Rega DAC

[WishTree]

Thanks Record Spot. I am going to try the Emotiva. I just contacted their Sales through e-mail and I hope to buy and have it deiivered directly. If I get it, once I get it, I will post a small review from my end!

On a different note - I never understand a DAC which does not have a built in Power Supply. It feels like that the manufacturer is not serious enough about their equipment to work on the Power Supply in the enclosure and give a decent transformer in the box. I am always afraid that the Power noise might creep in if there is no built in power supply, may be i am too paranoid.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Record Spot. I am going to try the Emotiva. I just contacted their Sales through e-mail and I hope to buy and have it deiivered directly. If I get it, once I get it, I will post a small review from my end!

On a different note - I never understand a DAC which does not have a built in Power Supply. It feels like that the manufacturer is not serious enough about their equipment to work on the Power Supply in the enclosure and give a decent transformer in the box. I am always afraid that the Power noise might creep in if there is no built in power supply, may be i am too paranoid.

Would love to know what this dac is like, i am planning on buying a rega dac but if this is better, then i will have to get one of these are there any reviews on the internet anywhere?

 

[WishTree]

Well.. well.. I was super excited and contacted the sales at Emotiva. They are friendly and fast. I got the quote for the DAC (XDA-1)and the shipping price. It is 299 USD with 70 or 80 USD for shipping which makes it very cheap when paid in Euros or Pounds.

However, there are not many reviews I encountered. The few user reviews I have seen are pretty much lame or burning in some forum wars. So I am holding my horses, till some magazine makes a review.

Given the enthusiasm of the sales team at Emotiva, may be WHF can make a request and they would even send a sample for review.

WHF Team - Any inclination to initiate such a thing ?

 

[Anonymous]

another one to watch is the audiolab MDAC (i think its called) which is meant to be coming out soon. people are going nuts about it on forums

 

[Helmut80]

edit

 

[Anonymous]

I would be interested in the emotiva review as well. In the US, it's for about US$300, vs. the US $995 for a Rega Dac.

I'm having a sneaking suspicion that if you're living in the USA, you're better off with some canadian or US brand hifi (Krell, Bryston, NAD?). The HIFI * rating would go up because of the price differential.

The rega amp, speakers only made sense to me financially, because I could get them new for about 35% off their normal price.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Rick, just quickly seeing as you have good knowledge of the Rega Dac, my set up is PM6003, Monitor Audio BX2 and QED silver anniversary cables, I was looking at the rDac as it has a softer sound which I thought would compliment the set up, would the Rega Dac be a compatible match also or maybe an even better addition than the rDac with this set up? I listen to a very broad range of music but primarily dance, house and electro. Thanks

Hi Benvos

I feel the first change you should consider making is replacing your speaker cables with some standard OFC cables with 79-500 strands. What interconnects do you use/or will you be using please?

The rDac should be fine with your system. Rega's DAC with is a product which your amplifier and speakers will benefit even more from regardless of the types of music you listen to. Rega's DAC fully justifies its asking price and one which gives more then a fair taste of the performance of Rega's flagship Isis cd player at a 1/12 of the price :bigsmile:

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Rick, just quickly seeing as you have good knowledge of the Rega Dac, my set up is PM6003, Monitor Audio BX2 and QED silver anniversary cables, I was looking at the rDac as it has a softer sound which I thought would compliment the set up, would the Rega Dac be a compatible match also or maybe an even better addition than the rDac with this set up? I listen to a very broad range of music but primarily dance, house and electro. Thanks

Hi Benvos

I feel the first change you should consider making is replacing your speaker cables with some standard OFC cables with 79-500 strands. What interconnects do you use/or will you be using please?

The rDac should be fine with your system. Rega's DAC with is a product which your amplifier and speakers will benefit even more from regardless of the types of music you listen to. Rega's DAC fully justifies its asking price and one which gives more then a fair taste of the performance of Rega's flagship Isis cd player at a 1/12 of the price :bigsmile:

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hi rick

Do you share the same view with interconnects as you do with speaker cable?

Also, How many hours burn in do you reckon the rega dac needs before it opens up and sounds it best?

Cheers

 

[TALON1973]

interesting read ..........i was seriously afetr the audiolab ..........and if the dac only version comes out i think i'll got for it.. but i was also interested in the rega .... confussed dot com .........hmm

got teh mf v-dac atm .. seems the usb connection is pants .. which is what i'm using atm .. wil have to change it on my pc

 

[Frank Harvey]

I've not really read much of this thread until tonight, and just felt I had to drop in a word or two, as there seems to be some misinformation going round. It's all very well getting people's opinions on DAC's, but I've found that DAC's are quite inconsistent in their ability to improve systems. A particular DAC in one system might bring a massive improvement, but in another, none at all, or even make the system sound worse than it is. There's no 'science' to DAC compatibility like there is with amps and speakers, you can't predict it. One person can only give their opinion of how a specific DAC sounds in a specific system at any one time. No one can say that a particular DAC will improve your system ten fold without actually witnessing it.

