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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
woobie
79 posts
 
I've heard the Ayre Codex, it's crazy good. But it has limited input features. No Coaxial,, no XLR inputs,, Optical and USB only. But that's not a deal breaker for me. And it is fully balanced with XLR output. In addition, it has an awsome power supply with a power cord. Not a wipmy wall wart. I have Ayre. Ayre does digital and does it well. 

If you liked the Cambridge sound, perhaps look at the Arcam D33. Lot of functionality. 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/da-converters-arcam-d33-free-harmonic-tech-digital-cable-2017-07-0...

N
jbuhl's avatar
jbuhl
976 posts
 
If you don’t need DSD there are 2 Wadia 321s on Amazon and I think they are new for around $900. This was a $3k DAC but the new di321 added DSD so you can find these new 1 to 2 year old models for cheap. I think they are basically the same as the new di321 just PCM only. I got mine for ~$1.5K when they first went on sale. It has been in service now for a year or so and I really like it. I demo’d it to a guy who lives down the block from me and he promptly bought one, haha. Build quality is rock solid but the foot print is large so that can be a negative.  They made it the same size as the amp so you could do the wafer stack.
jventer's avatar
jventer
6 posts
 
My dac is somewhere between 12 and 9 years old. I bought it used and absolutely love it. New it was very expensive and now it is not worth much. I have a few more dacs where depreciation has killed my "investment"
Why am I mentioning this.
I believe that technology is improving with leaps and bounds and that dacs will improve continiously.
The only way to protect yourself/ourselves against this is to get a dac that is FGPA or modular in construction so that one can get software or modular updates. 
One of the brands offering this is PS Audio. This is way out of your price range - but have a look at the PS Audio Jnr.
As others have said - best value is to buy used. And after that if you wish to get into high res and MQAetc maybe use software rather than hardware to stay off the continous upgrade path.
Good value for money can also be found in Audio GD dacs.
devilboy
1,176 posts
 
Easy........the new Metrum Amethyst.
Amazing.
rodge827's avatar
rodge827
619 posts
 
Tascam DA 3000 has everything your looking for except a USB input. You would need a USB -Coaxial/AES/EBU/optical converter. It is a pro audio recorder (PCM or DSD) that can be used as an excellent dac for playback. Can be found at most pro audio dealers for about 1K or try Ebay for less $$$.

http://http//tascam.com/product/da-3000/
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