Will a DAC be an upgrade

[ultrarunner]

Hi all

My current system is :

Rega P7 with GT subplatter, Inspire acrylic platter, SRM damping upgrades and Ortofon 2M Blue into Graham Slee GramAmp 2SE phono stage

Arcam A85 amp

Arcam CD72

Monitor Audio Bronze BR5

The majority of my listening is vinyl, I love the sound from my set-up - clear, energetic...like real instruments sound basically.

However, when I listen to CD it's just not as good - more closed in, not as easy to follow instruments, not as "lively". Now, to be fair, my vinyl kit is well over £1000 worth, and my CD player isn't, so I'm not surprised...

Would adding something like an Audiolab Q-DAC (on offer these days) or a Musical Fidelity V90 DAC be an upgrade to my existing player, or would it just be adding something without actually improving? My budget is around £200 max at the moment so no fancy ideas please!

Ta

Si

 

[ID.]

What was the price when new? Around 400 pounds? I why would you then expect a 200 pound DAC to be an improvement? Might be a change of flavour, and that sideways step may satisfy you, but I wouldn't bother unless you can audition first and be sure.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

You'll need to go a long way up the dac ladder to get close to that rp7,maybe a chord Hugo?,but it's way over budget,the arcam ir dac will fit well with the a85,and the cd72 will make a good transport ,i used mine with a85/p85 and cd82 for a few months,before moving to the naim gear. The ir dac probably sits somewhere between my old cd82 and naim cd5i mk2,but it ain't vinyl.if you know what I mean.

 

[davedotco]

Have you considered replacing the CD72 with a Rega CD player?

Probably the best way of getting close to your vinyl playback short of spending serious cash, still not cheap though.

You might even get something for your CD72.

 

[ultrarunner]

oops, my mistake, it's a P5, not a P7 (I'm blaming either cold fingers or wishful thinking LOL)

I know what you both are getting at though - I need a higher spec DAC than I'm looking at. TBH I'm not expecting it to match my vinyl, just to narrow the gap between them!

Cheers for your help

Si

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_100004211376004]

Well the ir dac will improve on the cd72 for sure,against the cd82....it's a closer contest,but check out eBay,there's a couple at well under the original £400 asking price,but first go and try and audition one to hear if it's what you're looking for.