HD Mediaplayer as transport + up to £ 600 DAC

[Chaloff]

To me personally the best set-up is a multifunctional mediaplayer + DAC. My aim is to control both video and audio with one remote control with navigation on TV screan.

Some say that HD players are not ok for Hi-Fi because of jitter (impulse power supply, bad spdif out, etc, etc). But I see there are a lot of DACs now which kill jitter. Those who are against this type of set-up anyway insist that the weakest component is a limit of the set-up.

I am looking at Rega DAC or M-DAC. But I am affraid I am already convinced by different forums that these DACs would play good only with CD players and special Hi-Fi transports (like Olive or Logitech or CA Stream Magic, etc)

Please help to understand!!!

Note that I am not inclining to use special Hi-Fi streamers. I also do not like the idea to use computer as transport.

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[Overdose]

I use a Mac mini as a streamer for all media types.

It sounds just fine to me.

It is unlikely that I would ever need to upgrade my DAC, as I don't believe that it is a limiting factor. It is versatile and has all the functionality that I need. My Mac is near as damnit silent and plays my music bit perfectly (if this is of interest) and my entire library of CDs is stored as lossless ALAC files on the HDD.

I could, if I wished I suppose, rip all of my movies to HDD as well, but there would be a legality issue, aside from that, a computer makies a very compelling streamer that is more versatile than a dedicated streamer to boot.

Pc's in mini ATX form, also have the ability to play Blu-Ray if you needed full compatibility and many are also 3D capable.

iPod Touch, iPhones or iPads also make excellent controllers for such systems.

 

[dragon76]

Not a single DAC, even the most expensive and technologically advanced, can fully kill jitter and rectify poor digital input signal. A good DAC shines only with good quality transport. This is my personal opinion that is based on personal experience. Having said that not all media players are the same, some provide relatively better spdif output then the others. Which HD player you think of buying?

 

[Overdose]

Not a single DAC, even the most expensive and technologically advanced, can fully kill jitter and rectify poor digital input signal. A good DAC shines only with good quality transport. This is my personal opinion that is based on personal experience. Having said that not all media players are the same, some provide relatively better spdif output then the others. Which HD player you think of buying?

This is not true. Even cheap (comparitively) DACs can be audibly transparent.

A couple of reviews that you might like to read on the subject.

DACmagic Plus

Epiphany E-DAC (ODAC)

Benchmark DAC1 Pre

 

[mpapo]

I can vouch for the Benchmark dac, very detailed & clear.

 

[dragon76]

Not a single DAC, even the most expensive and technologically advanced, can fully kill jitter and rectify poor digital input signal. A good DAC shines only with good quality transport. This is my personal opinion that is based on personal experience. Having said that not all media players are the same, some provide relatively better spdif output then the others. Which HD player you think of buying?

This is not true. Even cheap (comparitively) DACs can be audibly transparent.

A couple of reviews that you might like to read on the subject.

DACmagic Plus

Epiphany E-DAC (ODAC)

Benchmark DAC1 Pre

This is not what I meant, so please reread my post. And there is no point for me to read these reviews as I've owned both Dac Magic and Benchmark, so I know them first hand. My point was that there are no DACs that can fully clean up and restore signal from poor transport. The better the transport, the better the performance of a DAC.

 

[shafesk]

I would actually advise you to go with something that is a dedicated streamer, I know from experience that adding external dacs to things doesn't translate as big an upgrade as getting a better component with a better built in dac. If I were you I would get the Stream magic 6 for music and then something like the Apple Tv, Roku or WD live tv which all cost around 100 pounds.

 

[Chaloff]

Overdose, thanks a lot for the advise. But I really do not want to use PC as transport. Just don't want to mess with drivers, codecs and programs. PC's at home and at work and laptop in trips are more than enough

I use a Mac mini as a streamer for all media types.

It sounds just fine to me.

It is unlikely that I would ever need to upgrade my DAC, as I don't believe that it is a limiting factor.

Overdose, if you some day want to upgrade your setup, what would you change then first - Mac or DAC?

 

[Chaloff]

Not a single DAC, even the most expensive and technologically advanced, can fully kill jitter and rectify poor digital input signal. A good DAC shines only with good quality transport.

dragon76, thanks,

You are not the one who has this opinion what makes me really sad , but let us focus on the aim: HD player + DAC

Having said that not all media players are the same, some provide relatively better spdif output then the others. Which HD player you think of buying?

I am thinking of Dune HD Max which has the reachest functionality at the moment to my mind and a very friendly interface. http://www.whathifi.com/review/dune-hd-max-0

Have you tried that one? Or what would you recommend?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Chaloff]

I can vouch for the Benchmark dac, very detailed & clear.

Thanks, mpapo, but I am affraid this dac is not manufactured any more. Anyway it's quite a rare gadget here in Russia and it costs over £ 1100. Out of my budget

May I ask why you advise it? Have you tried it with cheap media players?

 

[Chaloff]

I would actually advise you to go with something that is a dedicated streamer, I know from experience that adding external dacs to things doesn't translate as big an upgrade as getting a better component with a better built in dac. If I were you I would get the Stream magic 6 for music and then something like the Apple Tv, Roku or WD live tv which all cost around 100 pounds.

shafesk, thank you. But you anyway use the DacMagic

My problem is that I want to drag out as much sound as possible from HD player because of two things:

1) I like music videos and live shows which can not be played by dedicated streamers,

2) I do not go for Oppo (what would logically be suggested from p.1) as these players frankly are not as multifunctional as media players.

