The Gungnir connected to the CXC clicks like crazy when CXC in Pause. You might want to check to see if the Modi does the same. |
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Thank you. I will look into this.
As far as "musicality signature" of the 3 DACs I mentioned, any thoughts or recommendations?
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I know I'll get hate mail for this but sell your prized preamp. ARC stuff, and I owned an ARC pre is very analytical and approached sold state sound, I am not going to suggest something in particular but you want a pre that uses octals. There is more than one guy around who makes these. Get some Cardas gold refs or gold something close, but not their current line. I think you will be surprised. If you get warm sound out of your speakers it may be too much. I went through this myself, without the DAC element. A lot of solid state will flatten the sound but which element it is may be hard to pinpoint.
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I recently got my Schiit Modi3 DAC and it is outstanding. My early experiences is a very dynamic, detailed, warm bass, clear and airy highs sound. It is fed into a Mystere IA1 EL34 tube integrated amp using Audioquest interconnects. I haven’t heard the other products to compare to but I’m impressed with the Modi3 in my system.
My source is a Yamaha BDP via coaxial and HDTV via optical. I haven't tried USB from my phone yet because I don't have a cable yet. |
I cannot argue that the ARC SP16 preamp may not be one of the better tube unit for producing a warm, non-analytical sound since auditioning experience is limited. However, by comparing it to solid state units like the Rotel 10 years ago, the SP16 was clearly more authentic. At this point, I'm limiting my chase for better fidelity to a transport & DAC to replace my dead Cambridge Audio Azur 840C.
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Thank you, mjcmt, for your thoughts.
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who designs music halls DAC's?
Mike Moffit at Schitt Audio is one of the founders of ADC-DAC's? Schitts stuff is upgradable too to the multibit version. that's the way i'd go if it was my money. |
I'd recommend the Modi multibit for warm, analog sound. |
I read a couple of tech reviews on the Schiit Modi Multibit which were quite disparaging.
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Only because it doesn't measure as well as some other DACs on the market. But that doesn't always tell the whole story
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The difficulty is that each DAC has its own musical signature. And in addition, how a DAC plays is dependent upon one's other audio components. So it seems to me that there is a certain "crap shoot" until you can actually audition a DAC in your audio system. So it seems that the best I can do is to consider DACs that have a wide reputation of producing a warmer non-solid state sound. The Music Hall & Schiit products seem to fit the bill. However, if anyone has other recommendations at a similar price point, I would appreciate your suggestions. Thank you.
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I wouldn’t overthink it kitjv. The Modi3 gets superb reviews and is only $99. You can’t go wrong. I don’t find it thin or analytical sounding w/ my tube amp, yet plenty resolving.
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Point well-taken, mjcmt. Thank you.
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You gotta start somewhere.If it doesn't work out it is returnable,plus you'll have gained knowledge of the pros and cons of the unit and make a better informed decision next time.
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I can't disagree with you. Thanks.
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If the Schiit is $99, I would definitely take a shot with it. I own a Music Hall MMF-5 table, which I like but also own a Scout which is much much better , but it has as really nice cartridge on it.
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Give some thought to the Cambridge audio 851N network streamer with built in DAC. I have the 851N and the cxc transport. Really like the combination |
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Once I decide on a DAC, I will need either a coaxial or optical cable for input from the transport to the DAC. Without getting into a protracted discussion on the esoterics of cables, is there any fundamental differences between a coaxial & optical cable as a DAC input? Thank you.
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Optical cables aren't susceptible to interference.Coax cable has wider bandwidth.A couple of inexpensive but well thought of coax cables are Wyde Eye(Amazon) and the $12.99 coax from Monoprice.Coax measures and performs optimally at 1 to 1.5 meter lengths.You can research that further if it's of interest:)
Optical cable should be sturdily built,both the plastic and glass cables tend to crack in the super inexpensive brands that can be had for just a few $.Something from Audioquest,Kimber,Pangea should be fine.
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The Schiit Modi Multi connected with Blue Jeans coax to my Oppo 103 sounds very good to my ears. |
Thank you, jtcf. That confirms my limited understanding of interconnects. I might add that in the past I followed the debate on whether there was a perceptible difference between the lower-shelf $5 cable & the off-the-scale $3,500 item. Without starting a firestorm, cables manufactured from high-quality components from a reputable company will suit my listening preferences just fine. I prefer to spend my discretionary dollars (euros, etc.) elsewhere in my audio system.
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I use coaxial cable from player and optical cable from hdtv, and soon a usb cable from my phone to my Schiit Modi3 |
Interestingly, I ended up ordering the Schiit Modi Multibit DAC & a Blue Jeans coax cable today -- same as that of tomcarr.
My plan is to connect the DAC to my existing Cambridge Audio Azur 840C which decided to commit suicide. If I am lucky & the internal DAC in the 840C is dead, then I can use the unit as a transport. Otherwise, I plan to get a Cambridge Audio CXC transport.
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Congrats!Please update us when you get things up and running:)
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Will do. Thank you for your help. Truly appreciate it!
Kit
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Hey Kit, hope you like your setup as much as I do! Absolutely let us know how things turn out.
Tom |
Thank you, Tom. I will report back.
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