DAC upgrade or Amplifier
Based on your equipment I would say... try a different source, and I would try some different cables from Kimber or Morrow Audio. The Adcom amp and pre amp are not the problem. Speaker placement is key as well for depth...Nothing in between speakers, and pulling them at least 2 to 3 feet from the rear wall will indeed help with depth. Matt M |
With all things being equal, the dac/preamp will generally have more of an effect on the sonic signature than an amplifier will. However, they are not equal in your situation. The Cambridge Audio stuff is generally know to be very detailed/transparent. You could upgrade to a newer/different DAC, but if you want to keep working with your DAC magic, I would get an external linear power supply. Go to ebay and search for "teradak dacmagic". It comes with a cord that plugs directly into your DACMagic. You can get one for about $180 shipped. This will definitely improve the overall sound quality and soundstage of your DAC. Your GFP-750 preamp is a nice choice. There are ways to improve it: http://bigskyaudiomt.com/ADCOM_GFP750.php https://hoppesbrain.com/2017/03/11/adcom-gfp-750-upgrade/ If you have it upgraded, see if they can replace all the electrolytic capacitors as well. With the age on this, the caps will have dried out. Probably your weakest link is the Adcom amp. My experience with the older Adcom amps is that they are warm sounding, but in a mushy/messy way. They end up smearing the sound somewhat and I actually think they introduce distortion. Definitely not a good option if you want a deep/wide 3D soundstage. I would try selling it on ebay. You can get a really nice high-resolution amplifier that would be superior, such as the following choices: Parasound A23 Emotiva XPA-1L monoblocks (with fuse upgrades) Rotel? others... depending on your budget |
Does the DAC Magic have the ability to unfold MQA files from Tidal? I have found that my Bluesound Node 2 is able to give me the best hi-res sound via MQA albums, not ALL MQA albums, just ones well recorded. Another thing, I have tried bypassing my preamp and connecting my DAC/steamer directly to the amp. I would research this to see if your DAC Magic is capable of being used this way. I was very surprised that my preamp was not allowing the clarity and soundstage to come through the DAC to the amp. |
