[hcalland]

Hello all -

This is my first post.  What would be your experience with putting a DAC into your system?  I have been looking at different models all over the internet, and my head is starting to spin.

Any suggests on systems you have experience with would be very much appreciated.

Best Regards

[timind]

If you want pertinent advice you need to provide a little info on your system along with what you hope to achieve.
I have used several dacs in my system but hesitate to make recommendations without knowing your goals.

[Big Red Machine]

Used PS Audio DLIII or better yet, a CUllen Circuits modified one.  Great DAC.  GO to Audiogon.

[Big Red Machine]

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/detail/digital-link-3-dac?cat=bstock

B stokc with warranty

[bunnyma357]

I bought a Zero DAC on eBay from Hong Kong, and love it for the money ($179), but I've got a lower end system. There are DAC's in lots of price ranges, so it depends what you're looking for - absolute performance, detail, smoothness, bang for the buck. For reasonable suggestions, I think people would need to know what you have and are trying to achieve.

Jim C

[lonewolfny42]

If you want pertinent advice you need to provide a little info on your system along with what you hope to achieve.
I have used several dacs in my system but hesitate to make recommendations without knowing your goals.

Right !! The more we know (system,room,goals)....the better help you'll get.

[hcalland]

If you want pertinent advice you need to provide a little info on your system along with what you hope to achieve.
I have used several dacs in my system but hesitate to make recommendations without knowing your goals.

Thanks guys - hope this helps. I have just started to put this system together.


Dedicated Sound Room (14/12) with large leather sofa in the center,  and wall shelf for storage of books and vinyl records. No wall treatment, but thick carpet on the floor. Speaker stands are steel and mounted on spikes.  Power amp is mounted on large maple board separate from component rack and under Mapleshade brass footers.  I have an unremarkable rack I purchased from Circuit City for $200.

components are:

YBA 201 CD player
Conrad Johnson MV-60 AMP
Conrad Jondson PV-11 Pre-Amp
Audio Note AX-Two speakers - (bookshelf)
PS Audio-300 Power Plant
Audio Note AN-La speaker cable
BlackMountain Power cords
Clear Audio Emotion TT - tweak with Mapleshade footers and nanomount system
Jolida JD9 phone stage
An assortment of interconnect cables from dealers on Audiogon.

The dealer I purchased some of my stuff from tells me most DAC(s) that will make any sort of difference in my system will cost well over $1000.


 

[lonewolfny42]

That's a good system hcalland ......
....so what is it that you feel is lacking...soundwise ?

Also....do you have a budget for this new DAC ?

[wilsynet]

Also, will you be using the YBA CD player exclusively as transport, or were you thinking you might want a computer based system using USB too?

[Rapt]

I bought the VALAB dac for $180.00 from Taiwan after reading this thread http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/valab-dac-first-impressions-378459/. You don't have to spend $1000.00 to get a great sounding DAC. I can tell you from my experience that after burn in ~200 hours that this is a very smooth nice sounding musical NOS dac.. Now if you want a pretty case and alot of nice buttons you have to spend $1000.00 or more.  

   I did a comparison with my arcam diva cd72 cd player and this little DAC sounded better and that is using the usb port from my laptop. Best $200.00 Ive ever spent on audio upgrades.  

          A little bit about my system
          Sim Audio Celeste p-5003 pre amp
          Sim Audio Celeste 4070 se power amp
          Legacy Audio Classic speakers
          arcam diva cd72 cdp
          VALAB DAC  

       It was a chance I took and it was only $180.00, so I said what the heck I'll take a chance, and I'm glad I did.  

    Valab Non-Oversampling USB DAC using TDA1543 --- precision clock version with 1ppm tcxo inside and 8x oversampling.
  

    Good luck with your search and if I was going to spend more I would look at the MDHT labs Havana with vacuum tube output, great looking dac with awesome reviews. I may eventually buy this dac, but I am enjoying rocking my little valab in the meantime. see the awesome review at the bottom of this post.

    
  
    

    

 REVIEW: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1208/mhdt_labs_havana.htm

                                            Good luck and happy listening!

    



  

[hmen]

Dealers aren't going to tell you inexpensive stuff can improve your system.

