Cambridge dac?


Thinking about pairing the DacMagic 200M with Schiit Vidar mono blocks. Is this a good pairing? My system would look like Computer(usb) > 200M > Vidar’s > Speakers. Trying to not break the bank on the dac/preamp

oedstrom11

I’d go with the Gustard X16 over the Cambridge.  It also offers a remote if that matters — not sure if the 200M has one.  Best of luck. 

I haven't heard the Schiit monos, but I recently heard a $150K system fed by a 10 yr old $200 Cambridge 540c CD player, and it was one of the best systems I've ever heard. There is some magic in the dual Wolfson dac in these Cambridge, I would recommend the older DAC or CD player with the Wolfson chips rather than the new ESS. Affordable ESS dacs tend to be poorly implemented and lifeless sounding.

Find a nice used Cambridge 851C  cd player. It has good dac chips in it which I believe are made by Analog Devices. The unit can be used as a preamp too, although limited for source connections. It should also have a good working remote to perform preamp functions. 

Didn't mention this, but this player's dac is accessible and you can hook up a streamer. Maybe you already knew this?