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do i need a new DAC

i have a NAD D1050 which is now 5 years old but still sounds fantastic.  just upgraded my amp to the new Rega Brio 3.  was considering a Chord, Rega, or the new Audiolab MDAC+.  but i can't imagine it making much of a difference. for a DAC that is 5 years old the little NAD is holding up well?  what has happen in the last 5 years?  have their really been such great strides in digital playback made? i think SS is evolving faster.  any suggestions?
thanks,
128x128jag
jag's avatar
jag OP
98 posts
 
i did not like the first Sabre chip i heard as it was implemented in the Oppo 105, the Oppo 205 big improvement. ditto for the first Audiolab MDAC. the new MDAC + uses the Sabre chip but sounds vastly superior to its predecessor. much more musical and warmer, fuller sounding. i was shocked at just how good it is. they also improved the PSU in the newer MDAC+ and this speaks to its larger case. i think in the case of the latest Rega Dac R they have left the upsampling to a minumum since they feel that this has an impact on SQ. the venerable Wolfson chip that is used in the Rega has been around a long time. i have one in my iPod Video and it was considered the best iPod that Apple ever produce. very musical
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

Both of these digital camps have realized that the "old school" delta-sigma DAC process (of which your NAD DAC is one) is compromised or at least not completely natural sounding to most audiophiles.

Not all designers believe this. The real problem is digital filtering, not Delta-Sigma versus R2R IMO. There are advantages and disadvantages of both technologies.

5 year old DACs are indeed pretty good. However those with the latest 9018 ESS Sabre chips are more technically advanced and measure better. The slight improvement may or may not be audible.

I would be leery of choosing a DAC just because the design uses a particular D/A chip. I believe virtually any chip designed in the last 10 years can be made to sound stellar, assuming that the on-die power delivery is not screwed-up and the implementation of the DAC design is good. One exception I have found is the switched-capacitor D/A chips from AKM. I cannot make them sound good. I tried.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

transportplanner39
2 posts
 
I just bought a Chord Qutest today, after spending three hours comparing it to the half-as-expensive Audiolab m-DAC+. The setup at the dealer was some PMC TwentyFive 23s driven by a Cyrus amp. The difference was really easily audible on most tracks. Those PMCs can produce prodigious bass... I genuinely thought there was a sub in the room, until I was told there wasn't. But listening at first on the m-DAC+, I didn't enjoy it, the bass felt bloated and the rest of the music seemed overwhelmed by it. Well, plugged in the Qutest, and it was a whole different story. The bass was SO much tighter and cleaner, every instrument sounded more separated, and the composition of tracks with complicated layering suddenly came together as it should have.
The only area where the m-DAC+ gave it any competition was, for example, Diana Krall's vocals, which sounded a bit warmer and richer (albeit less clear) than with the Qutest. However, applying the "warm" filter on the Qutest then brought them close to par on the vocals, while the backing instruments still sounded way cleaner with the Qutest. So, it was a surprisingly easy decision to go with the £1200 Qutest over the ~£600 m-DAC+, without even a slight bit of post-purchase doubts in my mind.
I actually pre-ordered my Qutest over a week ago (with the ability to change to the m-DAC+), and apparently it's still likely to take another two weeks to arrive at the store. Apparently a combination of case production delays and high demand has the waiting list getting on for a month, but it's easy to see why! 
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