I would find a suitable Benchmark DAC to experiment with. You might use it as a straight DAC or preamp in the end depending. The credentials of the Benchmark DACs are pretty much impeccable making it a logical go to choice to find out what might be possible in teh price range you are in.
Best DAC for my situation...Read on!
So thoughts and opinions please.
What I have and my idea.
Oppo 105D and Bluesound Vault 2 feeding into McIntosh C48 preamp.
I chose the C48 because it is a nice complete all in one box solution, headphone amp, mm and mc phono amp, lots of analog inputs with 2 sets of xlr inputs AND 5 total digital inputs.
Now I have both the Oppo and the vault connected by analog and digital inputs to the C48 so I can compare modes pretty instantly and I have to admit both cases the analog sounds better.
Which makes me wonder if the C48, although a great all in one solution may be the hold up as far as the DAC performance is concerned.
What I was considering as a trial is a seperate DAC that can handle the digital signals from the units and then output the analog signal via xlr preferably, back to the C48.
At this stage I have no intention of getting rid of the C48 as I really like the analog signal SQ as well as the headphone performance.
Any good suggestions in the range of $2000 used or am I really not going to see much improvement at that price range over the C48 capability?
What I have and my idea.
Oppo 105D and Bluesound Vault 2 feeding into McIntosh C48 preamp.
I chose the C48 because it is a nice complete all in one box solution, headphone amp, mm and mc phono amp, lots of analog inputs with 2 sets of xlr inputs AND 5 total digital inputs.
Now I have both the Oppo and the vault connected by analog and digital inputs to the C48 so I can compare modes pretty instantly and I have to admit both cases the analog sounds better.
Which makes me wonder if the C48, although a great all in one solution may be the hold up as far as the DAC performance is concerned.
What I was considering as a trial is a seperate DAC that can handle the digital signals from the units and then output the analog signal via xlr preferably, back to the C48.
At this stage I have no intention of getting rid of the C48 as I really like the analog signal SQ as well as the headphone performance.
Any good suggestions in the range of $2000 used or am I really not going to see much improvement at that price range over the C48 capability?
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- 69 posts total
I would give this a shot. I used to have one, wish I never sold it. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/da-converters-wyred-4-sound-dac-2-dsdse-dac-d-a-converter-black-da... |
+1 on @robelvick recommendation. I have no experience with w4s DACS but am totally pumped on the mods they did to my Sonos zone player and the phone conversations were confidence inspiring. If I ever decide to change out my Wadia 321 this will be the first place I look. This one is a little more than $2k but has the latest ESS Sabre 9028PRO https://wyred4sound.com/products/digital-converters/dac-2v2-series |
- 69 posts total