@soix , just the info I needed. Obviously now I know going with a better CDP without a DAC is worthless. I did not know that because I never cared to research it. Thanks for schooling me.
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@ghdprentice
Thoughtful post, thanks. A lot to digest since I am just debating going down the digital road. As far as streaming, even so it may be the way things are heading now, it isn't for me. I grew up reading every word of every vinyl cover I owned while listening to the album. Info about the musicians, engineers, mastering, location of recording, etc... Not to mention the lyrics. All that has always been a big part of my listening experience even if a little less now.
However, after thinking it over, I may want a DAC that has more features than hooking up the CDP. One thing that would be helpful to me is having bluetooth since I use youtube on my cell to check out bands I may be interested in. So hearing them through my system would be very helpful as my phone sucks. So I am now looking at the Topping D70s DAC which does that and more while reportedly having a r2r type of sound. Any thoughts anyone?
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I much appreciate the input so far since my digital knowledge is limited. As I am unsure of the improvements a DAC will bring to my CDP, what about starting with the Denafrips Ares II? I am currently not interested about all the bells and whistles since my only concern is to improve the sound of the CDP. The CDP has an optical out, the dac an optical in and rca connects for my prima luna preamp. Simple enough. What do you think, would that be enough to upgrade my digital sound? I can always go more expensive later if this works.
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You guys are the best! A lot of very good advice from many different directions. The one that resonate to me is do one improvement at a time. Been guilty of not doing that in the past. The other one that comes back most often is get an external DAC and keep the current transport. I am totally in line with that. I spent quite a few hours now reviewing my options. It seems that the starting range that may please me in a DAC is $700. Of course it can get better from there, but that may be enough to get my toes wet. Anyhow, so far I am considering the following:
-Schiit Bifrost 2.
5 year warranty and 15 days return!
-Denafrips aresII
-Topping D70S, (the D90SE may be too revealing for my system)
-Musicians Pegasus, sounds like a winner, but reliability questions with a brand new company concern me.
Some other DACs in that price range mentioned here include headphones preamps which I don't need since I have the Schiit Asgard 3. No sense paying for that. As I said earlier streaming won't be for me, I need the tactile part of my music collection. Over 2,000 vinyl and about 400 CDs.
So just need a simple no bells and whistles straight DAC with RCA out and coaxial in (no optical, got it!) and will hook it up to my Prima Luna 100 tube preamp. I just have to decide between those based on sound characteristics which can get overwhelming in the many reviews. Please chime in some more if you experienced the sound of any of those. Thanks to all.
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@oldaudiophile.Yes, I have it set to audio EX 2, always have. It still is not in the league of some of the new DACs from what I now understand.
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Done deal!
Ordered the R2R Denafrips Ares II
Couldn't have done it without you guys input.
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Nice confirmation, thanks. I think it was a sensible step forward for me in digital.
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I appreciate the suggestion for a CD transport. After I see what the DAC is doing, I will probably go down that road. But doing one change at a time is something I need to stick to. In the past I got multiple new parts to my system at once and it became a real challenge to find out what piece had improved what. For now I am excited to see what the Denapris Ares II will do for the CD6005. Patience is a virtue 🙂
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@soix
I already bought the one you recommended!
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@soix
Arrow pointing to DAC I assume?
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@jredeii
It's coming from Singapore so it will be a while. Plus they say they do a 100 hrs burn in and other steps before it ships, which seems like great customer service. Will update in time.
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Just woke up, of course arrow in direction of signal, duh.
Thanks for the tip.
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The Denafrips Ares II was shipped yesterday. Will report on sound with the Marantz CD6005. The combo may be so pleasing I may not need to look at a transport. If so it would probably be the Audiolab 6000 CDT. |
No computer/wifi in my dedicated listening house, and intend to keep it that way. But I hear the ones who swear by streaming. Different strokes for different folks. Or more simply, different pace of living. Music to me is not a technology miracle, rather a visceral physical experience. Hence I love the physical part of playing it.
The DAC cleared customs and is in Memphis. May get it Monday. 10 days, pretty excellent from Singapore!
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@pindac, I really appreciate your detailed journey regarding CDs.
It does point to me that digital can be a plus to anyone if done correctly, even to those who's systems are strictly analog vinyl. Way to keep an opened mind!
