New DAC for Arcam 7SE

John_z has given more than two cents. Great advice.

To add to the above, all options will yield a sonic improvement and it is just a matter of choosing one that is in line with your priorities in getting the most substantial sonic improvement at a reasonable budget. Of course you can consider all suggestions by John_z if you have the budget as the degree of sonic differences will knock you over if done all at one go.

I have not tried option 2 when I had the Alpha 10 so can't comment on that. Nevertheless, I would still consider an alternative amp being familiar with the house sound of the Arcam from the Alpha period. The newer Arcams may have improved over the years having a different sonic character. However, if you like the current Alpha 10's sonics then it would make sense to stick with it and consider another power amp. Before that it would be wise to check the specifications of the speakers whether they are really power-hungry or not. Otherwise you can skip option two and concentrate on the source and subwoofer(if low bass is of much importance to you).

Have fun.

Hi Gferg,

I've got an Alpha 7SE in a second system and still rate it quite highly. It's perhaps not the most refined player, but at its price point, it delivers a quite detailed but not sterile sound. Mine is combined with a Musicakl Fidelity A300 amplifer (I can highly recommend this amp and it can be had for under a grand 2nd hand) and some Lenehan ML1 standmounts.

I have also been thinking about adding a DAC to the 7SE and tested it with my Audio Note DAC One Signature with very pleasing results. I think the addition of a tube-based DAC really brought out the refinement I was seeking. Could be worth trying out some tube DACs to see if this is up your alley.

And by the way, I would strongly recommend using the coaxial digital output rather than the optical output.

Sorry its been a year, I've been out, but I would like to thank you all for your excellent and thoughtful suggestions. I like the idea of bi amping, so I will look for another amp as was suggested. The castles are indeed bi-wireable and were wired so until I was convinced years ago to buy Bel wire and use jumpers. The sound improvement with Bel cable is very noticeable with more clarity and precision in piano passages and acoustic guitar. Now it has been a year since I posted this question and I have been looking once again at DAC's. There are many at this point and so it seemed likely that an improved DAC might once again be a good idea, something like the Cambridge DacMagic, for example. I also have sort of inevitably been moving in the direction of digital source, which I have listened to with iMacs hooked up to high end DACs and of course with stupidly expensive terminal gear (amps and speakers), so maybe deficiencies in source were overcome, but what I heard was really, really good. And now I have been most recently putting a lot of music (downloaded at 256 kbps) on my ipod and enjoying listening to music with some high quality Klipsch phones, and listening to music more than I have in a long time. I have to admit that I am surprised that for the most apart, my responders thought that even with over a decade in DAC improvement that a new DAC would not be more or less a no-brainer as an upgrade, especially at a price point of $4-500. So, if you all don't mind now that a year has passed, I would like to posit the same question, would a new up-to-date DAC for the 7SE be worth it?