newbie DAC question

Hi kremrik

You should have had your Musical Fidelity V90 DAC for a couple weeks by now.

What are you playing through it, and how does it sound?

Yage said "...a DAC connected to your CD player would make a noticeable difference in your system."

I'm  not sure what he meant unless you have a digital output from the Onkyo C7030 CD player. If so, have you tried to use the V90 DAC instead of the built-in DAC?

Also, have you tried playing the same music with the CD Player and the DAC? You could rip the CD, and then play the WMA or FLAC through the DAC, and compare the two.

Btw, this is my equipment:

Speakers - Elac B6
CD Player - NAD C 516BEE CD Player
Preamplifier - Parasound Halo P5
Power Amplifier - Rotel RB-1080

@edincleve I am so sorry I didn't see this earlier. I have been playing my entire (small) CD collection through it for a while now, as well as a Chromecast Audio streaming Spotify's premium "extreme quality". I did notice a decent difference with the V90 DAC, although it was entirely based on memory... However, I played my most familiar CD's that I knew extremely well. I wouldn't say it was an EXTREME difference, but the differences I noted were things like: bass was smoother and more distinct; highs were crisper; vocals were more realistic; things like that. Things you'd balk at if you were a cynic like me, but then realize the difference for yourself.

Also, I'm using my CDP's coax output to my DAC. I've also no way to do a direct comparison, so I regrettably can't do an A/B comparison...  

The Chromecast is probably a challenge for any DAC. I love my 1st Gen chromecast, but for Anime, not music. :) For that I love my Logitech Squeezebox touch.

Interesting review of using the CC just came out today by the way. 

DAR Reviews Chromecast 2nd Gen

Based on the lack of specs for it's music capabilities, I always knew it was not intended to be a serious music playing product. I couldn't even find a listing of supported file formats, forget resolution. :)

Best,

ERik

@erik_squires actually I did a decent amount of direct comparisons between CD and CA quality. My overall impression is that, no, the CA does not sport same-as-cd quality. Not really a shocker for $35! However - the quality is remarkably close. On the albums I used to test this out, I noticed a slight lack of high end detail (appears softer, more laid back) and a small lack of overall THEREishness, if that makes sense. When compared directly, CDs sounded more spacious and the CA sounded more like a center channel and two front surrounds, but just barely. Despite having no specs posted about it, the overall performance is so close in my (budget) system that unless I had the cd version to compare it with, I would have a difficult time hearing any deficiencies. My setup isn't mercilessly revealing and it's not terribly pricey, so others might have different opinions!

Interesting!!

I'm getting a wyred4Sound Remedy though, as an add on for my Squeezebox though.  I want to try it out. The SB was reviewed and found to have very low jitter, remarkably low jitter for a low cost product, but I'm curious.

Best,

Erik