Pre amp bridging 2 power amps

[GustavAP]

I seem to remember reading something a while back that Abrahamsen can convert the 2UP into a pre amp, I might be talking absolute bollox but you could send them an email or ask Colin. If they can it might save you a bit of cash.

Originally I was wanting to down the Pre/power road but they never had any power amps at the time. If you manage to get a listen let me know how you get on.

When lurking norwegian forums (hifisentralen.no) and reading about Abrahamsen I have seen that it should be possible to convert the tape out into a pre out on the V20 models.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

 

[BigH]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

Interesting you are using the Marantz cd player and not the Abrahamsen. I would want to try the
Chord 2Qute DAC as well, thats said to be the best DAC around £1,000.As you have it in your system I think you are the best judge.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

Interesting you are using the Marantz cd player and not the Abrahamsen. I would want to try the

Chord 2Qute DAC as well, thats said to be the best DAC around £1,000. As you have it in your system I think you are the best judge.

the abrahamsen CD player as a failed mechanism and waiting for a new mechanism from abrahamsen which is taking ages but there is not much in it between the marantz and the abrahamsen CD player I think the marantz CD player is better made quality wise and more reliable I thought it would be cheaper doing it this way then spending £2000 on a CD player

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Hay sabbath glad to hear that your getting there....but if I was you I'd try and also get a listen to one of the chord dacs....2qute,used Hugo if you can find one,they are supposed to sound so organic and a bit like vinyl replay...well worth a go. And if you can splash the cash the naim dac-v1 is very good.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Hay sabbath glad to hear that your getting there....but if I was you I'd try and also get a listen to one of the chord dacs....2qute,used Hugo if you can find one,they are supposed to sound so organic and a bit like vinyl replay...well worth a go. And if you can splash the cash the naim dac-v1 is very good.

I just looked up the chord 2 qute they are a lot of money for what they are £1000 is a lot but understand there stuff has good things said about them but if you see this dac I have on demo it's well made loads of inputs I can use XLR inputs it has different sound filters and it can be used as a pre amp too or just head phone amp plug any Apple products into it . The only thing I will say is the remote that came with it does not work . Yes did see the naim dac looks good too anyway I got this dac for 13 days before I have to take it back but so far I am impressed with this dac

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Yep.the m dac has some fine reviews but with your nature and upgraditis the chord or naim should be the ones to look at.the m dac will leave you with that what if feeling a bit to quickly I believe.The chord and naim dacs are good enough to be end game products if you want them to be.only my view and trying to save you cash in the long-term.oh and I'm pretty sure the chord(Hugo) has headphone amp capabilities (but not the qute)and the naim also has pre amp functionality with headphone jack also Although the Hugo is a bit expensive it could be worth demoing one and then try look for a used unit.

 

[BigH]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

Interesting you are using the Marantz cd player and not the Abrahamsen. I would want to try the

Chord 2Qute DAC as well, thats said to be the best DAC around £1,000. As you have it in your system I think you are the best judge.

the abrahamsen CD player as a failed mechanism and waiting for a new mechanism from abrahamsen which is taking ages but there is not much in it between the marantz and the abrahamsen CD player I think the marantz CD player is better made quality wise and more reliable I thought it would be cheaper doing it this way then spending £2000 on a CD player

Failed already, eeekkss. I was one thing I was worried about as I was considering buying one. I don't find much difference between cd players either, more about subtle different presentation.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

Interesting you are using the Marantz cd player and not the Abrahamsen. I would want to try the

Chord 2Qute DAC as well, thats said to be the best DAC around £1,000. As you have it in your system I think you are the best judge.

the abrahamsen CD player as a failed mechanism and waiting for a new mechanism from abrahamsen which is taking ages but there is not much in it between the marantz and the abrahamsen CD player I think the marantz CD player is better made quality wise and more reliable I thought it would be cheaper doing it this way then spending £2000 on a CD player

Failed already, eeekkss. I was one thing I was worried about as I was considering buying one. I don't find much difference between cd players either, more about subtle different presentation.

yes its not good just unlucky but not helping that Abrahamsen takes ages in getting back to colin with the new parts which is not good which i am starting to think look at something i can just take back and get a replacemeant if there is a problem in the future this is why i kept my marantz pm8005 / sacd 8005 player just in case this kind of thing happens

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Yep.the m dac has some fine reviews but with your nature and upgraditis the chord or naim should be the ones to look at.the m dac will leave you with that what if feeling a bit to quickly I believe.The chord and naim dacs are good enough to be end game products if you want them to be.only my view and trying to save you cash in the long-term.oh and I'm pretty sure the chord(Hugo) has headphone amp capabilities (but not the qute)and the naim also has pre amp functionality with headphone jack also Although the Hugo is a bit expensive it could be worth demoing one and then try look for a used unit.

