dcs Delius vs dcs Elgarplus DAC?


I just bought a dcs delius dac fed by a dcs purcell sampler playing music from an iMac being used as a server. Holy schmoly - this combo is a superb, organic, smooth, highly satisfying digital rig. I mean totally non-fatiguing, no digital glare/harshness or grain.

I know the elgar plus dac is supposed to be better. I want to know how much better than the delius dac? I should be satisfied for an eternity with the highly pleasing sonics. I am tempted to just say to heck with it and enjoy the great music. However, I just have to know - is the elgar plus an incremental or a big step up from the delius? If it is a big step up, the sound has to be stunningly good....
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xjaymark
Hi Jaymark,

I owned a Delius for 5 years: however I can't comment directly on the comparison against Elgar Plus because I didn't A-B the two.

I did investigate the differences at the time of buying. The Elgar Plus has a somewhat better power supply and fancier casework. That casework may also include slightly better vibration isolation. My understanding is that the DAC section is identical and the analog output stage is identical or very close.

I suggest you enjoy your Delius. My view is that an Elgar upgrade won't be worth the trouble or expense. If you want to have a longer term goal - the Scarlatti is a significantly better system than the old stack. Save your pennies and think about a Scarlatti in a few years when they start to be cheaper in the used market.
I also had the Delius plus Purcell digital front end some time ago. It's interesting you just bought yours. I assume you bought them in the secondary market at prices lower than when new(they weren't cheap) because in the digital calendar, they would be considered past generation. If you would like to upgrade, the Elgar is not the way. Look for the newer stuff from dCS such as the Puccini. I traded in my old dCS gear for an MBL player, then went on to the EMM Labs CDSA SE and finally settled back into dCS gear for the Puccini with U-clock. The Scarlatti is way too expensive for me but I find the Puccini a gigantic step up from the EMM Labs, the MBL and the Delius/Purcell in that order of performance.
Wow. You guys are scaring me and my pocketbook. I got the pieces recently on the used Audiogon market.

I think for now I will take the advice of Gtfour45 and just enjoy my rig. The key part of this statement, I am sure, is "for now".

I listen to my system now EVERY night after work. This, to me, is a great sign of my satisfaction with what I am hearing given how busy I am.