*DAC


I am down to the last piece of the puzzle. I am very happy with the sound of my system at this point, so I’m not sure if the DAC needs to be improved on. What I am looking for is to hear those background subtleties in the music a little more pronounced. The strum of a guitar, the stroke of the piano keys, the clicks, ticks & tingles that accompany the music. I do here that now, I just wondered if there is a way to elaborate on those background sounds (details) a bit more.

Is it the DAC that will make this happen? If it is, they say my Gustard R26 is as good as a $5K DAC, how far over that $5K do you think I have to go?

Thank you for your help and suggestions and the best to you all over the holiday season and beyond!

PS: I listen mostly to Jazz

navyachts

Showing 1 response by jji666

IMHO if you want pluckier guitar plucks and other sharper transients, that's probably not a DAC thing.  You can spend the thousands on the DACs that are recommended above and I doubt it will highlight transients more than your current DAC.

Unless you're talking about transient bass events (then it's a subwoofer or bass driver question), to me that is largely a speaker issue that is also heavily dependent on source material. The good news is that playing with the toe-in on your speakers can make a big difference.  But ultimately if you are not happy with the pluckiness of the guitar plucks, speakers are what you'd look at.

Also, be careful what you wish for.  When your system reinforces those plucky transients, you are also in danger of brightness and sibilance.  So you may very well get what you want at the expense of long-term listener fatigue. 

Audio is about compromises.