If the price is right, try the Pro-ject DAC box. I like Parasound but the MQA alone makes the Pro-ject better.
New to DAC, need advice.
I recently purchased a Parasound ZDAC here and it worked well for a short time but then started acting up with short, intermittent bursts of static while streaming Tidal. Then for a day wouldn't play certain parts of the music such as missing a guitar or piano notes. After contacting Parasound they tell me it's a circuit issue. It's out of warranty and they are offering to have me ship it there for repair. It's been error-free for a few days now and in the mean time it's been recommended to me by Jim Williams of Adcom modification fame that I should consider the Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital DAC. It's roughly twice the price I paid for the ZDAC but if I send it in for repair, with shipping, I'll be right around the price of the Pro-ject DAC new, and it can decode MQA files where the ZDAC can't. So I defer to the community here. What's my best option on a limited budget?
Showing 5 responses by 2psyop
Ratboysr- I am wondering about your setup. I think the Project Pre-box S2 will only input a digital audio MQA signal via usb. Optical or coax will not. I don’t know if you are using a computer with Tidal app via USB as a source, but that might be something to consider. Also it does not incorporate a digital out, which would not allow you to add a better DAC later, if you wanted to do that. But I like that Pro-Ject uses a dual-mono design. That is incredible at it’s price point. I am one here, among a few, that use a Bluesound Node 2 that I like very much. In my rig, it works very well. |
“@2psyop I’m streaming Tidal HiFi from my Windows 10 PC to the ZDac via USB then into a Micromega IA-100 integrated. So I’m ok with USB to the Pro-ject. I like the dual mono as well and it’s certainly in my price range. I’m curious about your comment about digital out from the Pro-ject into another DAC. What is the benefit of using two DACS in series?” Well you would not be using the DAC in series. With a dac or streaming/dac device that incorporates a digital out connection you would be able to BYPASS the internal DAC in that device to output the digital signal to the external DAC for better sound. An example woud be: The Bluesound Node 2 connected to the Ayre Codex DAC. In the settings menu of the Node 2 one can choose to send the digital signal unconverted to the Ayre for full DAC process. If, as in the case of the Ayre, the external DAC is MQA capable then the complete MQA signal will be handled by the Ayre. BTW the Ayre Codex is a $2000 DAC, therefore it is sure to sound better than the internal DAC of the Bluesound! |
haha!! Thats great! I can send you the Ayre Codex via fedex. Oh wait I dont have one, even for myself to use. I would either try to Pro-Ject and let us all know how it sounds....or save a few bucks and get the Bluesound. But hey don’t forget the Meridian Explorer 2 for $199.00. It is a USB DAC stick that will handle Tidal MQA. Great for testing the waters... |