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DAC for $1800 or less?

TAX TIME ....

For you rich guys it's time to put away the check book but for us poor guys it means TAX RETURN MONEY! I have most of my system in place and I'm ready to go after the source. I'm a Redbook CD lover and I have a few HDCD's as well.

So here it is :

I'm running an old(er) Rotel RCD-1070 with no outboard DAC. My plan is to spend now on a solid DAC and run the Rotel as a transport. I'll tell you ... the 1070 is built like a tank, it's media friendly and even takes a standard aftermarket power cable. I like the transport. In the long run I might step up and upgrade transport but that’s a ways off.

I need some suggestions on a used DAC - my top price is $1800 and I have been looking at Levinson 36s or 360. I might need to add a few more hundred to make it happen but I wanted to get some of your thoughts before I throw that much money around. Anyone out there love the Levinson DACs? Anyone hate them? Remember - it's mostly Redbook and the occasional HDCD. I'm going to play with SACD and DVD-A later but not with this system. Any preference between the 36s and 360? I have picked through some reviews but it's like reading reviews on Microsoft software ... it's a little glossy. I have yet to get a detailed list of the differences. The 360s is out of my ballpark. If you have other DACs in this price range ... lets hear it. I really love my system as it sits but I think the analog out of the source needs some love.

My current setup is a Modwright SWL 9.0SE Linestage, Mark Levinson 23.5, Paradigm Signature S4's ... cables are mostly Signal Cable Silver Resolution and the speaker cables are Signal Cable Ultra double runs. I am considering bi-amping the Paradigms with a second Mark Levinson amp - ML 27.5 for the upper end. I am waiting on a couple of cables from Frank - I will eventually replace ALL IC's with Silver Resolution and maybe even try out a set of Silver Resolution speaker cables. It's about the best cables that I can afford.

Let me hear your thoughts ... you all have been a lot of help in the past.
128x128horseface
horseface's avatar
horseface OP
222 posts
 

Thanks all...

Looks like I have some reading to do. I will call around town and maybe take a trip up to Seattle for the weekend. If it keeps raining maybe I will just paddle my canoe! I want to audition as many DAC's as I can mostly just for the hell of it. I'm thinking about dragging the Rotel with me.

Any opinions on tubes vs. SS? I can’t tell you how much difference my tubed linestage made; but do I want to carry it on to my source components? I am also considering the Cary CD 303/300 and/or Audio Research CD3 MKII and skipping the outboard DAC completely.

If I sell the Rotel I should be able to get an additional $400 so my budget would be at $2200. At the risk of re-directing my request to you all; is there a CD player out there that would yield a better result than investing $1800 and keeping the Rotel as a transport? I'm thinking the Levinson would be an investment in reputation and build quality as much as a sound improvement. I just can’t swing a 360s ... but maybe if I go with a very solid CD player now I could grow into a 360s in the future. I'm not real interested in a multi-format player right now. I want a Redbook playback system that will knock me back.

Can I do it?
wagzel
28 posts
 
There is an Audio Research DAC-1 listed here for $495, a 20 bit. I have one and like it alot, but haven't heard others in my system except for a Meridian 566 which was first rate too. The ARC is Stereohile A rated and listed for $3500. It accepts various inputs, even AT&T glass which has some proponets. Can't imagine it will ever lose value from $495. I paid $300 for mine on ebay but the seller wasn't sure it was working, it was.

I had Signal Cable make me up a RCA/BNC cable, hard to beat their quality/price ratio.
jeffjazz
114 posts
 
Nobody has suggested this one. The Rakk Dac. It is a DIY dac, but they will build one for you. For that price you could have them build it with an active tubed output. I had compared a friends Rakk Dac to my EastSound E5 cd player, which is suppose to be as good as some $2000 players and my old Jolida. The Rakk Dac has the warmest sound and most nuanced. Brass had tremendous goose bump factor. My Eastsound was a little more dynamic and slightly brighter. The Rakk Dac that I listened to was the base version with transformer outputs. Very musical. (The active output probably would be as dynamic as my Eastsound) I have read it out did a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista tubed Dac, which is one of the better dacs on the market. I would get in touch with this company. They can tell you which version would best suit your system. And no, they aren't paying me anything to say this. I just think this company puts out such an excellent product, (at a resonable price) that it need to be made known! Happy listening! http://www.kandkaudio.com/digitalaudio.html
bigshutterbug
384 posts
 
I second the Ack DAC 2.0. This battery powered DAC has found a permanent place to reside on my audio rack. I have compared it to my previous $3000 player, and also to some even higher priced combos. It is a real eye opener, and may make you re-think your priorities.
hvu
23 posts
 
Horseface,
I'm in the same boat as i have rotel rcd-1072. The only play i think i would is Cary 303/300, but it is expensive player. I would try rcd-1072 as a transport and get Benchmark DAC-1. This is what i will try after tax time...:) I think Benchmark has 30 days trial.

The next one may be Arcam 23 cdp. But i am sure if it's a big different from rcd-1072 as i have never heard of it.
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