Worth pursuing analog sound from digital?


Hi all,

I recently acquired a PS audio Nuwave dac which has eliminated most of the digital harshness compared with my old dac but it's still not as smooth and harsh-free like vinyl. I was wondering if it's worth pursuing that analog sound from digital without spending a fortune and if it's even possible. I know lots of digital lovers will say digital can be as good as vinyl but is it really?   
jaferd

Showing 2 responses by lowrider57

@jaferd.
I owned the Nuwave DSD DAC and was never able to remove the harshness or "edge" from my digital sources. I played mostly CD and some files from my Mac.
It would help if you told us what your digital source is.

I tried different CD players and finally upgraded to a transport. I still wasn’t satisfied with the sound; it always had a digital edge. In my case, it could have been that my components lacked synergy, but I knew the dac was part of the problem.

I’ve learned how important the digital cable between source and dac is. I could hear the difference in SQ with the various cables I auditioned.

I started to read about all the R2R multibit DACS that were coming to market. I picked one up and I finally had a non-digital sounding system.
And after some upgrades I believe I have a digital rig that rivals analogue.

I must mention that clean power plays a vital role for digital to sound its best.


@jaferd
My Nuwave sounded pretty good as well. Large soundstage, good dynamics. But there was no mistaking that I was listening to digital.