DAC? Does it make a big difference?


I just purchased a Linn Mimik II CD player and it sounds great. I hope someone can help. If I purchase a Linn Numerik DAC will it make the music sound that much better and if yes, how far up the Linn chain would it make the Mimik II compared to a better Linn without the DAC? Thanks to all! DAC for about $650.00
polk432
The Mimik II is a relatively old design and you are certain to be able to find an outboard DAC that improves on the inboard one. The Numerik is contemporary and upscale so even a Linn dealer would have suggested it as an upgrade at the time of first purchase.

Maybe someone here will be able to tell you if the Numerik is competitive with modern DACs at $650. For myself, I would want to try an Apogee Mini-DAC (and a good cable 1.5 meters long).

But hey, upgrading is such a hassle. If you like your Mimik's sound, why not just enjoy it for a while?
The Numerik is specifically identified by Linn as an upgrade to the Mimik. If you're comparing it to CDPs of the same generation, I think it would definitely get you above the Genki, but I wouldn't expect it to best the Ikemi. Then again, it would be cheaper than a used Ikemi.

However, I think the real question is whether it would be better than the current Linn players, such as the Majik. I haven't heard the Majik so I can't make that comparison.

I'd be tempted; however, given the vintage of the Mimik, and if you have a lot of hours on it, my suggestion would be to save the money and eventually get a more up to date player. The fact that Linn themselves don't make a separate DAC for their newer disc players is significant. (I'm excluding the new converters primarily intended for PC audio applications.)
I previously owned a Mimik II, and had a Numerik and Ikemi in that same system. The Mimik is nearly up to the Numerik, I wouldn't call it a big improvement. The Ikemi is a worthwhile improvement, nice increase in resolution while retaining the musicality of the Mimik.
If you don't have any luck with Mimik II try MSB Tech
Their top of the line was rated no. two in the world.
The lower models do very well for the price
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fs.pl In their Platium series they use their on digital clock everyone else has to adapt the DAC to a Burr-Brown
The Dac is the most important component in your system
it converts the digital signal the analog and simply
the faster the convertion the better the sound
"Their top of the line was rated no. two in the world."

Where were the dacs rated? I would be interested in reading the comparisons as I am looking at msb as a future upgrade
Thanks
bst