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Buying a DAC when you can't try it first

this is a generic "advice please" post.
I'm driving magnepan .7's with a primaluna evo 400 with KT150 tubes.
Most of my music nowadays it tidal streamed via a chromecast audio (CCA) with the optical output going into the DAC of a MusicHall C-DAC (its a CD player with a DAC that can be used by external sources).

I'm planning an upgrade path and leaning toward getting a DAC like the SMSL SU-9 or Cambridge DACMagic Plus and running the CCA optical through the new DAC. But i have no idea if those DAC's or something else at that price is going to improve on the musichall DAC (which some reviews say is a decent DAC).

Or should I ditch the CCA and separate DAC go the streamer route....but I'm worried that tying a streamer and DAC together limits upgrade path. However i am not totally against it. 

I'm just not sure if i even will hear anything measurably better than what I have so thought I'd reach out to you people for your thoughts and experiences. 

....sigh.

mid-fi-crisis

Showing 5 responses by jjss49

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jjss49
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op

be clear

what did you buy and are you claiming marginal improvement?

node 2i or mhdt orchid or both?

2 hours after you posted to soix ’you had just bought it’?
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jjss49
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yep

soix hits nail on head

nothing more to add
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jjss49
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op

i believe soix’s recommendation was to get a node 2i as a streamer, and then couple it with an mhdt or audio mirror dac... that combination would yield what we who support this recommendation believe will be a substantial improvement in sound quality from your current front end

it is well known that while the node 2i includes an onboard dac, that dac is poor in sound quality (dull, lifeless, smeared) so with only the node, using its dac, it is not surprising your perceived improvement is minimal

hopefully you will take the next step and add a good nos/tube output dac

good luck, thank you for clarifying
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jjss49
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soix

i am trying to plug my msb dac into my vandy 3a sigs but nothing is playing... can you please help?  :)

happy thanksgiving
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
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dan wright (modwright) is now doing modded cambridge streamer/dac units - he has a very good ear and his mods have transformed many a digital piece (sony, marantz, oppo cd/sacd players) into some of the nicest sounding players out there for many years

check dan’s website to his ’circle’ on a-circle

no affiliation, just a happy customer of his for many years

otherwise, i would submit, from my own experience, that a bluesound node 2i streaming and a top notch (but reasonably priced) r2r dac would make streamed digital sound really excellent - dacs, for instance, from mdht, metrum/sonnet, audio mirror, even frank van alstine/AVA
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