 

[Anonymous]

interesting read ..........i was seriously afetr the audiolab ..........and if the dac only version comes out i think i'll got for it.. but i was also interested in the rega .... confussed dot com .........hmm

got teh mf v-dac atm .. seems the usb connection is pants .. which is what i'm using atm .. wil have to change it on my pc

ditto. cant decide between the new audiolab dac which isnt out yet or a rega dac.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Rick, just quickly seeing as you have good knowledge of the Rega Dac, my set up is PM6003, Monitor Audio BX2 and QED silver anniversary cables, I was looking at the rDac as it has a softer sound which I thought would compliment the set up, would the Rega Dac be a compatible match also or maybe an even better addition than the rDac with this set up? I listen to a very broad range of music but primarily dance, house and electro. Thanks

Hi Benvos

I feel the first change you should consider making is replacing your speaker cables with some standard OFC cables with 79-500 strands. What interconnects do you use/or will you be using please?

The rDac should be fine with your system. Rega's DAC with is a product which your amplifier and speakers will benefit even more from regardless of the types of music you listen to. Rega's DAC fully justifies its asking price and one which gives more then a fair taste of the performance of Rega's flagship Isis cd player at a 1/12 of the price :bigsmile:

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Hi rick

Do you share the same view with interconnects as you do with speaker cable?

Also, How many hours burn in do you reckon the rega dac needs before it opens up and sounds it best?

Cheers

Hi JezBaker

Yes, i'll highly recommend using standard interconnects, speaker cables and mains cables as these are good enough :bigsmile:

I think i've used my demo Rega DAC for around 400 hours and it is sounding just sweet

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[the record spot]

I've not really read much of this thread until tonight, and just felt I had to drop in a word or two, as there seems to be some misinformation going round. It's all very well getting people's opinions on DAC's, but I've found that DAC's are quite inconsistent in their ability to improve systems. A particular DAC in one system might bring a massive improvement, but in another, none at all, or even make the system sound worse than it is. There's no 'science' to DAC compatibility like there is with amps and speakers, you can't predict it. One person can only give their opinion of how a specific DAC sounds in a specific system at any one time. No one can say that a particular DAC will improve your system ten fold without actually witnessing it.

And indeed, that theory applies across the board and not solely to DACs!

 

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard both the rDAC and Rega DAC within the same systems and can comment on the bassines of either? I'm thinking of ditching my rDAC for something else because it seems to give a lot of bass.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I've not really read much of this thread until tonight, and just felt I had to drop in a word or two, as there seems to be some misinformation going round. It's all very well getting people's opinions on DAC's, but I've found that DAC's are quite inconsistent in their ability to improve systems. A particular DAC in one system might bring a massive improvement, but in another, none at all, or even make the system sound worse than it is. There's no 'science' to DAC compatibility like there is with amps and speakers, you can't predict it. One person can only give their opinion of how a specific DAC sounds in a specific system at any one time. No one can say that a particular DAC will improve your system ten fold without actually witnessing it.

And indeed, that theory applies across the board and not solely to DACs!

I don't think so. I find matching a Cd player to an amp less of an issue, it just has to be a decent one. It's matching tonality more than anything else. But I find DAC's in particular to be very hit and miss in their ability to 'upgrade' a system. With speakers and amplifiers, at least you can have an idea beforehand of what to expect, but not with DAC's - it really is random.

 

[Anonymous]

RE: Hi-Fi Benvos wrote:
Hi Rick, just quickly seeing as you have good knowledge of the Rega Dac, my set up is PM6003, Monitor Audio BX2 and QED silver anniversary cables, I was looking at the rDac as it has a softer sound which I thought would compliment the set up, would the Rega Dac be a compatible match also or maybe an even better addition than the rDac with this set up? I listen to a very broad range of music but primarily dance, house and electro. Thanks

MUSICRAFT wrote:
Hi Benvos I feel the first change you should consider making is replacing your speaker cables with some standard OFC cables with 79-500 strands. What interconnects do you use/or will you be using please? The rDac should be fine with your system. Rega's DAC with is a product which your amplifier and speakers will benefit even more from regardless of the types of music you listen to. Rega's DAC fully justifies its asking price and one which gives more then a fair taste of the performance of Rega's flagship Isis cd player at a 1/12 of the price All the best Rick @ Musicraft __________________
Musicraft (Derby), Specialist Hi-Fi/AV Dealer

Thanks Rick for getting back to me about this, it seems that I am edging more and more toward the Rega DAC. As far as interconnects go I didn't have any specific in mind, I would have gone with what my dealer suggested but they tend toward QED, is there certain brands you would recommend? With regards to changing the cables for 'standard' cables is this a choice you make personally because of preference to the sound or is it because you feel QED or other such makes won't produce a nice sounding system full stop regardless of amp or speaker combination? I ask because I am currently happy with the sound but I know the system misses a DAC to really hold everything together as some of the electronic sounds in the music suffers from the Mac Mini's DAC which obviously was not made for music quality, I think the DAC will add that smoothness to all music notes/sounds.