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The Denafrips Ares II came in early! Got it yesterday noon. Spent a few hours testing it out with my Marantz CD6005. Here are my impressions:
First off, the CD6005 needs to have the audio EX setting OFF. I had it on audio EX 2 and no sound came out. Rechecked all the connections and perplexing sat in front of it thinking what the hell? Then it downed on me that maybe the audio EX 2 being there to turn the digital signal into something more analog wasn't sending the full digital signal the DAC needed. Sure enough, once on audio EX OFF, the sound came on.
The Dac supposedly has a 100 hrs burn-in at factory before shipping. However I also read they recommend to leave the unit on fully powered for 10 days before setting it on the standby mode when not in use.
Meaning what I heard for a few hours yesterday will change, probably in a positive way.
The first and most important thing to me is to find out which of the OS or the NOS setting is best for you. It can be adjusted on the front of the unit. OS has the option of a slow or fast filter, NOS is not affected by the filters. As I found out NOS is 100% the way to go for my analog ears. A lot of folks online swear by the OS slow setting. I would bet that these folks have digital ears because that setting is basically as close to full digital sound you could get. Analytical, super clear sound, so much that it can be strident and tiring. Not my cup of tea at all. The NOS setting is musical, enveloping, makes most music sound live, without exaggerated coloration. In short it sounds as close to analog as you can get. I honestly don't understand why anyone would buy an r2r DAC and set it on OS to make it sound digital. Get a chip DAC instead. This r2r is meant to sound analog and NOS does just that. I also set the phase to positive instead of negative because I gather the majority of recordings would sound better that way. So far the sound is very big, very wide with a very clear definition between all the instruments while maintaining a solid togetherness. It's hard to understand how the sound can be that clear and well defined while having no hint of harshness but present a smooth, well rounded analog sound. It is like live music, the way I like it, not colored, or at least not overly colored. I am impressed so far and may find out a CD transport may not be necessary. I am not at analog level yet, but getting closer. Will know more in a couple weeks.
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Well, it has now been 10 days since the Denafrips Ares II has been run continuously on full power as recommended. So time to give you my final impressions as to the Ares II / Marantz CD6005 combo. First off running the Marantz through the Denafrips is like driving your car after cleaning the windshield. The veil being taken off image being way overused 🙂
For sound testing comparison, I only used vinyl I purchased that came with a CD included so there is no chance of getting a different mastering.
I used Pain of Salvation -Entropia, Riverside - Wasteland, Robert Wyatt - Shleep and UMG - Death of stereo. Rock is what I listen to 90% of the time, so this mix of soft jazzy rock to hard prog metal covers my range well.
I played songs from each of these records back and forth multiple times from my analog source to my digital one. I am happy to report that my digital source, costing about a fifth of my analog one, is now basically on par with the analog source sound wise. It is slightly different but not in a bad way. The digital offers a more defined space. Not wider per say, but better displaced. Like sounds coming from outside the speakers are better perceived. It definitely gives a little more clarity but without being harsh on most records. I repeat that I will only play the Denafrips on NOS setting. No OS for my taste.
The digital bass is also deeper, definitely more pronounced. Since all recordings sound different, I would give the nudge to analog for metal since it can lean harsh sounding. The analog definitely tames that down more than the NOS digital setting. However I give the nudge to digital for anything dark sounding. It's like replacing a 40 watt light bulb with a 75 one. On well balanced records I honestly can not prefer one over the other, and I tried. One thing I appreciate with the analog rig that I can't control with this digital setup is the phono preamp gives me the option to tame down bright records with setting it all the way down to 60 ohms as necessary. In my room I like it best on 475 ohms which gives me the clarity and wide space I like for most records. On the other hand, the Denafrips can only go brighter with the OS setting. Once you got it on NOS, it's as tamed as it's gonna get.
In the end, I do now realize the true value of digital which many analog fans on this site discard. There is no doubt that I could probably better my digital rig if I put in the same money that in my analog rig. However I won't do that since I would then have to upgrade my analog 🙂
Not that much of an upgrade fanatic.
Very happy with my digital now that it is basically on par with my analog. Highly recommend going down that road to ones who may contemplate buying CDs. With over 2,000 vinyl and less than 400 CDs, buying CDs is what I am going to do for a while. Huge plus since so many newer recordings never make it to vinyl. Life is better with music. Thanks to everyone who tried to help here.
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