DAC Questions

Thanks again, y'all. I always appreciate the support from Audiogon. The education phase actually is fun for me once I get over that initial hump of recognizing how much information is out there! Happy holidays to everyone.

My God, DACs are a rabbit hole! I was feeling confident about the Lampi, but now there are just so many choices. Geez! I guess part of the challenge is that as a relative newby to digital there is a lot that I don't know. I got a lot to learn. 

I’d recommend reading DAC reviews on soundnews.net as he’s done very thorough and comparative reviews on many current DACs.  Go by what the reviews say and by what you’re looking for and go from there.  The Lampi might be great, but you could also look at something like a Gustard R26 and get a DDC converter that’d let you take advantage of its i2S input.  Not an easy choice, but definitely worth looking further into.  

Just a note about the HDMI / i2S if you are considering buying a Lampizator. I own the Lampi Atlantic 3. I requested a modification from factory, to have them install an i2S connection, but it was not available. They kindly responded and, understandably, the i2S has not been firmly standardized, so there are a number of configurations and conflicting setups, making it hard for them to simply add a "universal" i2S. But beside that point, I don’t think you need it. I do understand the curiosity about adding additional reclocking. Before moving to the Lampizator, I owned a Denafrips Pontus II and had it connected to a Denafrips Iris DDC via i2S. That really enhanced the Pontus. But I don’t think you are working with the same format or playing field in the Lampizator world. If you really get an itch to listen to your Lampizator with an additional reclocker as mentioned above, you can pick up a high-quality AES/EBU cable to join them. But I would test that, if possible, before plunking down money just to see what an additional reclocker might do (or not). Instead of spending exploratory money on a possibly redundant reclocker, I’d recommend getting an Eno ethernet filter, connect it to a good streamer, then connect the streamer via high-quality cable to the Lampizator. You will be amazed.

@rblondeau 

Hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving! Per your last posting I guess you’re realizing there is a lot to absorb- the good thing is there are great components out there within your budget.

If you haven’t done so already I would steer you to the site search engine- there are MANY threads discussing this (R2R vs Delta-Sigma) with recent comments by those that purchased them.

My God, DACs are a rabbit hole! I was feeling confident about the Lampi, but now there are just so many choices. Geez! I guess part of the challenge is that as a relative newby to digital there is a lot that I don't know. I got a lot to learn. 

Any tips on how to narrow things down? My budget is around $3K. I'm always willing to sacrifice accuracy for a warmer sound. The whole R2R thing seems to suit me, but I'm not unwilling to consider anything. System basics include: Salk Encore 3 speakers, Wells Audio Innamorata amp, Vac 20.1 linestage preamp. 

Hmm food for thought. Thanks I will look into it. Interested for sure. 

@mofojo Yes. A lot has to do with the word clock and like everything else is probably system/DAC dependent, but it seems by and large AES/EBU or i2S are by far the preferred connections into a DAC. I can only say that using a cheap 6” HDMI cable from Monoprice from the Iris to my DAC made a huge improvement in transparency, detail, and soundstage expansion to the point I’ll never go back. Just thought since we both had Musician DACs my experience would be useful. Maybe contact Musician and see what they have to say about the quality of their various inputs, but I know what I heard with i2S and, to me, it’s on a different level.

Is there a technical reason i2s should sound better? Just wondering. 

Wow little pricey. Will definitely look into them though. Thanks! 

@mofojo Yeah, but definitely a worthy and meaningful upgrade to look forward to in the future.  Musician gave us a nice i2S input and is a shame not to use it. 

If looking for a good DDC, the Audio GD DI-20HE is well worth a look.

Wow little pricey. Will definitely look into them though. Thanks! 

@mofojo Yes, the Iris/Pisces don’t have SPDIF inputs.  You need to step up to the Musician Leo or Denafrips Hermes to get SPDIF, but they also have better clocks so should perform even better.  BTW, the Leo is less expensive unless you can find a used Hermes.  

Thanks Soix,

Looking at those units it appears it’s usb input not a spdif input? Can you order that as an option? I believe I only have optical and Spdif out of my transport. 

