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logical steps up from DacMagic?

As Shazam wisely pointed out in an earlier post, I've got myself in a situation where the weakest link in my 'baby' system is my DAC:

Cullen-modified Sonos 90 >
Anti-cable coax IC >
Cambridge DACmagic DAC >
Nordost Red Dawn IC >
Jolida JD 302BRC >
Rega R5 speakers w/ Rega SC42 cables

So far, on my list to consider are:
- Bel Canto DAC2 (used, obviously)
- Benchmark DAC1 (used, non-USB version)
- Jolida's yet-to-be released tube DAC (I'm assuming a lot here)

A big part of me wants a Bel Canto DAC3, but I'm certain that would trigger a domino effect requiring the replacement of absolutely everything except possibly an IC or two. ;-) For that reason, I'd like to keep this upgrade to <$1500.

This in mind, are there other DACs that I should be trolling these pages for?
soundgasm
soundgasm OP
152 posts
 
My confusion about the two stems from this passage in the Stereophile review of the DM posted online:

"The D/A chips are the same Wolfson WMB8740 24-bit DACs used in Cambridge Audio's Azur 740C and 840C CD players."

...but this is not so, apparently.
cdface
12 posts
 
the chips are the same, but i'm not sure they're used in the same configuration, and i know that the supporting electronics are not all identical (i.e. the upsampling chip at least). the 840C presumably has a slightly better PS, since it does have a toroid (the DACMagic has a wall-wart transformer which is probably EI) - i'm not convinced that this always makes a noticeable difference, but whatever. Face noticed a better soundstage with the DACMagic, which might be enough of an advantage over the dynamic and transparency differences to justify the $600 savings. IDK, i'll probably buy the 840C myself since i need a better transport AND a better DAC than my current Denon DCD-3000, which is still a very fine player at the end of the day.
bobgates
535 posts
 
You may want to check out the YBA dac mentioned in the June issue of Stereophile. They liked it overall better than the DacMagic.
randy-11
1,913 posts
 
6 years later, I have the same question as the OP -- anything significantly better than the DacMagic?
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