i just looked up the naim v1 dac it uses the blur brown chip and the audio lab uses a sabre chip but its not the same one used in the new arcam ir dac 2 which uses a sabre chip so whether there is a range of bulr brown chips i am not sure but the sabre is meant to be better then the blur brown chip

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Oh sabbath.there's much more to a dac at this level than the dac chip used in it.they (dac chips)all just cost a few quid.no matter who makes it.....of course chord do their own thing when it comes to the dac.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Oh sabbath.there's much more to a dac at this level than the dac chip used in it.they (dac chips)all just cost a few quid.no matter who makes it.....of course chord do their own thing when it comes to the dac.

ok i was not sure i got this one for a week but the remote does not work thats a good start but its made in china what do you expect lol

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Ahhhhh!you really need/want something made in good old Blighty.lol.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Ahhhhh!you really need/want something made in good old Blighty.lol.

well I've made a decision the audio lab dac is going back tomorrow there are some things about it that makes me think it's not worth £800 the remote never worked out of the box the instructions are not very good and I do not understand all of the settings on this dac and there are lots of setting on this dac . There is an output setting that you can adjust which just makes the dac a little louder but you could easily think that the audio lab dac sounds better then the marantz dac but the audio lab is just outputing 3db louder then the marantz dac but when you level it all out both dac's sound the same I even allowed for the XLRs which are normally a little louder . So when you take this all into account it's not worth £800 .

 

[radiorog]

interesting reading. For me, I like to have a decent CD player, but I personally would spend at least twice as much, maybe 5 times as much on the amp. I personally find amps change the sound a whole lot more than a CD player. But maybe it depends on what kind of sound you are after.

 

[jonathanRD]

interesting reading. For me, I like to have a decent CD player, but I personally would spend at least twice as much, maybe 5 times as much on the amp. I personally find amps change the sound a whole lot more than a CD player. But maybe it depends on what kind of sound you are after.

Whilst returning the latest amp I've had on home demo today, I asked about the Chord 2cute as there was one on display at the counter. They said the 2cute was probably their favorite piece of equipment under £2k. Whilst I'm sure better cd transports make a difference, apparently the 2cute lifts a veil from the music where you didn't think one existed beforehand. They liked it a lot and suggested adding the 2cute to a budget cdp (used as a transport) may deliver bigger gains than purchasing a more expensive cdp.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

interesting reading. For me, I like to have a decent CD player, but I personally would spend at least twice as much, maybe 5 times as much on the amp. I personally find amps change the sound a whole lot more than a CD player. But maybe it depends on what kind of sound you are after.

well I thought I would try the dac route first to see if this would make any difference to the sound as my thinking was to use a better chip then the chip inside the CD player but looks like this makes very little difference if you just want to covert CD sound or to get a little bit more information from the cd anyway I think what I am after is the impossible because heavy metal bands compress the **** out of there music but if I listen to something more easy going dire straits , pink ployd that sort of thing it sounds lovely and lots of detail but what I was after was more crash on the Sybals and the toms on the drums I think this sound comes out around mid range and Sybals top end on the speaker which I would of thought my speakers would easily bring this sound out as I am using a hybrid tweets my speakers have large bass drivers so this do the kick drum lovely and the abrahamsen does this very well and keeps up with the speed of the kick drum even if I put a thrash band on both speaker and the abrahamsen work well in this department as well as the vocals , lead guitar , bass guitar but more coming from the lead guitarist . The thing is there is so much going on in music all of the little details and you sit there and thing to your self I wish I could hear a bit more of that instrument you can hear that instrument but it's not as loud as the kick drum why ? Compression the why is been recorded or the gear your playing it on

 

[Blacksabbath25]

interesting reading. For me, I like to have a decent CD player, but I personally would spend at least twice as much, maybe 5 times as much on the amp. I personally find amps change the sound a whole lot more than a CD player. But maybe it depends on what kind of sound you are after.

Whilst returning the latest amp I've had on home demo today, I asked about the Chord 2cute as there was one on display at the counter. They said the 2cute was probably their favorite piece of equipment under £2k. Whilst I'm sure better cd transports make a difference, apparently the 2cute lifts a veil from the music where you didn't think one existed beforehand. They liked it a lot and suggested adding the 2cute to a budget cdp (used as a transport) may deliver bigger gains than purchasing a more expensive cdp.

