need a new dac

stpierre76

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I all,ve got the cyrus pre xpd /8power but want to change as m looking for a better dac.It seems there has been a massive influx of new dac saturating the market recently.Auditioning them all is impossible for me hence me wanting your opinion and expertise.I store all my music on laptop(flac - jriver) and use the usb port so dac needs to be usb compatible and really good at it too..also, i understand that the more you pay for a dac, the better it will be as a general rule anyway, but unfortunately for me i can t pay 2000 quids for a dac.M looking at around and between 500 and 1300pds.

Please advise me of what great dac are around irrespective of amp compability as also in the process of swapping that..ideally it have balance out, but that s marginal as not entirely convinced it mays a night/day difference.like i said previously the usb is the most important feature for me.remote controlled would be good as i could have tv, dvd and computer all plugged in dac and switch set up from couch..

also out of interest,may one box solution.anybody heard of moon i3.3?i know moon does a dedicated dac (dac 300) that is quite good, so wondering how good the amp with integrated dac is?

sincerely yours

john
 

audioaffair

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Within budget, and to my ears anyway, little comes close to the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC - I'd recommend giving this a listen. Try one of Chord Electronics Chordette models with a DAC also - either the Chordette which is comfortably within budget or the Peach which is a little above budget.
 
stpierre76:
I all,ve got the cyrus pre xpd /8power but want to change as m looking for a better dac.It seems there has been a massive influx of new dac saturating the market recently.Auditioning them all is impossible for me hence me wanting your opinion and expertise.I store all my music on laptop(flac - jriver) and use the usb port so dac needs to be usb compatible and really good at it too..also, i understand that the more you pay for a dac, the better it will be as a general rule anyway, but unfortunately for me i can t pay 2000 quids for a dac.M looking at around and between 500 and 1300pds.

Please advise me of what great dac are around irrespective of amp compability as also in the process of swapping that..ideally it have balance out, but that s marginal as not entirely convinced it mays a night/day difference.like i said previously the usb is the most important feature for me.remote controlled would be good as i could have tv, dvd and computer all plugged in dac and switch set up from couch..

also out of interest,may one box solution.anybody heard of moon i3.3?i know moon does a dedicated dac (dac 300) that is quite good, so wondering how good the amp with integrated dac is?

sincerely yours

john

Hi John

I'll recommend Chord Electronics Chordette Peach DAC at £800 or Rega's new DAC at £500. Fwiw Rega's DAC is my digital and overall product of of 2010.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft
 

jockey.wilson

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stpierre76:

I all,ve got the cyrus pre xpd /8power but want to change as m looking for a better dac.

I don't quite understand the logic in changing this at the moment to be honest. If you want to upgrade, why not try the Qx DAC upgrade for 300 pounds? That way you don't have to get rid of your pre and power amps. Alternatively, go for a DAC XP (out of budget??).

I think that if you are just spending a relatively small amount of money on a stand-alone DAC, you will just waste money on a sideways step as opposed to a real upgrade. The DACs in the Cyrus (standard and Qx) are actually pretty good; factor in another cable to the amp, and I think you will struggle to match the performance for these for the amount of money that you are willing to spend.
 
A

Anonymous

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Hi,

And what do you think about musical fidelity M1 dac?
 

stpierre76

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Well actually i did consider the cyrus gear but the qx upgrade sounded thin in respeft.The dac xp and dax+ are not usb equiped.Plus m a bit over the cyrus gear.I ve done sone other listening and found other amp that match my preference.

