I think Kbarkamian and Musicslug are on the right track. I like to use each upgrade as a chance to further improve my system for my preferences. Try asking yourself this: "if I could fine tune my system, what would I like more of, or less of" Try to get a degree of those qualities in your new dac. A wise woman once told me that hifi is like ice cream, some people like chocolate, some people like strawberry, which I like a lot more than the right or wrong sound train of thought. Sooo, how do you want to dial in your system? |
Thanks guys
It looks as if choosing a dac is going to be a long process. Like everything else in this hobby.
Stanwal: What do you mean by hot.
I would like something firewire for the mac. Not a must
Any other suggestion.
I just want a basic dac with no volume control. I was looking at the Tranquility but someone told me it might be too warm. Any experience with this. Though it does not do hi rez i have heard it does redbook well.
Matt |
I'd look for a DAC that is neutral. You should check out the Neko Audio D100. |
Mwilliams:
PS Audio is offering their excellent Perfect Wave DAC (PWD) for $2,000 along with the trade-in of any used DAC - old or cheap. This is for certain a true bargain. I highly recommend visiting their website for details.
I pair my PWD with solid state, but I have heard it with tube gear (ARC amp and pre), with which it sounds spectacular. |
I'm using the Eastern Electric Minimax Dac (Mullard tube and upgraded opamps). Probably the most organic, engaging piece of equipment I've EVER heard - with Cardas neutral reference to my pre, Silflex glass toslink to my iMac. |
From my experence with the Focal Titanium tweeter, I had Mini Utopias and my friend has Wilson Sasha, I would stay away from "hot" sounding DACs. You might look at the new Rega DAC, it has a choice of several filters which make slight differences in the sound according to what I have read. It has gotten good reviews and lists for $995. |
Thanks guys,
I have not listened to very many dac's. My opinion about them is like what 2chnlben said (less than warm). I think that the manfacturer caught me off guard.
My budget is about 2k. New or used.
At this point i am using an intergrated with a built in dac and will need a seperate dac for the new pre.
I listen to vinyl most of the time, but I listen to my Mac Mini-pure music set up a lot more than i use to. I really don't want to get into high rez yet. I just want something to do redbook well.
My equipment after setup will be Wilson Sofia's with a Pass XA.30 amp and a Supratek cortese (due to arrive in about 2 weeks).
Matt |
if I were you I'd get used to the new pre's sound, then, once you've got a sense of its personality, ask yourself if you want a more 'romantic' (maybe tube), 'gutsy', 'analytical', etc. DAC. in some ways, DACs are like cables: the audiophile's way of achieving tone controls (since our pre-amps don't have 'em). changing two important parts of a system in close succession is, IMHO, not a good idea. |
Synergy will make or break a system IMO. The sum should be greater than the individual parts. Perhaps that manufacturer's comments are out of context, but that sounds like a very stupid thing to say. They should have said overly warm and lush sounding gear may not synergies very well with their DAC. But then again, would overly sounding anything be a good component anyway? |
Typically, DACs and tubes mate very well together, since digital is known to be less-than-warm sounding. If you disclose what your DAC budget is, then you will undoubtedly receive some great suggestions. |
Most tubes are on the warm side so you should listen to dac's that are not on the warm side , unless you like a very warm sound . |
I would be wary of a manufacturer thinking that their product may be too warm. Just my opinion, but there should really be little difference between SS and tubes properly implemented. |
Depends on the pre, dac and tubes used - and of course your tastes. I'm using a tube dac and tube pre with outstanding results. |
Stanwal
The reason i ask the question is that when i talked to a certain dac company they said that their dac might be a little too warm sounding to be used with a tubey sounding pre. I had never thought about that until they mentioned it. |
Not all tube pre amps sound the same and not all DACs sound the same[ some of us would say none of them do]. Look for a DAC with the kind of sound you like; I assume you did that with the pre. If you are worried about compatability check with the manufactor of your pre but in general about any will work together. I have tube and SS pre amps and have never had problems with the ones I have used. |
