I tested a Cambridge DacMagic side-by-side against my Benchmark DAC1 Pre ($1595), both taking simultaneous input from the SB3's optical and coax digital outputs. (And I even tried swapping which DAC got the optical and which got the coax, to make sure a possible difference there wasn't contributing to what I was hearing.) I hooked up both DACs to the inputs on my Opera Consonance 2A3 tube amp so I could change back and forth between the DACs just by flipping a switch on the amp. It wasn't a real blind test, but the input switch on this amp is on the side and not visible from my operating or listening positions. I left everything hooked up that way for about a week, and generally when I started a listening session, I didn't remember which position the switch was in from the last time, so I just listened without knowing which DAC I was listening to until I checked. Of course, the comparison was complicated by the three filter choices on the DacMagic, but most of the time, I had it set to the Linear filter.
In general, my conclusions: - These two DACs do sound different, but the sonic differences were surprisingly small. - The DacMagic's bass output might actually go a tad deeper than the DAC1, but the latter's bass seemed slightly more natural. - I could not distinguish a difference in the midrange sound between the DACs. - Treble was marginally smoother on the DAC1, but that difference shrank even smaller when the DacMagic was set to the Minimum filter. - Overall, the Benchmark DAC1 Pre did come out on top, but the Cambridge DacMagic came frighteningly close for a product at 1/4 the price. If I hadn't had the Benchmark unit there for direct comparison, I probably would have been quite satisfied with the DacMagic sound. -- TiredLegs ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TiredLegs's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=6201 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=53985 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
