DAC Dilemma

Hmm...interesting, jond. Thanks. You think that either one of the older DAC's will sound better than Benchmark's latest and greatest. That's interesting.

You guys have been very helpful, and I thank you. If I’d swapped out for the Benchmark and found it to be bright I would have been a very unhappy camper. And the point of ARC being synergistic is a good one, I think. 

Here’s what I think I’ve learned about myself. If I’m reading the Forum, or a review, or audio related article that is in some way descriptive of sound quality, or if we were having a conversation about the same, I would tell you that I want my music to be as transparent as possible. No coloration. But, if I’m listening in an audio store, or at a friends listening party, or more significantly if I’m buying a component, I end up liking and wanting the euphoric, the “slightly warmer,  plusher-than-neutral” sound. Furthermore, I think that if I’m honest with myself and you, the reason I would tell you I want neutral transparency is because at some level I have the idea that’s what an audiophile is SUPPOSED to want. I’m probably being too honest and transparent for my own good here. LOL If you came to my house and I told you my system sounds awesome, you might say let me hear it. So, we’d listen, and you’d agree. Nice system. Sounds great. BUT, you might say, it’s a little warm. A little rolled off at the top end. Does that suddenly negate my declaration that it’s “awesome” and your agreement that it’s “great”? If it does, then neither one of us really know what we’re talking about, do we? No system is perfect. At least no system that I’ll ever be able to afford. So, if I prefer the warm side of perfection and you prefer the cooler, more transparent side of perfection, are you right and I’m wrong? I don’t think so. What I’ve realized is that I might tell you that I prefer music that passes through my ears to my brain, but the truth is I really prefer music that passes through my ears  to my heart. You all  weighing in on my original question about DAC's has kind of helped me to realize and admit that. Is there a question in there? Nope. Just thought I’d ramble for a bit. Thanks again for the input.

David_ten: Yeah, that’s a very good point. Gonna have to think about that.
Secret guy: Beats me. I thought I submitted under the digital forum. Whoops. 

I was bemoaning the fact that the Seahawks will be without Russell Wilson for most of the season. The significant other, in a moment of insensitivity, said Is that the most important thing in the world? I said, Of course not. Deciding on a new DAC is! 

Secret guy: Boy, you got that right. My ex-wife is from Pitt ( Homestead) and I was figuring that the Hawks had a pretty good chance with the Stillers this year. She of course said, Ha! Now whatya think? I said, Gulp! I think we can count on old Ben to blow it so we shall yet prevail. She said, Keep dreaming.

Someone posted a very well-stated case for the Benchmark DAC3, I read it at work and had to put it aside. Now I’ve gone back to look for it to read it more carefully, and it seems to have disappeared. He probably thought it would fall on deaf ears, but that is not the case. I’d really like the chance to carefully consider and respond to that post. I think the name was Robert. Care to send again?

Greetings. I started a thread here not long ago in which I asked for advice about changing DACs. As it turned out, in a testament to the depths of my own doofusness,  I screwed up and posted a digital question on an analogue thread, much to my unending shame and consternation. Well, since I’ve already been so exposed, I am back to share another head scratching, defies all logic update. I’m not going to try to explain HOW (much less why)  it is I started out asking a question about one set of possible changes, taking in the various responses, and then doing something completely different, I’m just going to tell you what I did and what happened. I ended up replacing a PS Audio Directstream DAC which is as big and heavy as many power amps with a slightly used (still had the plastic on the screen) little black box thingy called the Topping D90SE. In my years in this hobby I have read about MANY more “draw dropping” experiences than I have actually experienced, but this was definitely one of those experiences. Yeah, I’m talking a literal “whoa, Dude, do you hear that?” jaw dropping, let’s-listen-to-another-song-and-another-song and another-source-and-another source kind of experience. One forum reader rather calmly and matter of factly told me that it would be hard to imagine a DAC that both measures and sounds as bad as the PS Audio, and now I know exactly what he was talking about. No wonder I’ve been so frustrated with digital audio. To say that the difference is not subtle is a gross understatement. This is kind of a cheap shot, but I’m kind of worried about Paul McGowans’ hearing. And, to be sure, this little Topping is far from the best DAC that can be had these days. What it does for me though is it puts my ripped CD collection on a level of listenability that approaches decent fidelity for general listening in between the evenings that I sit down with a stack of vinyl for some serious listening. I even find myself grabbing the remote and turning up my background listening because it sounds good enough to no longer just be background. And that’s pretty cool. What is better about the Topping? In a word, everything. Imaging, sound staging, richness, fullness, harmonics, details, everything. Like listening to music instead of listening to the radio. So, there you have it. Thanks again for those who gave opinions. In some roundabout way it led me to where I am.

You know, that may be. I tried installing their most recent firmware upgrade and it wouldn’t install. I never thought about having them check it out for me to see if it was not functioning properly. It’s weird. I thought it was an improvement over the built in DAC on my CD player, back when I first got it, but it sure isn’t up to the Topping. Of course, Arrrgghh! , now I’m wondering what a newer $2k DAC would be like. It never ends. Gonna try to stick with this awhile.