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dac to cdp quality ratio

I am considering adding a low end DAC to my vintagy system,

Arcam dv 135 used only for cd / sacd playback,
no video or computer.
Sunfire pre processor III
Sunfire Symphonic reference amp
and Vandersteen 2Ci speakers

Can a relatively cheap $250 DAC improve the sound of a cd player like the Arcam that retailed for about 6-7 times that when new?
or is a higher quality/ price DAC needed to make any difference?
will the updated technology of a newer Dac like the Musical Fidelity V-DACII compare to an older used Musical Fidelity A32 that now sells for about the same $250 price,

or does a better quality cd player do away the need for any outboard DAC?

thanks
rms
rmstern
6 responses Add your response
mik971
153 posts
 
I owned a both the Sunfire Processor and Arcam DV135. To answer your question, I highly doubt $250 will improve your sound. Older DAC's if designed well, can definately compete with today's DAC's. I have an old EAD 7000mkii that still sounds amazing today. My only experience with modern DAC's is the Emotiva XDA-1 which is nice sounding and a great buy, but a step below from the EAD. Hope this helps...
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
I doubt a low priced DAC will be an improvement over the Arcam. In fact a low cost DAC or a mismatched cable might introduce jitter that wasn't there with your current setup.
But what are you looking for? If you are looking to change the flavor of your system, then a tube DAC would do it, but it would be more like $400 (Jolida for example).
rmstern OP
10 posts
 
Mostly happy withn what I have, better cables have helped , but still trying to fix an occasional harshness? I hear on some cds,

but I am not very familiar with the DAC process.

I've read reviews of the musical fidelity DACs that claimed a big improvement in sound on what I thot were higher end cdps and setups than mine with the arcam?,
and some that bring up what mik971s said

so thanks for the response
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Rmstern, I've heard good things about the MF V-DAC and the M1-DAC as well. So I guess now this makes your question much more specific...maybe you'll get some comments from those with first hand knowledge.
All the best...
timrhu
2,779 posts
 

Mostly happy withn what I have, better cables have helped , but still trying to fix an occasional harshness? I hear on some cds,

Some cds just sound harsh, it's the way they're mastered. A better dac probably won't fix that.
As for the $250 budget, if you buy used, you'll still need to up it by a couple hundred to improve on what you have.
dhl93449
455 posts
 
I think a DAC like the Bryston BDA-1 might help. I experienced some harshness in my system with B&W 803d speakers (those diamond tweeters can be very revealing, both good and bad), particularly with female vocals, when I had a CA 840 CD player. When I added the BDA-1, playing native 44/16 from the CA, a lot of the harshness went away. I suspect the op-amp analog output stages of the CA were to blame, as the Bryston has a discrete Class A analog output stage. So I am suspect when folks say its program material, because the same CDs now played on a PS Audio PWT via the BDA-1 have never sounded smoother, all harshness is gone.
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