Hello forum,
I currently use a Cambridge Audio CXN as DAC: I generally rip my own CDs to flac, then send music via USB, and the CXN is connected to a very good pre/amp with balanced cables. The CXN DAC is not bad at all, nonetheless I'm constantly investigating how I could get audible improvements and I found a few options.
1) a cheap hi-tech DAC, e.g. the Topping D90
2) RME ADI2 FS DAC
3) Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M
However I'm a bit confused by how reviews measure the "quality" of a DAC.
There are some Chinese DACs that have very favourable reviews and moderate prices.
Most of these devices get evaluated purely on the "technology" side, e.g. they get bonus points just because they use the latest ESS chipset, when we are lucky, we get quantitative measurements on distortion, etc. but little information on how the device actually sounds.
Some people are convinced that all good DACs sound exactly the same, and some, on the opposite, say that these devices are "designed for measurements" and not "designed to sound good".
In this set, prices are generally "low", but variability is huge: the SMSL SU9 is more than 2x cheaper than the D90, but it's considered "comparable".
Additionally, very rarely the reviews mention some independent factors (e.g. how good is customer support, how good is the software, etc.).
The ADI2 is a totally different beast, it looks like a fantastic machine on paper. it has a lot of tweaks and fine tuning options. however it seems a lot "headphone-oriented" (which I don't care).
From a pure tech point of view, it's also vastly inferior to the D90 (the chipset is inferior, for example), and its price is about 1.5x; part is definitely for the extra tweaks, but is the "audio quality" superior?
The CA DacMagic 200M seems a decent compromise: it's made by a reputable audio company; they use good chips, but they do have an idea of how they want the device to sound.
However I'm afraid that I won't notice the difference much from my CXN.
Does anybody have any advice or experience with these DACs?
thanks
I currently use a Cambridge Audio CXN as DAC: I generally rip my own CDs to flac, then send music via USB, and the CXN is connected to a very good pre/amp with balanced cables. The CXN DAC is not bad at all, nonetheless I'm constantly investigating how I could get audible improvements and I found a few options.
1) a cheap hi-tech DAC, e.g. the Topping D90
2) RME ADI2 FS DAC
3) Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M
However I'm a bit confused by how reviews measure the "quality" of a DAC.
There are some Chinese DACs that have very favourable reviews and moderate prices.
Most of these devices get evaluated purely on the "technology" side, e.g. they get bonus points just because they use the latest ESS chipset, when we are lucky, we get quantitative measurements on distortion, etc. but little information on how the device actually sounds.
Some people are convinced that all good DACs sound exactly the same, and some, on the opposite, say that these devices are "designed for measurements" and not "designed to sound good".
In this set, prices are generally "low", but variability is huge: the SMSL SU9 is more than 2x cheaper than the D90, but it's considered "comparable".
Additionally, very rarely the reviews mention some independent factors (e.g. how good is customer support, how good is the software, etc.).
The ADI2 is a totally different beast, it looks like a fantastic machine on paper. it has a lot of tweaks and fine tuning options. however it seems a lot "headphone-oriented" (which I don't care).
From a pure tech point of view, it's also vastly inferior to the D90 (the chipset is inferior, for example), and its price is about 1.5x; part is definitely for the extra tweaks, but is the "audio quality" superior?
The CA DacMagic 200M seems a decent compromise: it's made by a reputable audio company; they use good chips, but they do have an idea of how they want the device to sound.
However I'm afraid that I won't notice the difference much from my CXN.
Does anybody have any advice or experience with these DACs?
thanks