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Best path to upgrade my source

I am a new start up in the stereo world. At present I have an Audible Illusions pre, 200 watt tube mono's, dynaudio 1.3 mk 11'S, and a highly modded marantz cd67se. I would like to upgrade the front end source. I am on a tight budget, and I'm considering either a Benchmark dac1 or Naim cdi or meridian 506. I prefer acoustic, soft jazz, and mild rock and roll. My listening habits revolve around detail and immediacy as my 53 year old ears have heard better. Any suggestions?
optimationman
bartokfan
664 posts
 
ck out the Consonance Droplet.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
the company provided a demo of the dac for members of our audio club. i would say that based upon my listening, the dac is slightly imbalanced, with a little more energy in the upper mids/lower treble.

a better choice might by the cal labs alpha dac. you could experiment with tubes and perhaps alter the sound.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
Benchmark might compete with the original Lite DAC-Ah, but not the new one with the good Opamps, it is a whole different unit A-B tested... By the way as mentioned above its hard to justify the 1000.00 price tag for the benchmark vs. the Dac-ah in the first place, but I bet the Modified Dac-ah for 220.00 is a no brainer, it was vs. my 5000.00 player which is now long sold off.
optimationman OP
7 posts
 
good to here from all of you. I am a diy moder type and improving what I buy, be it benchmark or dac lite. How about a starting point! How much can a dac lite be improved vs a benchmark, or an older "state of the art cdp?
undertow
1,033 posts
 
That is a tuff question.. You can purchase various levels of mods directly for both units...
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