[mjosef]

Valab Non-Oversampling USB DAC using TDA1543 --- precision clock version with 1ppm tcxo inside and 8x oversampling.

  this statement seems to be going in opposite directions...how could it be a "Non-Oversampling USB DAC " when its " 8x oversampling"???

[lonewolfny42]

A short review of the VALAB dac from another AC member...
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=62306.msg560774

I've not heard this DAC.

[hcalland]

That's a good system hcalland ......
....so what is it that you feel is lacking...soundwise ?

Also....do you have a budget for this new DAC ?

I don't know if anything is lacking - The YBA is a $1500 player, but there is still a good amount of digital edge to it.  From my reading and research I get the impression that a high-end DAC will provide the kind of 3 dimensional sound a high-end 2 channel SACD would. . . not analog of course, but really high-end, nice sounding digital. . .like a separate AMP and Pre Amp set up.

I think the YBA is a great sounding player for the price, but it's just outside of where my analog is.  I was thinking a DAC would get me closer to what the TT sounds like.

Anyway, I would invest in a plus $1000 DAC to get there if that is what a DAC will do.  If not, I will probably upgrade to a higher-end CD player.

Oh Yeah, and BTW - I would use the YBA as a transport.

Thanks for the feedback.

[lonewolfny42]

That's a good system hcalland ......
....so what is it that you feel is lacking...soundwise ?

Also....do you have a budget for this new DAC ?

I don't know if anything is lacking - The YBA is a $1500 player, but there is still a good amount of digital edge to it.  From my reading and research I get the impression that a high-end DAC will provide the kind of 3 dimensional sound a high-end 2 channel SACD would. . . not analog of course, but really high-end, nice sounding digital. . .like a separate AMP and Pre Amp set up.

I think the YBA is a great sounding player for the price, but it's just outside of where my analog is.  I was thinking a DAC would get me closer to what the TT sounds like.

Anyway, I would invest in a plus $1000 DAC to get there if that is what a DAC will do.  If not, I will probably upgrade to a higher-end CD player.

Oh Yeah, and BTW - I would use the YBA as a transport.

Thanks for the feedback.

Got ya....looking for a more smoother sound....perhaps a tubed DAC....no oversampling.
You mentioned a dealer....does he have any for you to try at home ?
Have you auditioned any DAC's yet ?
Any that have caught your eye when you were reading ?

[hcalland]

That's a good system hcalland ......
....so what is it that you feel is lacking...soundwise ?

Also....do you have a budget for this new DAC ?

I don't know if anything is lacking - The YBA is a $1500 player, but there is still a good amount of digital edge to it.  From my reading and research I get the impression that a high-end DAC will provide the kind of 3 dimensional sound a high-end 2 channel SACD would. . . not analog of course, but really high-end, nice sounding digital. . .like a separate AMP and Pre Amp set up.

I think the YBA is a great sounding player for the price, but it's just outside of where my analog is.  I was thinking a DAC would get me closer to what the TT sounds like.

Anyway, I would invest in a plus $1000 DAC to get there if that is what a DAC will do.  If not, I will probably upgrade to a higher-end CD player.

Oh Yeah, and BTW - I would use the YBA as a transport.

Thanks for the feedback.

Got ya....looking for a more smoother sound....perhaps a tubed DAC....no oversampling.
You mentioned a dealer....does he have any for you to try at home ?
Have you auditioned any DAC's yet ?
Any that have caught your eye when you were reading ?

I did not ask my deal to audition one yet.  I think I will. 

PS Audio seems promising and so does the Benchmark DAC1

[Christof]

That's a good system hcalland ......
....so what is it that you feel is lacking...soundwise ?

Also....do you have a budget for this new DAC ?

I don't know if anything is lacking - The YBA is a $1500 player, but there is still a good amount of digital edge to it.  From my reading and research I get the impression that a high-end DAC will provide the kind of 3 dimensional sound a high-end 2 channel SACD would. . . not analog of course, but really high-end, nice sounding digital. . .like a separate AMP and Pre Amp set up.

I think the YBA is a great sounding player for the price, but it's just outside of where my analog is.  I was thinking a DAC would get me closer to what the TT sounds like.

Anyway, I would invest in a plus $1000 DAC to get there if that is what a DAC will do.  If not, I will probably upgrade to a higher-end CD player.

