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Should I PURCHASE AN EXTERNAL DAC

I  have been debating on whether or not to purchase an external DAC and/or update my CD/SACD equipment. Honestly I am not very knowledgeable about DAC chips and I am in need of advice. Currently I have the Pioneer DV-47A Elite for my SACD's and a Rotel RCD 990 for my CD's. All being feed thru my Marantz AV8802A pre amp. When I purchased the Pioneer and Rotel new they were considered very good equipment and  had the better DAC chips at the time. I am using the DAC chip set in the Marantz for my Rotel and the DAC chip set in the Pioneer for SACD. I am considering the Oppo 205 if i decide to update, for SACD and CD's and Blue ray, (I also do home theater). Will the chip set in the Oppo or an external DAC be superior and noticeably different than my current equipment? How does it compare to the DAC in my Marantz? My budget is about $1000 for an external DAC. I am open to suggestions for equipment and any advice. I also use my computer to stream music from Amazon and Spotify (no Tidal or Roon streaming yet).  thanks  
don_1
mahler123
3,650 posts
 
@don_1 
There is a Home Theater Forum in the Agon Forums.  Have you posted there?
   I have both two channel system and 2 HT systems in my house.
The two channel system is my "high end" setup and the two HT systems are mid fi.  Both have 10 year old receivers that I've been wanting to replace but I keep sinking the $ into the two channel....
I do think that one can get great results in a surround sound with mid fi equipment.  It's discouraging that surround sound has such a limited following and for that matter it is discouraging that any kind of system seems to be terra incognita for the 30 and under crowd
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
4,200 posts
 
I have been using DACs since the early days of digital.  Audio Alchemy,  California Audio Labs, Theta, PS Audio,  etc....I've had many, some great and some not so great.   Most of the time it was a decent upgrade.  And then DACs went out of fashion,  but I kept using them because my digital sources sounded better and I valued the DAC as a hub for those devices.  

But if you buy a 205 you will get a player with the latest chipset and a good analog stage.   Down the road if you want to add a DAC it will still be a good disc spinner.

It's hard to find a universal "transport" that doesn't break the bank which led me to buy an OPPO 103D.  It is a great machine that sounds pretty good but the reason I bought it was to pair it with my DAC.    I would buy another OPPO in a heartbeat, most likely a 205.....or a "305"   because I will run the 103 til it dies.  
don_1's avatar
don_1 OP
94 posts
 
my Maggies sit out about 40" from the back wall (built in entertainment center) so I dont have the room and considering the wife acceptance factor also. the flat screen does sit behind but in between the Maggies. 
What I would like to do is have my room analyzed for room treatments. think that would be the most important upgrade. 
@audioengr  I ordered the spdif thru Amazon this morning for $149, thanks for your suggestions. 

You guys are the best! thanks for all your assistance. 
don_1's avatar
don_1 OP
94 posts
 
My Rotel 990 is built like a tank and has a great transport, to use it with the Synchro Mesh for 2 channel. and get the Oppo for surround-SACD, and blueray.   Would I benefit from this set up for CD's or is it a minimal gain and just the Oppo for CD's as well.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
It’s hard to find a universal "transport" that doesn’t break the bank which led me to buy an OPPO 103D. It is a great machine that sounds pretty good but the reason I bought it was to pair it with my DAC. I would buy another OPPO in a heartbeat, most likely a 205.....or a "305" because I will run the 103 til it dies.


I too use an OPPO for 2-channel, SACD and blu-ray, but it needs some help:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154408.0

With Synchro-Mesh, the transport does not matter. Achieves jitter of a $20K transport. ANY transport will do.  The SPDIF iPurifier lowers jitter for blu-rays.  For SACD, there is nothing you can do except for modding it, and that will yield only small improvement.  I modded transports and DACs for 10 years myself, but I don't mod anymore.

My Rotel 990 is built like a tank and has a great transport, to use it with the Synchro Mesh for 2 channel. and get the Oppo for surround-SACD, and blueray. Would I benefit from this set up for CD’s or is it a minimal gain and just the Oppo for CD’s as well?

The OPPO will be necessary for SACD and blu-ray. I would highly recommend the SPDIF iPurifier to reduce jitter for blu-ray movies.

You can use either transport for 2-channel if you have a Synchro-Mesh. It literally does not matter what the source is for the Synchro-Mesh. It will sound identical if you use a Sonos, cheap transport, expensive transport, ipod dock, computer laptop. Does not matter.

It also galvanically isolates the transport from the DAC BTW, so eliminates that ground-loop.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio


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