I hear what your saying I just felt for £800 the audio lab was not lifting any veil of the music I will take back this one and see if richer sounds will get the chord 2cute in for me but not sure if they stock it so it would have to be a special order which I do not want to do so might have to go somewhere where they do a demo on one as its more money then the audio lab one was

 

[busb]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

I'm borrowing a Chord Hugo TT the week after next but it is really expensive & TBH, I'm not convinced my current system justifies £3k on a DAC. My M-DAC is very, very good but reviews suggest the M-DAC+ is better & good value. The + version is has got more inputs than the Chord but is considered to be a little behind the standard Hugo let alone the TT.i If I come to my senses, I'll go for the +

The designer of the original M-DAC is a big fan of XLRs over RCA. My system is fully balanced from DAC to the power amp's input stages - I have not reverted back to RCAs to see if there's a reduction in SQ - but they are certainly physically very superior.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

I'm borrowing a Chord Hugo TT the week after next but it is really expensive & TBH, I'm not convinced my current system justifies £3k on a DAC. My M-DAC is very, very good but reviews suggest the M-DAC+ is better & good value. The + version is has got more inputs than the Chord but is considered to be a little behind the standard Hugo let alone the TT.i If I come to my senses, I'll go for the +

The designer of the original M-DAC is a big fan of XLRs over RCA. My system is fully balanced from DAC to the power amp's input stages - I have not reverted back to RCAs to see if there's a reduction in SQ - but they are certainly physically very superior.

the m-dac plus is very well made and I do like the XLR inputs which gives it a cleaner sound but slightly louder then using RCAs which you have to watch as I feel that's what makes you think it sound better but when you compare it with the onboard dac on the CD player and match its output both dac's sounded the same it did for me . I will have a play tomorrow before taking it back . I just found that there is a lot of setting that I did not understand and I was interested in the filters that it has but just felt there was not much in it between the onboard dac on the marantz so whether there some magical setting that I have missed that will make it sound amazing I do not know

 

[busb]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

I'm borrowing a Chord Hugo TT the week after next but it is really expensive & TBH, I'm not convinced my current system justifies £3k on a DAC. My M-DAC is very, very good but reviews suggest the M-DAC+ is better & good value. The + version is has got more inputs than the Chord but is considered to be a little behind the standard Hugo let alone the TT.i If I come to my senses, I'll go for the +

The designer of the original M-DAC is a big fan of XLRs over RCA. My system is fully balanced from DAC to the power amp's input stages - I have not reverted back to RCAs to see if there's a reduction in SQ - but they are certainly physically very superior.

the m-dac plus is very well made and I do like the XLR inputs which gives it a cleaner sound but slightly louder then using RCAs which you have to watch as I feel that's what makes you think it sound better but when you compare it with the onboard dac on the CD player and match its output both dac's sounded the same it did for me . I will have a play tomorrow before taking it back . I just found that there is a lot of setting that I did not understand and I was interested in the filters that it has but just felt there was not much in it between the onboard dac on the marantz so whether there some magical setting that I have missed that will make it sound amazing I do not know

My original M-DAC sounded quite harsh for the 1st week then just sounded very good as it still does. I don't know how the new + version behaves (your one may have been run in anyway). Fow a while, I listened to the DAC in my Panasonic TV fed from the HDMI output of an AppleTV - it sounded a lot better than I expected!

DACs do sound different from each other but those differences may not be immediately obvious. I'm still hearing differences such as greater detail as I play stuff I'm familiar with for the 1st time through my newish speakers so some differences take weeks or even months to bare fruit.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Right today I went to richer sounds with my abrahamsen amp and marantz sacd 8005 player and had a demo with a audio lab M-Dac+ I thought I would try out this dac as from older posts on this thread some people like mark thought it might be a CD player problem that maybe I needed a top CD player to make the most out of what I got . To be honest I thought I would not hear much of a difference in any detail from using the m-dac + as this dac cost £800 and not been out long but the older model won a lot of awards

right the demo they hooked up my abrahamsen and marantz with a pair of Dali opticon 6s what I used to have so I knew what they would sound like we used XLR leads as well as RCA leads I had taken some CDs with me so nothing was new to me only the new dac for a start I could not tell the difference between the new sound and the old sound then switching to marantz dac sound until we switched to the balanced inputs that was slightly louder so I knew that XLR is normally slightly louder so I turned down the volume a little bit so it matched the RCA input volume this sorted that out I kept switching back and then understood that the new dac sounded better on the XLR inputs the dac was more detail and more open more headroom but still not night and day better my wife thought it sounded more detailed so I thought I would take it home on a home demo to see if it sounds different at home and it does I do like it more natural more involving more head room and good detail .

i am still not 100% sure if I am doing the right thing I have 13 days before I have to take it back but would like people's thoughts on whether this is the way to go because £800 is a lot of money on a pointless upgrade but to me it sounds better so just goes to show buying a new amp would have been pointless as the abrahamsen is very capable amp and the chaps in the shop were impressed by the abrahamsen amp so if I did keep this dac I would use the marantz as a transport as its well built.