@mofojo Congrats on the Aquarius!  I’ve got the Musician Pegasus and am also very happy with it.  Not sure what connection you’re using into your DAC, but I recently added a Denafrips Iris DDC that let me use the i2S input on my DAC and was a considerable upgrade in sound versus using SPDIF.  If I was you I’d seriously look at trying a Musician Pisces (very similar to the Iris) or the Leo (similar to Hermes) with a short HDMI cable as the i2S signal doesn’t like to travel far.  Just my experience FWIW.

I’ve only ever owned delta sigma dacs in the past in the 1-1.5k range. Had basically given up on digital and recently started “trying” to get into vinyl. Not that the digital sounded bad just kind of flat. Cymbals and highs never seemed quite natural. Been running a Musician Aquarius for 4 days now and this thing is an absolute cracker of a dac! Not looking for one just happened in a trade for some speakers I was offloading. Total system changer, never would have thought a dac could do that. 

The Lampi see as like a great choice if its sound qualities are what you’re looking for.  I’d highly recommend pairing it with an Acoustic Zen MC2 digital cable that I own and I think very much mirrors the sound of the Lampi 3 and would make a great match.  Here’s a used one that is actually the previous version (you can tell by the connectors) and should sell for about $250 for 1.5 m, which is a great length for a digital cable.  Seller is using the current version’s price as a reference, which is misleading, irrelevant, and overinflated IMHO.  I got a 1m MC2 of this version for $180, so the $400 he’s asking is ridiculous and he’ll never get it. 
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649812402-acoustic-zen-mc2-rca-to-rca15m5-feet-33500/

Last, if you’re contemplating streaming in the future, and you definitely should IME as the worlds of new music you’ll discover can be literally a reawakening as an audiophile (much of it in hi-res BTW), consider eventually moving to something like an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer/server as you can burn all your CDs that aren’t available for streaming directly into its onboard CD drive (and not mess with integrate in external drives) and have access to all your music along with the world of streaming music from your chair.  You have a very good but very old transport that is only gonna last so long and can’t play hi-res music, so maybe it’s time to look to the future?  Just a thought, and best of luck with the DAC and other stuff moving forward.  

Thanks for the information, y'all. I appreciate your time and experience!

+1 @mofojo 

I buy CD’s and rip via Naim Uniti Core- I have the best possible copy at my fingertips. Not opposed to streaming, I stream when auditioning music before I buy.

@rblondeau 

I’m not that familiar with Lampizator as I don’t have one but I know the Amber 3 (or at least one version of it) comes with single ended outputs and preamp/volume control. Inputs would be Toslink, SPDIF Coax and USB. If it has the #53 digital engine it will be capable of DSD512. Not positive about SACD- you’d need to send that question to Lampizator. 

I would definitely rip your cds. The sound quality will be subjectively better and you are not tied to the internet or cell signal. Probably most of the music you listen to you already own, at least for me. It’s always great to find new artists though. 

@blisshifi

+1

Yes, use coax, a WireWorld starlight is a reasonable interconnect.

Good step on the way to streaming. You will have a good DAC. Many folks have made the transition. I ripped my CDs about ten to fifteen years ago, then stopped playing them when I got a good quality streamer and then gave away my CDs. So, now I just use Qobuz streaming service $14.99 / month for access to millions of tunes and half a million high resolution albums. 
 

So, good move. I would not look to rip your CDs. But when you are ready just step forward to straight streaming with a good streamer. You will be able to get better / or as good sound quality as your CDs and skip the hours and hours of ripping. 

@rblondeau I do recall some Cary CD 308 had SACD capabilities, some others had HDCD capabilities. By hooking up to an external DAC, you may be unable to play the high resolution layers of your SACDs or HDCDs as they typically require the use of the player’s internal DAC, or a DAC made by the same manufacturer as the spinner. So in short, you might get a great upgrade by moving to a Lampizator Amber 3, but it might not play all of your discs.

All regular CDs (redbook format) should play just fine.

All that’s left is shopping for a connection cable.

Anyone have any experience with a Wireworld Starlight 8 coax?

For convenience ripping CDs is superior to individual play.