 

[Chaloff]

To All:

Meanwhile. I heard fantastic stories about PC's + asynchronous DAC's via USB.

Can anyone explain how the hell can PCs beat mediaplayers? They are anyway designed without toroids.

Yet, a question (maybe would sound stupid): is there a chance to use HD player with asynchronous DAC via USB?

 

[Overdose]

Overdose, thanks a lot for the advise. But I really do not want to use PC as transport. Just don't want to mess with drivers, codecs and programs. PC's at home and at work and laptop in trips are more than enough

I use a Mac mini as a streamer for all media types.

It sounds just fine to me.

It is unlikely that I would ever need to upgrade my DAC, as I don't believe that it is a limiting factor.

Overdose, if you some day want to upgrade your setup, what would you change then first - Mac or DAC?

In all honesty, neither, as I don't believe that either of them are in any way a limiting factor on sound reproduction. If they were to be changed at all, then it would be for entirely different reasons than upgrading, such as aesthetics, functionality and usability.

I should perhaps qualify that with the additional info that I have had several DACs/audio interfaces. All of which sounded so similar as to be identical. Functionality was the driver for change.

My next upgrade will be my speakers, with or without built in DAC.

 

[Overdose]

To All:

Meanwhile. I heard fantastic stories about PC's + asynchronous DAC's via USB.

Can anyone explain how the hell can PCs beat mediaplayers? They are anyway designed without toroids.

Yet, a question (maybe would sound stupid): is there a chance to use HD player with asynchronous DAC via USB?

HERE is a good article, written from an engineers perspective. If you read the article and then on to the comments, you should find most of the answers that you need. In fact there is some good information in general elsewhere on that blog.

 

[cheeseboy]

Can anyone explain how the hell can PCs beat mediaplayers? They are anyway designed without toroids.

what do you think a mediaplayer is? I'll give you a clue - it's a computer. usually running custom hardware and linux or windows embedded.

 

[Chaloff]

HERE is a good article, written from an engineers perspective. If you read the article and then on to the comments, you should find most of the answers that you need.

Thanks indeed, Overdose,

I had chance just to look through the main post. The idea that I grabbed from it is that DAC's are more of esoteric . After I read comments, I believe I'll be wiser.

Still... you say you are more than happy with your DacMagic+. I've not gone through specs, but most probably the differense b/w your dac and mine is the Preamp. Approximately. Same team, same price range.

But I need to confess that:

1) My MagicDac does some little job pulling out music from a very cheap IconBit HD player (compared to same HD player's analoug output).

2) When I heard Rega Dac in a saloon (need to confess it was attached to NAD CD player) I really heard the HUGE difference b/w no Dac and with Dac.

Maybe you reconsider your view.

Hope very much there's no any offence. Just, please, consider.

And why I am in this forum - I hope to understand if there's some Dac that can perforn even more than Rega if I throw some more money.

 

[Chaloff]

what do you think a mediaplayer is? I'll give you a clue - it's a computer.

Thanks a lot, cheesboy,

You gave me a duplicate clue. Believe it or not, but I'm on your side . What I wanted to know was why people disregard HD players + Dac, saying that PC + Dac is MUCH more better.

 

[cheeseboy]

what do you think a mediaplayer is? I'll give you a clue - it's a computer.

Thanks a lot, cheesboy,

You gave me a duplicate clue. Believe it or not, but I'm on your side . What I wanted to know was why people disregard HD players + Dac, saying that PC + Dac is MUCH more better.

ahh apologies, my brain is currently frozen and trying to read does not work. I had to read something 5 times the other day before my brain kicked in!

ignorance and marketing hype is usually the main reasons I find as to the reasons why people disregard such things.

 

[Overdose]

But I need to confess that:

1) My MagicDac does some little job pulling out music from a very cheap IconBit HD player (compared to same HD player's analoug output).

2) When I heard Rega Dac in a saloon (need to confess it was attached to NAD CD player) I really heard the HUGE difference b/w no Dac and with Dac.

Maybe you reconsider your view.

Hope very much there's no any offence. Just, please, consider.

And why I am in this forum - I hope to understand if there's some Dac that can perforn even more than Rega if I throw some more money.

I have not heard the DACmagic or seen it's statistics, but when you compare a product with others, it is very important to listen to them all in the same environment. The differences that you heard with the Rega DAC and NAD CD player, could well be down to acoustics of the room, not to mention that different speakers were probably used.

Room acoustics, are probably as important as speakers for the effect that it has on sound. Audio components before the speakers have much less affect overall, so whilst there may well be differences, comparing two completely different systems in two completely different environments, is perhaps not the best way to go about things.

I can see that it is probably quite hard to understand how spending much more on a component like a DAC would not reap rewards, but the truth is that the law of diminishing returns starts at a very low price point with digital components. Competency can be very inexpensive here.

Of course, if you have more money to spend and want to do so, then other considerations can be made, such as build quality, reliability and aesthetics, but better sound quality is not guaranteed.

No offence taken by the way.