2. digital
  3. 130475-96908

I need a new DAC! Advice/Recommendations?

The good old Cambridge Dacmagic is finally done for, making this the last product from CA in my collection. My gut combined with a general understanding of quality (I bought used and owned it for six months) tells me to stay away from Cambridge Audio, but I did enjoy the sound from that DAC. It's probably one of the better things they made in my opinion. After a short, but good sounding run with the DAC it appears the unit needs servicing, harsh audible distortion at anything over -10bd. We all know it's not worth servicing , which leads me to my next point:

What Next?

A little about me; I'm young with excellent ears, I produce, mix, and critically listen to music everyday of my adult life. I knew the dacmagic was going to be a stepping stone into High End audio, so no, I don't want the dragonfly. Moreover, I don't want something that's only powered via USB with an rca out. I'd like something with a few input options to run my audio interface with preferably XLR inputs. Sample rate is not of huge importance to me. DSD compatibility would be nice. Something that's made in house would also be nice for quality control purposes. Id also really like this next dac purchase to be an investment and last for a long time. 

My budget: $1000 give or take, probably $1500 max. 

My current ideas in no particular order:

1. The Naim dac v1 because Naim has the reputation of lasting forever, sounding great, and it just looks so good. I've never heard this one, but unless it's like the NAC 112 in regards to sound I'd probably be satisfied. Also, the idea of being able to use a nap 100 and the v1 alone is promising, possibly adding a stageline when I'm in the mood for vinyl. 

2. The Rega DAC-R because it's Rega. Not a lot needs to be said in that regard. I also have the brio-r so the remote feature would be nice. (Neither one mentioned so far have XLR) 

3. The musical fidelity dac M1. It seems to fit bill with what I want, and the price is reasonable  considering it's age. The only concern I have is the quality control being made in Taiwan. 

Other ideas include, w4s's dac v2, building my own DAC and gaining solder practice at the same time, and getting a life outside of posting on Audiogon for DAC recommendations. 


Any help or for that matter any response at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help! 











128x128audiodoggy
tomaswv
229 posts
 
I agree with mr. M. I've had the Cambridge BD650 in my HT system for seven or eight years, loaned it out, got it back--never missed a beat.  Use it mostly for CDs and SACDs, and the odd DVD-a.  In my main system I recently added the 851N streamer and it has a killer DAC. Absolutely changed my view on Redbook CDs. I see the 851D used for less than $1,000, and it has the identical DAC as the streamer.  
mr_m
1,900 posts
 
My mistake. The 851N is a streamer/Dac. The 851D is the Dac:)
audiodoggy's avatar
audiodoggy OP
8 posts
 
@mr_m 

Don't be quick to dismiss Cambridge.

I'd like to point out that I entered into high fidelity audio with support of Cambridge because I saw, and in certain aspects still see it's worth in the high end community as producing realistically priced equipment that sounds good. With that being said, the dacmagic wasn't my first bad experience with a Cambridge Audio product. The first being my Azur 640a integrated that went into protection mode for no apparent reason, diagnosed as a glitch, and consequently forced to disable protection mode to get the thing to amplify any signals. This is a problem that exists amongst several Cambridge users. In my opinion it's unacceptable especially in regards to the Hi-fi community where there's hundreds of manufacturers making high quality products priced around the same. Shitt, for example. Also, on both the dacmagic and the azur I had to literally break off two screws because they became so stripped that it my best option without drilling them out. I mean, the least they could do is ensure their warehouse uses quality screws. This opinion I have isn't just brand-xenophobia as much as it's first hand experience that is given more weight when you compare it to other brands. I'm not meaning to to start an argument or anything like that. I just don't want to be viewed as the "if it's not expensive it's not good" type. 
audiodoggy's avatar
audiodoggy OP
8 posts
 
 @dlcockrum  @hgeifman @pbnaudio 

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm looking into the hegel especially. The codex seems interesting, and the r2r dac seems great! 

Even though I want this to be more of an investment that sits on the rack for years to come, @jond brought up a good point with getting something that holds its value. The only thing about that is apart from the big brands I'm not really certain which other DAC's are generally desired on the used market. I've seen Hegel pop up a few times, but the only dealers around me do Rega, Naim, Creek, ect, ect. So my point of reference isn't that large. 

bigkidz
3,387 posts
 
buy any dac that has some room inside and send it to me for upgrades.  An old musical fidelity would work fine.  All the above recommendations are fine if you want your sound to be the same old thing.  If you want something better, you know where to find me.

Happy Listening.
More to discover