DAC recommendation?

[Randy Bey]

Greg,

much has been learned about digital since it's inception, but relatively speaking, its not making quantum jumps every 18 months like other digital (computer) technology.

Getting a three- to five- year old design won't disappoint.

There are some twenty year old units out there that are still claimed to have the best sound -- resistive ladders in the DAC, for example. I would shy away from something quite that old; never know how its been treated.

[greg928gts]

Randy, what do you think of this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3028832835&category=3272

Greg

[greg928gts]

Would anyone care to comment on these players?

Shanling CDT 100 (tube unit that also plays HDCD) but will it play SACD?

Sony SCD-1

McIntosh MCD 7000 or 7007

Jolida JD100

Sony DVP-NS999ES (does DVD and SACD)

Myryad MC100

Meridian 506

This was just a quick look on ebay. The choices seem endless and this is getting really deep for me.

Is there a way to put the specifications that make a real difference into a concise list? I know some of this would be subjective, but how about listing the types of transport, processor bit, etc...?

This thread's really gotten away from the original question hasn't it?

Greg

[Randy Bey]

Greg, that is the "top of the line" Miles.

It has two DACs for the balanced (not sure about the RCA) outputs, which greatly reduces the common noise, since both DACs will sum the signal but not the noise, which is random.

$1050 is a good price, you could offer 10% less.

This unit would take you off the digital upgrade merry-go-round.

If you have balanced inputs to your preamp, or your amp, its a no-brainer. Even if you don't, its very attractive.

You might ask the owner if the dual DACs are used for the RCA outs.

[Randy Bey]

BTW, I heard a Sony SCD-1 and it is awesome.

Built like a tank but not as light.

Another fine choice, IMHO. And SACD in the bargain.

[greg928gts]

I've got a line on a couple of local pieces; a MSB Link DAC with outboard power supply and a Denon 1650 AR player. Can I get some feedback on these? What's a good price for these? Can the MSB be upgraded to "full nelson" and if so, how much will it cost?

Greg

[Randy Bey]

All MSBs have outboard power supplies. Their PS2000 (I don't remember the actual model but it's not the wall wart variety) and the HC-2 are two good replacements. I had the HC-2.

The parts upgrade involved (Channel Island) was about $300, if memory serves, and helped fractionally. The Full Nelson is similar, to the best of my recollection. Dan Wright of ModWright also does MSB mods, and he claims to be better than the Full Nelson. Look at modwright for current info.

Remember that there is a steep curve in the return for price curve, especially with digital IMHO, and it knees quickly when you are talking about MSB of any flavor. The biggest improvement to an MSB, again IMHO, is a good quality transport.

Then there is the digital cable issue. You may think, bits is bits, and if any cable in the world didn't matter, surely the digital cable is at the top of the list.

I had three different cables, and all three sounded different. Drove me crazy trying to decide which one was "right". Finally made me go to a single unit. Never looked back.

[sunnysal]

randy, you sold the HC-2? I need an upgraded power supply for my link dac...damn! if not, sell it to ME! tony

[greg928gts]

Well how about the Denon 1650 AR as a single unit? He tells me it's a 24/96. What would be a good price for a MSB Link DAC? How about the Denon?

Thanks,

Greg

[Ray Garrison]

Going back to the Audio Alchemy unit for a minute...

I have a pair of AA DTI interfaces, and an original series DTIPro (the version prior to the DTIPro 32).

In my humble opinion... oh wait, I haven't got one of those... based on my experience, the DTIPro combined with a halfway decent DAC (say, an Adcom GDA600 or GDA700 or some such thing) sounds better than any stand-alone CD player I've heard, including te Krell budget model, a bunch of higher-priced Rotels, a bunch of Sonys, the Rega units, the Arcam 9, and any DVD player I've heard.

It does not sound anywhere near as good as an SACD player playing SACD discs, and both the SACD-1 and the 777 from Sony sounded somewhat better than the AA / Adcom pair on regular CDs.

If you can get an AA DTIPro or Pro32 and a decent DAC for a resonable price, I think you'll find they sound tee-rific. They are also failure prone, and without an operator's manual are impossible to figure out, so be sure (a) if you buy one the seller will agree to take it back if it turns out to be DOA, and ( don't even consider it without a manual.

[Doug C]

I made a big mistake when I ordered a Bel Canto DAC2 from Audio-Advisor. Was just curious and was sure that at the relatively high price I would be returning it.

Well it sounded much better than the DAC's in my Marantz CD-17 or my B&K Reference 30 preamp. Also found that the sound from the DAC2 was identical when hooked up to my Marantz CD player or my very average DVD player.

Improvements included: wider & deeper soundstage, more precise location of vocals & instruments, improved microdynamics, and much better punch and definition of low frequency bass notes.

After listening to the DAC2 for about 2-weeks I removed it from my system thinking it was very nice but too expensive. I didn't make it a day before putting the DAC2 back into my system. Needless to say I still have it.

I might have been able to find a DAC with equal performance for half the price? But just didn't want to screw around testing a bunch of units when I already had one I loved.

Doug C