+Chord DAC eclipses Arcam 92+Chord DAC. Often by some margin in terms of detail retrieval and soundstaging. I'm hearing things I've never heard before. . .

You would need some cd player to beat lossless files to the Chord 64!!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Clare Newsome:
But my Cyrus - which has played more like 99.9 percent of discs - doesn't ever crash, or get corrupted, or die and take all the data with it....

(I am, of course, playing devil's advocate* - I use iTunes/Airport Express/DAC at home as well).

* Great album, you must try it.

Come on Clare, which DAC do you use?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm getting rid of the DaC magic because i think i'll be better off with a Arcam cd192...better transport and warmth. Evrything is 'warm' now in my system, the proac D15's, the Roksan Kandy K2 and the Arcam cd192...hope this does not create too much coloration....

 

[chebby]

Gerrardasnails:Come on Clare, which DAC do you use?

I'll wager one of John's Hobnobs that Clare has a brand new Chord QBD76 DAC

 

[Clare Newsome]

Gerrardasnails:Clare Newsome:
But my Cyrus - which has played more like 99.9 percent of discs - doesn't ever crash, or get corrupted, or die and take all the data with it....

(I am, of course, playing devil's advocate* - I use iTunes/Airport Express/DAC at home as well).

* Great album, you must try it.

Come on Clare, which DAC do you use?

Cyrus DAC X - fills the shelf nicely alongside the XtSE...

 

[Ajani]

Clare Newsome:Gerrardasnails:Clare Newsome:
But my Cyrus - which has played more like 99.9 percent of discs - doesn't ever crash, or get corrupted, or die and take all the data with it....

(I am, of course, playing devil's advocate* - I use iTunes/Airport Express/DAC at home as well).

* Great album, you must try it.

Come on Clare, which DAC do you use?

Cyrus DAC X - fills the shelf nicely alongside the XtSE...

Not that I'll likely ever buy a Cyrus, but it's always nice to see when reviewers buy some of the gear they rave about... Obviously it's not financially feasible to buy every piece you like, but when you do buy a particular item, I find it adds a lot more credibility to the rave review...

 

[Anonymous]

This airport express thingy? Is their any reason that its better than using a ps3 connected to a dac magic???

 

[Clare Newsome]

Ajani:Clare Newsome:Gerrardasnails:Clare Newsome:
But my Cyrus - which has played more like 99.9 percent of discs - doesn't ever crash, or get corrupted, or die and take all the data with it....

(I am, of course, playing devil's advocate* - I use iTunes/Airport Express/DAC at home as well).

* Great album, you must try it.

Come on Clare, which DAC do you use?

Cyrus DAC X - fills the shelf nicely alongside the XtSE...

Obviously it's not financially feasible to buy every piece you like,

Oh I wish! At this very moment i'm listening to the Cyrus combo feeding a Krell FBI amp - it's going to be horrible going back to normal when I finish temporarily babysitting the Krell

 

[Anonymous]

Clare

How does the 8se compare to the DACX with Airport?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well it's a CDXtSE, not an 8SE, but regardless, the honest answer is...

I don't know. I've never done an A/B comparison of the two.

We tend to stream music as background, rather than 'active' listening, when I enjoy a good root around the CD rack (or vinyl stack!), and thanks to iPods of various capacities, i've got an ecletic mix of Lossless and compressed recordings in my iTunes library: i've got far greater choice of uncompressed music sitting right by the CD player/turntable.

I promise to experiment over Christmas/New year, when my Mac (hopefully!) will be less tied up with work.

 

[manicm]

Clare Newsome:
Well it's a CDXtSE, not an 8SE, but regardless, the honest answer is...

I don't know. I've never done an A/B comparison of the two.

We tend to stream music as background, rather than 'active' listening, when I enjoy a good root around the CD rack (or vinyl stack!), and thanks to iPods of various capacities, i've got an ecletic mix of Lossless and compressed recordings in my iTunes library: i've got far greater choice of uncompressed music sitting right by the CD player/turntable.

I promise to experiment over Christmas/New year, when my Mac (hopefully!) will be less tied up with work.

...and spend more time babysitting with the Krell FBI heh heh heh

 

[Clare Newsome]

That (very big) baby goes back to its parents on Thursday. Sniff....

Still, in the manner of children taking the school pets home at Christmas, i'm bound to be looking after some of the reference kit - keeping it warm and fed....

 

[John Duncan]

Clare Newsome:
That (very big) baby goes back to its parents on Thursday. Sniff....

Still, in the manner of children taking the school pets home at Christmas, i'm bound to be looking after some of the reference kit - keeping it warm and fed....

And obviously, if you have some spare, I'm not doing anything past the 31st so am available for dog-walking etc

 

[the record spot]

I'll gladly take hold of any £1k+ amps down your way that fancy a Hogmanay in Edinburgh this year of course...