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Advice on source needed

I’d appreciate if more experienced members could give me their opinions about my next purchase.

I have finally decided to upgrade my source. My dilemma, not original at all, is to DAC or not to DAC.

My system:
Musical fidelity A3.2 CD
VTL 5.5
VTL ST-150
Thiels 2.4
Power by Shunyata
Signal cables by Transparent

I find MF CD to be ok with genres like pop and rock but most of the time I listen to classical music and that’s where MF has been failing me.

Ideally, I’d like to get a DAC as I am planning on purchasing squeezebox in the near future and DAC would complement it very well, I believe.

My budget: ~1.5 K used or new.

DACs I’ve been considering: Benchmark or Bel Canto dac3
CD players: Rega Saturn, Ayre cx7e, Marantz SA11

My main question: is buying a dac going to work well if I keep MF CD as transport or that is not going to offer any significant improvement? I will consider other brands and models but would rather stick to well known ones.

Thank you for your opinions and advice!
piotrb
6 responses Add your response
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
I don't think you can go wrong with either he Benchark or Bel Canto (I have a Benchmark and am very happy with it; thinking about upgrading to the Bel Canto but from all the reviews I have read, I may not get the imporvement I am looking for. I may need to go up to $5,000 or so).

But, the MF is plagued with transport problems, so at one point, it may stop reading discs-with the DAC, much easier and less expensive to get another CD player to act as a transport.
usblues
1,217 posts
 
I would be thinking USB Dac and computer as the best concept.The specifics[units] can be found above or elsewhere here.The nice thing about USB DAC's is you can go both ways[or either] when your ready.The BC3 is real nice and in your budget,good luck,Bob
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mrjstark
1,112 posts
 
Altmann Attraction NOS battery powered DAC
used RWA - hard to find ( one just sold for $1750)
This one looks very interesting as well Aqvox from Germany
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Piotrze

I have Benchmark DAC1. I use it with inexpensive Sony DVD player since Benchmark is jitter supressing and transport does not make a difference. I'm not afraid of transport failure anymore and saved money I will spend on speakers.

Bel Canto DAC3 is also jitter supressing (if I remember correctly) and you can find review comparing it to Benchmark in Stereophile online.

If you decide to go with Benchmark get the new one - possibly USB. You'll avoid problems Benchmark had before and USB driver has better output opamp (LM4562) - lower output impedance of XLR outputs.
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