I've seen various reports that put the V-DAC well ahead of the DAC Magic in terms of natural timbre and musicality. I can't speak to that as I've never compared the two. What I can say though about the V-DAC is that I'm SHOCKED about how good it sounds even with only a handful of hours on it. My general preference is vinyl for warmth, naturalness and relaxed ease of listening. For critical listening I don't foresee ever preferring digital over vinyl. But I also have a lot of CD's that I do enjoy. There is something terribly convenient about having an entire CD library at the tip of your fingers on a computer screen so I wanted a "taste" of what all of this "computer audio" hoopla is all about. So I bought an HP laptop, Windows 7 (64 bit), 6GB RAM, a V-DAC and a good USB cable. I use dbPowerAmp to rip to the highest level of flac and playback using foobar2000. To say that I'm impressed would be an understatement. I'm yet to replace the V-DAC wall wart with a regulated power supply (which apparently is another level of improvement). But even so, I can easily see that there is a very real possibility of having computer audio every bit as good as redbook CD's. Just my opinion.
Which DAC?
I'm setting up a small PC based system in my office and am interested in a DAC. I see good things about the Music Fidelity vDAC and the HRT+ external DACs.
Both are priced at just under $300. I don't spend more. No harm in spending less.
Any thoughts on pros and cons soundwise of each. Would go into a low power tube amp and small speakers.
I'm assuming one would need the ears of a dog to hear any difference but am just curious.
Both are priced at just under $300. I don't spend more. No harm in spending less.
Any thoughts on pros and cons soundwise of each. Would go into a low power tube amp and small speakers.
I'm assuming one would need the ears of a dog to hear any difference but am just curious.