I'm borrowing a Chord Hugo TT the week after next but it is really expensive & TBH, I'm not convinced my current system justifies £3k on a DAC. My M-DAC is very, very good but reviews suggest the M-DAC+ is better & good value. The + version is has got more inputs than the Chord but is considered to be a little behind the standard Hugo let alone the TT.i If I come to my senses, I'll go for the +

The designer of the original M-DAC is a big fan of XLRs over RCA. My system is fully balanced from DAC to the power amp's input stages - I have not reverted back to RCAs to see if there's a reduction in SQ - but they are certainly physically very superior.

the m-dac plus is very well made and I do like the XLR inputs which gives it a cleaner sound but slightly louder then using RCAs which you have to watch as I feel that's what makes you think it sound better but when you compare it with the onboard dac on the CD player and match its output both dac's sounded the same it did for me . I will have a play tomorrow before taking it back . I just found that there is a lot of setting that I did not understand and I was interested in the filters that it has but just felt there was not much in it between the onboard dac on the marantz so whether there some magical setting that I have missed that will make it sound amazing I do not know

My original M-DAC sounded quite harsh for the 1st week then just sounded very good as it still does. I don't know how the new + version behaves (your one may have been run in anyway). Fow a while, I listened to the DAC in my Panasonic TV fed from the HDMI output of an AppleTV - it sounded a lot better than I expected!

DACs do sound different from each other but those differences may not be immediately obvious. I'm still hearing differences such as greater detail as I play stuff I'm familiar with for the 1st time through my newish speakers so some differences take weeks or even months to bare fruit.

the m -dac plus I have on demo was brand new they opened the box for me to demo the chap in the shop thought he could hear more head room in the sound it maybe the case I am not sure we tried RCAs and XLR and found that it sounded better on the XLRs but since then I found out that the XLRs output is a little louder and I do not have to turn my amps volume much but I matched the input levels on both XLR & RCAs so they both sound the same in volume and this is how I found out that the marantz 8005 dac sounded the same as the audio lab m-dac plus on the same volume levels switching between the two . As you have the m-dac what setting do you use for cd play back to get the best out of the dac ?

 

[radiorog]

The thing is there is so much going on in music all of the little details and you sit there and thing to your self I wish I could hear a bit more of that instrument you can hear that instrument but it's not as loud as the kick drum why ? Compression the why is been recorded or the gear your playing it on

Knowing how well the Abrahamsen separates individual instruments, I would say that funny characteristics of a song will probably be down to the production. On a cheaper stereo you wouldn't notice it, but for example, the kick drum would be heard driving out the beat. Drums and bass are very necessary for music. ;-)

I heard something today on the radio in my k3 and thought, wow, that's bizarre how that piece of music in the background of a song comes in and stops. You could tell the faders had just been pushed as the music comes crashing in, but I've never heard this before on any other of my systems in the past. Maybe what you need is a cheaper system ;-)

 

[radiorog]

interesting reading. For me, I like to have a decent CD player, but I personally would spend at least twice as much, maybe 5 times as much on the amp. I personally find amps change the sound a whole lot more than a CD player. But maybe it depends on what kind of sound you are after.

Whilst returning the latest amp I've had on home demo today, I asked about the Chord 2cute as there was one on display at the counter. They said the 2cute was probably their favorite piece of equipment under £2k. Whilst I'm sure better cd transports make a difference, apparently the 2cute lifts a veil from the music where you didn't think one existed beforehand. They liked it a lot and suggested adding the 2cute to a budget cdp (used as a transport) may deliver bigger gains than purchasing a more expensive cdp.

Yes of course this makes sense. Individual DACs will sound completely different. (Well, it's all relative). Bypassing a cheaper DAC in the cdp for the £1000 Hugo should be like lifting a veil or I'd want my money back. I'm guessing if that DAC was in a cdp it would be about £3000.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

interesting reading. For me, I like to have a decent CD player, but I personally would spend at least twice as much, maybe 5 times as much on the amp. I personally find amps change the sound a whole lot more than a CD player. But maybe it depends on what kind of sound you are after.

Whilst returning the latest amp I've had on home demo today, I asked about the Chord 2cute as there was one on display at the counter. They said the 2cute was probably their favorite piece of equipment under £2k. Whilst I'm sure better cd transports make a difference, apparently the 2cute lifts a veil from the music where you didn't think one existed beforehand. They liked it a lot and suggested adding the 2cute to a budget cdp (used as a transport) may deliver bigger gains than purchasing a more expensive cdp.

Yes of course this makes sense. Individual DACs will sound completely different. (Well, it's all relative). Bypassing a cheaper DAC in the cdp for the £1000 Hugo should be like lifting a veil or I'd want my money back. I'm guessing if that DAC was in a cdp it would be about £3000.

is the hugo 2cute worth trying it seems a lot of money for a small box with not meany inputs or outputs and no XLR s on it for £1000 ? is it any better then what i have on demo now