2. digital
  3. 1267655908

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

Showing 3 responses by cdface

cdface
12 posts
 
Interesting, Face, I hadn't heard about that before. Did you compare them just as standalones?
cdface
12 posts
 
if you don't need the USB input, you might consider going with an 840C CD player. it has coax and fiber digital inputs so can be used as a standalone DAC. though by not a large margin, it seems roundly preferred over the DACMAGIC - it has double the upsampling and some other improvements that i can't remember right now. plus you get a sweet CDP to boot! they've been selling around the $1k mark used, so definitely within your budget.
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.
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