I recently purchased Empirical Audio Pace-Car to work with my Airport Express.
In order to be able to properly review it Steve from Empirical Audio agreed to loan me a minimally modded Benchmark DAC-1 since my Scott Nixon TubeDak+ only has a coax input and the Airport Express only has an optical digital output. Consequently, I also ended up comparing the sound of the loaner DAC-1 to the Scott Nixon TubeDak+
my system is:
CD: SONY DVP-S7000 (Bolder Cable AC)
DAC: TubeDac+ (
http://www.scott-nixon.com/dac.htm)
Preamplifier: Odyssey Tempest (
http://www.odysseyaudio.com)
Amplifier: Odyssey Stratos (120,000 uF capacitance
http://www.odysseyaudio.com)
Speakers: Legacy Classic (legacy-audio.com/2003/classic.html)
Digital Cable: BOLDER Digital Cable 1.5m (Bullet Plugs)
Interconnects: Groneberg Quattro Reference
Speaker Cables: Groneberg Quattro Reference (biwired)
Power Cords: Bolder Type 2 Power Cord for the CDP, Zu Birth for amp and pre.
Power Conditioner: T L C POWER CONDITIONER by Orlando Colom
Let me start off by saying that Steve from Empirical Audio has been a great pleasure to deal with. Always prompt and accurate.
As some of my burned CD’s from mid 1990’s started to suddenly not work, I panicked and ripped everything into Apple Lossless and got an IBook from Craig's list to act as a remote. This is how i ended up with computer audio.
Analog output of Airport Express VS. Sony DVP-S7000 -> Scott Nixon TubeDac+
Eventually when I purchased an Airport Express, I was quite dissatisfied with the analog output – its OK for background music, but that’s about it. Pretty much sounds like a cheap CD/DVD player. Grainy, thin, heavily veiled.
Digital output of Sony DVP-S7000 -> Scott Nixon TubeDac+ VS. digital output of Airport Express -> EA Pace-Car -> Scott Nixon TubeDac+
Later I heard that the optical output from Airport Express is bit-perfect and sounds pretty decent. I did some research and ran across the Empirical Audio Pace-Car which promised to improve the digital signal. Once I plugged it into my system (between the Airport Express and the Scott Nixon TubeDac+) the sound improved greatly over what I was getting out of the Sony DVP-S7000. The difference was day and night. Everything sounded much more live, tighter bass, better imaging, faster attack. The highs opened up dramatically. Wow. I’m very happy with my purchase!
Airport Express -> Benchmark DAC-1 VS. Airport Express -> EA Pace-Car -> Benchmark DAC-1
When I plugged Benchmark DAC-1 instead of Scott Nixon TubeDac+ without the Pace-Car the Airport Express sounded much better than what it did with it’s own internal DAC (as expected). The sound was pretty similar to what I got from plugging in a cheap Panasonic DVD player into the DAC-1, still quite grainy and flat. The only way that Airport Express shined was imaging – it was surprisingly good. I could easily watch a movie with this setup and be happy with it. But it did not sound good enough to be my primary stereo system no matter how much I love Itunes. I would definitely stick with the Sony DVP-S7000 much of the time.
Once I plugged in the Pace-Car in between Airport Express and DAC-1 things changed dramatically. Everything was much better, even the imaging improved a bit - from “very respectable” to “very good.” Definitely, everything sounds much better. It left the Sony DVP-S7000 and Airport Express (without a Pace-Car) in the dust. Day and night difference. Yes, WOW!
Benchmark DAC-1 VS. Scott Nixon TubeDac+
Since I had the DAC-1 available I decided to compare it to the TubeDac (using Airport Express -> Pace-Car). Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to also review the I2S cable which Steve generously loaned with the DAC-1, instead I only used the Bolder coax cable.
TubeDac is a bit more open at top end - sounds a bit faster and more live and more exciting - almost to point of being fatiguing, but not quite. Because of the more reserved highs, DAC-1 sounds almost a bit veiled. However, DAC-1 had fuller, more rounded mids. Also, DAC-1 had more bass, not necessarily better bass, but a bit more of it.
Both are very good DACs – I could easily live with either one of them. DAC-1 is more expensive but offers more connection options. TubeDAC is great for the price. I’m going to stick with the TubeDac because of the price, the live sound, and because I think later on I can improve the sound/synergy in my system by going with a tube pre-amp (maybe Candella if I can swap the Tempest without loosing much money). If I was to switch to the DAC-1 I would have to sell a kidney to afford it, and then I would probably be tempted to get different speakers (maybe horns) to create a better synergy for it in my system.
PS. I’m not going to be available for a few weeks, so please be patient if you post any questions.