Thankfs for everybody that replied and advised me on different brands.to be honest i did not even consider the chord range but will investigate.I was holding off on the rega as it s still new and awaiting thourough reviews...

also the lectrocompaniet new dac is coming out.keeping an eye on it and the wyred for sound dac2, but both are rather on the higher scale of budget.

sincerely yours

john
 

eternaloptimist

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Hi stpierre,

You have almost identical electronics to my own (see sig). I also stream all music (now) via J River MC on a laptop via USB. (All CDs ripped via EAC). I had the same issue about not being satisfied with the DAC in the PreXPd. My aim was to have the streamed source sound at least as good as the Cyrus 6SE CDP. After lots and lots of investigation I settled on the Wyred-4-Sound DAC2 - is absolutely fabulous! Integrates effortlessly with the Cyrus electronics, asynchronous USB supporting up to 24/192 and the end result is better than when using the Cyrus 6SE CDP - which is saying something. The bass, in particular, is more defined. I am delighted with the outcome. I did contemplate the Qx upgrade, but felt that for the money, I could do better....

The Wyred-4-Sound DAC2 is GBP 1299 via: http://www.itemaudio.co.uk/wyred_dac2.html.

Good luck with your DAC search!

Cheers,

EO
 

stpierre76

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hi eternal,

thanks for your reply and advice.i was indeed looking at the wyred for sound dac2 and integrated amps.however, i did listen to the electrocompaniet range eci 5 mk2 and eci3 and they blew the cyrus amp apart,and m so scared of getting the wyred 4 sound amp as it s such a new product and not fully tested i beleive,plus not being able to audition is a big gamble.As for the dac, ve no doubt it s good but at 1200 pds i think i may settle for a cheaper dac and spend money on the a very good amp and better speakers.My budget was about 2000 pds for amp and 1000 pds to 1200 pds for dac, but like i said may be i should get a really good amp at around 2500 to 2800 pds and a 500 pds dac(like the rega or mf....).is there a significant improvment in sound quality from 500 pds to 1000pds?

what are your thoughts?w4s integrated amp and dac worth a gamble, or is it a waste to spend 2800 pds on an amp and only 500 pds on a dac?Should source(dac for me) and amp be roughly the same money.

sincderely yours
 

Gerrardasnails

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stpierre76:
hi eternal,

thanks for your reply and advice.i was indeed looking at the wyred for sound dac2 and integrated amps.however, i did listen to the electrocompaniet range eci 5 mk2 and eci3 and they blew the cyrus amp apart,and m so scared of getting the wyred 4 sound amp as it s such a new product and not fully tested i beleive,plus not being able to audition is a big gamble.As for the dac, ve no doubt it s good but at 1200 pds i think i may settle for a cheaper dac and spend money on the a very good amp and better speakers.My budget was about 2000 pds for amp and 1000 pds to 1200 pds for dac, but like i said may be i should get a really good amp at around 2500 to 2800 pds and a 500 pds dac(like the rega or mf....).is there a significant improvment in sound quality from 500 pds to 1000pds?

what are your thoughts?w4s integrated amp and dac worth a gamble, or is it a waste to spend 2800 pds on an amp and only 500 pds on a dac?Should source(dac for me) and amp be roughly the same money.

sincderely yours

Simaudio Moon I3.3
 
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Anonymous

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How about a "gigawork DAC"?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gigawork-24-192-Up-sampling-DAC-DA-CONVERTER-w-USB-kit_W0QQitemZ120474001273QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0ccf5f79#ht_10520wt_996

People are VERY impressed with it! Se threads below :)

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/137976-experience-diy-dac.html

and

http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/showthread.php/16138-My-new-dac
 
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Anonymous

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Do you need a remote? If not, I'd highly recommend the Burson HA-160D. It is a superb dac (with really good usb as well as coaxial), preamp and headphone amp. I compared it to my £3k dac and it comes quite close.

Here's a glowing 6 Moons review: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/burson5/1.html

Also means you could ditch your Cyrus preamp if the Burson is better (I suspect it is at least as good)
 
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Anonymous

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Ah, I just re-read your first post - the Burson only has 2 digital inputs unfortunately (3 additional analogue inputs tho) - so may not be suitable. Alternatively, there is the Benchmark DAC-1, I have one (I'm about to sell), it's not as good as the Burson though, but still a very good dac.
 

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