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DAC question - is music streamer DAC better than mcintosh DA2?

I am planning to buy a MA12000 or MA9500 or MA8950, all of which have the new DAC (DA2) along with a music streamer. While I perusing the posts here, I see that several of you have suggested not to rely on the mcintosh's DA2 and instead, rely only on the music streamer's DAC. If that is true indeed, then what is the point of spending thousands of $$$$$ on a mcintosh? wouldn't a more reasonable (price-wise) manufacturer suffice? 

What are the other considerations for me to understand? Thank you :)

nathandfwacoustics

Showing 2 responses by mattsca

mattsca's avatar
mattsca
32 posts
 

Well, up until @podosound, this love fest for DA2 had me totally convinced. I have a C47 with a non-upgradeable DAC section. Amp is a MC312. I stream from an EverSolo A6. I’ve been looking to upgrade my DAC choice and was thinking of spending $3-4K.  The MDA200 is...well, $4K.

I love the idea of that nice, clean McIntosh façade in my rack, if the DA2 is a comparable choice at $4K. The upgrade option McIntosh provides is really appealing.

Podosound, what is your input to the DA2? Are there compatibility issues with the DA2 with any particular streamers?

mattsca's avatar
mattsca
32 posts
 

I just replaced my C47 with a C53 with the DA2. Both my wife and I agree the DA2 sounds better than the DAC in my EverSolo. But...

Sending digital to the DA2 from the A6 I get the silence at the start of new tracks, clipping the first second or so of each track, which is terribly annoying. I get the same thing on coax, optical, and USB. I understand this is to avoid clicking or popping when the sample rate changes, but I don’t get any of that using the EverSolo DAC and outputting analog to the C53.

anyone else experience this? any idea how to solve, short of going to Roon and building in a silent signal at the start of every track?

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