Accuphase dac 60

short of supplying add’l info as @soix mentioned i would say that the ps audio d-link was to my ear quite a strident, bright, digital sounding unit, very far from what better dacs of today can do... i don’t know the accuphase dacs but knowing their company target sound quite well, i would think the difference in sonic character would be significant - accuphase being smoother, more musical, less overtly detailed and mechanical sounding

@duketbrd88

you need to adjust volume of the internal accuphase dac card to be the same as the external ps audio dlink dac -- that difference will entirely screw up any proper comparison of sound

assuming that dac card from accuphase is working properly, it simply has a lower output through the amplifier section than the d-link (or said differently, the d-link has higher fixed output voltage it is sending to the accuphase input) which is accounting for the volume discrepancy -- that same volume discrepancy is also making it sound like the sub is hardly working

think of the problem as a less powerful car having a much more sensitive gas pedal, its not more powerful, it just gives you most of what it has in the first inch of gas pedal travel - you just need to compensate for that to compare the sound properly

the fact that the accuphase volume knob needs to be set higher for the internal dac compared to the external one does NOT mean the louder one sounds better!

@duketbrd88

if you need to turn the volume of your accuphase integrated to 2-3 o’clock in its rotation, something is very wrong -- no way the dac card is designed to have to run the analog pre/amp section at that level to achieve a suitable volume driving real world speakers in normal sized rooms

what component is supplying your digital input into the dac-60 card now installed? is it the same component being used to feed the ps audio d link dac?

or you have been sent a defective card - or - something is wrong with the insert slot connection ...

@duketbrd88 

did you try it in the other slot? 

@duketbrd88

I don’t know anything about pot settings or anything that technical. All I know is the ps audio is much different in sound. Way better bass, midrange and treble. Way louder, more forward like a 800 horsepower car vs a 300 horsepower car. That’s like the best I can describe it.

Would you have any ideas for a good dac around $1500 that would compare to the dac 60 card and be good with a bluesound node streamer, when I get one?

Keeping in mind your issue with DAC60 and Node consideration, I recommend looking at external DAC like Denafrips Pontus II. I think you will be much happier with a DAC like Pontus in the long run.

1) if you are planning to use a bluesound node’s digital out to feed a denafrips dac (such as a pontus), you should first read about the well known issues those dacs have properly receiving the bitstream feed from the nodes...

2) it seems from your repeated responses here, that you really seem to like ’loud’, can’t or won’t adjust down the abnormally high output voltage from the old psa d-link dac (2.75v rca, 5.5v xlr) to compare apples to apples... well, leaving aside the Bluesound Node compatibility issue mentioned above, i would predict you will think all the denafrips dacs are sickly and weak and uninvolving too (all denafrips dacs have output fixed at 2v @ rca, 4v at xlr) -- so your d-link is almost 30% louder!

so my advice is be careful what you wish for! 😂 -- you like ’loud’, you already have ’loud’, so stick to it, enjoy the music - few modern, 'better' dacs have the abnormally high fixed output voltage ps audio built into your d-link

@duketbrd88

to answer your earlier question

xlr is theoretically the better connection, but for high end home audio 95+% of the time single ended (rca) connections work just fine with zero sonic penalty in a properly set up system ... especially using short (less than 3 meter) interconnect runs

then there is the matter of dac designers and how/what they optimize in their output stages.... two prominent, well respected designers of dacs... mojo audio (ben zwickel) and msb (jonathan gullman), both clearly state that they feel their dacs sound better, more natural, more harmonious, through their single ended outputs... even though they offer xlr’s for the convenience of their customers (ben charges extra for xlr as it involves more circuitry)

regarding lack of perceived bass at low volumes, you should search ’fletcher munson effect’, there was a recent thread here discussing that

always, always, compare two sources at the SAME volume when trying to hear sonic differences... your cell phone has easily downloadable ’db-meter’ apps, go to app store... play test tone, note volume settings to make two sources equal, then adjust before evaluating...

...and if you bought the accuphase dac card from a dealer, i would certainly push them to exchange a fresh one, so you can be sure yours in hand is not problematic

i don't have an informed opinion on ps audio's gain cell dac

i did have their former top-of-line fpga directstream dac for some time, with windom then sunlight firmware versions, it was a decent dac, but to my ear outperformed by others in its (admittedly high) price category

@duketbrd88 

glad you found the culprit to the weird behavior!

once your dac 60 card is back and making music like it is supposed to, i am sure you will enjoy the music even more than with the psa d-link...

all the best!

@duketbrd88 

thanks for closing the loop to let us know...  now enjoy the tunes with big smiles!