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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
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.
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.
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...
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
 
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).
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...
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