Oh Yeah, and BTW - I would use the YBA as a transport.

Thanks for the feedback.

Got ya....looking for a more smoother sound....perhaps a tubed DAC....no oversampling.
You mentioned a dealer....does he have any for you to try at home ?
Have you auditioned any DAC's yet ?
Any that have caught your eye when you were reading ?

I just posted a very short review of the Nixon NOS TubeDac over in the critics circle.  This DAC is cheap and takes the digital edge off of the music in my system...I'm using an Oppo 980H as transport.

[wilsynet]

Looks like you're looking to possibly spend 2.5K or more on a CDP to take you past the 1.5K CDP you have now if a DAC won't do the trick.

I really, really like the AudioSector, but my guess is that it won't fully compete with some of the megabuck CD player options that you're considering.  It is one of my favourite DACs, and I agree with Larkston that it represents terrific, amazing value.  It really opened my eyes to what NOS can do and I use it as a benchmark and reference for other DACs.

I don't think the Benchmark or the PS Audio will compete with your vinyl rig.  No one would ever (except possibly the marketing literature) describe those DACs as "analogue; like vinyl".  Alright, let me be honest, I would never describe those two DACs in such a way even if everyone else did. =)

The Isabellina might come close.  May be more than you want to spend, but it's firmly competitive with some high end CD players which you were likely to spend that much on for an upgrade anyway I presume.

This is what one of our AC members, jrebman, had to say about the Red Wine Audio DAC in the following thread http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=63514.0.

"Being a blind person I often conjure up images of various things as I'm listening to music, whether it's Yo-Yo Ma wrapped in a passionate embrace with his cello, to the exclusion of everything else in the conscious world, to the image of a record spinning on a turntable with the rock steady speed and the delicately balanced needle riding in the groove.  The Isabellina makes these images extremely real to me.  I very often, while listening to the Isabellina, believe that if I open my eyes and look across the room at the audio rack, that I'd see a nice TT sitting there and playing a nice piece of very clean vinyl.

"When my system is done being configured, my only two sources will be the RWA dac and a nice, vintage Akai R2R deck.  I really can forego the expense and inconvenience (to me) of the whole vinyl playback rig (which I can't afford anyway.)"

[PhilNYC]

The dealer I purchased some of my stuff from tells me most DAC(s) that will make any sort of difference in my system will cost well over $1000.

Assuming it is a well-designed component that uses high quality parts, your cd player is essentially a transport + DAC that share a power supply and is not bound to a not-so-great digital interface like SPDIF.  A separate DAC of comparable design and quality of parts will benefit from a separate power supply, but also suffer from the problems inherent in SPDIF. 

You have a $1500 cd player.  If YBA were to sell the transport and DAC separately using the appropriately similar design and components, you'd probably be looking at a $800 transport and an $800 DAC.  If you asked the designers at YBA to make a *significantly better* DAC, I'm sure they would come up with something significantly higher than $1000...it would use better (more expensive) parts, and probably be a more sophisticated design (likely more expensive to manufacture).  Then again, there is no guarantee that a DAC with higher quality parts and more sophisticated design will sound better to you given your specific personal listening tastes.  What is "better" to you is very subjective.

Of course, this does not mean that you can't improve the sound of your system with a less expensive DAC.  There is definitely a strong case to be made that system synergy and how components match with each other can lead to significant improvements in a system's sound...and if you are able to demo a lot of gear *in your system* to see what kinds of improvements are available at a lower cost, then I would definitely recommend going that route.

[Rapt]

Seems the op wants to spend more money than he needs to.. for anyone else looking for a great dac for less than $200.00. its not highend in looks, bet definately is an amazing sounding unit.. I have no affiliation with the seller as he lives in tawain and I live in Canada..lol.  Seriously after burn in this dac will take you there.. people have replaced audio note dacs, one guy said it outplayed his sim audio eclipse cd player, outplayed the benchmark dac. etc..  Like I said this little dac may not be audiophile pretty, but it really is an amazing dac, especially for the price. This is the VALAB dac btw..

 
  PS: can someone photoshop lonewolfny42 leaning on my speakers with a beer!!  aa 

                      Enjoy the music!!