So I spent about 4 hours yesterday reading about DACs and the choices are too numerous. Background: I am playing flac files ripped in dbPoweramp, then Squeezebox duet, Yamaha CX-800U preamp, Onkyo Grand Integra M-508 (200wpc @8ohms), and then through Infinity Kappa 9's (very capable and revealing speakers). My assessments is that the sound is a little harsh, edgy, and 2 dimensional. Don't get me wrong the Sqeezebox is not bad, but the Infinity Kappa 9's make poor source material obvious.
My options look like the following 1) Buy an external DAC 2) Buy a Transporter 3) Buy a high end Pre amp with an internal DAC, like a Bryston SP2 $5,000 The External DAC options and numerous. Here are some of the ones I have read about, both new and used. Adcom GDA-600 - used $225 Music Fidelity V-DAC Gigalab NOS USB DAC TDA1543 1ppm TCXO Dual clock ver $200 Valab NOS USB Re-Clock DAC Low Jitter Dual 1ppm TCXO $200 Behringer ULTRAMATCH PRO SRC2496 - $300 www.pacificvalve.us - has a ton of different DACS Music Hall - DAC 25.2 - $600 PS Audio - Digital Link III - $700 Lavry DA10 - about $800? Apogee Mini DAC - ? Benchmark DAC1 - $900 - $1900 Beresford TC-7520 Bryston - BDA-1 - $2,000 CIAUDIO - VDA-2 - $600 Stello DA100 - $700 Zhaolu D3.5 DAC - $350 Cambridge Audio DacMagic - $450 Musical Fidelity X Dac V3 - used $525 If I were to buy one of these DACs it would probably be the Cambridge Audio DacMagic or one in the $600 - $1,000 range, like the Music Hall DAC 25.2, PS Audio Digital Link III, or Lavry DA10, or a Benchmark product. The slippery slope But once I am spending $800 bucks, why don't I just get a used transporter (around $1,200), and if am spending $1,200 on a Transporter, why don't I just get a High End pre-amp with a quality DAC inside and just use the optical out on the Squeezebox. When I started this search, I was leaning towards an external DAC, but now I am leaning towards a Transporter. The speakers are bright and capable of producing lots of Highs, and my home has lots of concrete, glass and steel, so the environment is bright. Does a Transporter allow me to bypass the preamp? It wasn't until I got the Infinity Kappa 9's (about 20 years ago), that I realized how critical source material, I could clearly discern good cd's and bad cd's. Now that I have set up the Kappa's again, I am trying to get back that good rich sound and I think the SB is my limiting component. There are just too many choices, I am confused. -- John_Dumke ------------------------------------------------------------------------ John_Dumke's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=9709 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=66754 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