 

[the record spot]

I've not really read much of this thread until tonight, and just felt I had to drop in a word or two, as there seems to be some misinformation going round. It's all very well getting people's opinions on DAC's, but I've found that DAC's are quite inconsistent in their ability to improve systems. A particular DAC in one system might bring a massive improvement, but in another, none at all, or even make the system sound worse than it is. There's no 'science' to DAC compatibility like there is with amps and speakers, you can't predict it. One person can only give their opinion of how a specific DAC sounds in a specific system at any one time. No one can say that a particular DAC will improve your system ten fold without actually witnessing it.

And indeed, that theory applies across the board and not solely to DACs!

I don't think so. I find matching a Cd player to an amp less of an issue, it just has to be a decent one. It's matching tonality more than anything else. But I find DAC's in particular to be very hit and miss in their ability to 'upgrade' a system. With speakers and amplifiers, at least you can have an idea beforehand of what to expect, but not with DAC's - it really is random.

Have to say I dsiagree, Mission 752s look like a lot of speaker, but can sound lean in the wrong system, the "traditional" McIntosh sound apparently went out the window with the MA6300 integrated (though in fairness, that was their first solid state, non-valve effort) and the DACMagic just sounds flat, albeit not in a good way - others may disagree.

My SA7001-KI is also lean sounding, Cambridge players are apparently quite bright and the Audio Analogue Paganini had bass that was through the floorboards. They all present issues in their own way and there's no guarantees with any of them.

 

[Frank Harvey]

As you are more than happy with your current sound, I'd advise you stick to the cables you have.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

RE: Hi-Fi Benvos wrote: Hi Rick, just quickly seeing as you have good knowledge of the Rega Dac, my set up is PM6003, Monitor Audio BX2 and QED silver anniversary cables, I was looking at the rDac as it has a softer sound which I thought would compliment the set up, would the Rega Dac be a compatible match also or maybe an even better addition than the rDac with this set up? I listen to a very broad range of music but primarily dance, house and electro. Thanks

MUSICRAFT wrote: Hi Benvos I feel the first change you should consider making is replacing your speaker cables with some standard OFC cables with 79-500 strands. What interconnects do you use/or will you be using please? The rDac should be fine with your system. Rega's DAC with is a product which your amplifier and speakers will benefit even more from regardless of the types of music you listen to. Rega's DAC fully justifies its asking price and one which gives more then a fair taste of the performance of Rega's flagship Isis cd player at a 1/12 of the price All the best Rick @ Musicraft __________________ Musicraft (Derby), Specialist Hi-Fi/AV Dealer

Thanks Rick for getting back to me about this, it seems that I am edging more and more toward the Rega DAC. As far as interconnects go I didn't have any specific in mind, I would have gone with what my dealer suggested but they tend toward QED, is there certain brands you would recommend? With regards to changing the cables for 'standard' cables is this a choice you make personally because of preference to the sound or is it because you feel QED or other such makes won't produce a nice sounding system full stop regardless of amp or speaker combination? I ask because I am currently happy with the sound but I know the system misses a DAC to really hold everything together as some of the electronic sounds in the music suffers from the Mac Mini's DAC which obviously was not made for music quality, I think the DAC will add that smoothness to all music notes/sounds.

Hi Benvos

Your welcome.

I'll highly recommend using standard interconnects and speaker cables as i feel these are more then good enough. There after if the presentation needs altering/shaping/tuning then in the first instance use the tone controls on your amplifier.

Keep it simple

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Cypher]

Since a week I have an Arcam rdac and I will never buy a CDplayer again. It sounds so much better than my cd player. The sound is richer, fuller and you hear more detail in the music. I listen to WAV files, sounds better than flac to me.

The Rega Dac seems like a great product too

 

[Cold Roses]

I hesitate to ask for fear of starting another cable debate which ultimately degenerates into a slagging match between the believers and the doubters, but I'm planning to run my Apollo into the Rega Dac. Does anyone have any thoughts on the relative merits of using a coaxial digital cable versus an optical cable from the Apollo to the Dac?

I'll also be running an Airport Express into the Dac via optical and may ultimately run my Mac directly into the Dac (using a USB convertor), though that will be at some point in the future.

I've seen that there are various threads on the forum dedicated specifically to coaxial vs optical debate, so I don't really need general explanations/opinions, I guess I'm more interested in thoughts from folks (including, any dealers) who have real world experience with the Rega Dac. Thanks

 

[tonky]

I have a rega dac on demo. I am using my cd player and cheap optical cable. Is there much difference in sound quality between optical cables?