Accuphase dac 60

@duketbrd88 

The burn-in process is very real and it applies to both *new* cables and electronics. There is a reason you love E-380 and the DAC60 is no exception, its designed to work seamlessly and if I may say so, beautifully with E-380. Be patient until it’s fully broken-in before you make any decision. I have AD50 phono module ($1K) and it has bested outboard phono costing as much as $4K in my system. 

Thanks everyone, sure is a learning experience the higher up you go in the craziness. 

@duketbrd88 Man, I feel for ya. The voltage input/output levels seem to be an issue. I have a separate preamp that allows me to adjust input levels I reference to the ‘tuner’ which doesn’t exist in my system, but nevertheless, I can adjust the relative input levels appropriately. I was recently looking at some vintage McIntosh gear that had slide switches for different input voltage levels. I wondered what they were for( your question answered mine. (FYI: Different vintages of Mac gear has different voltage spans, check it out.) I hope that you can arrive at a a testing ‘jig’ that allows you to compare competing DACs on a level playing field. 

@oldrooney 

Thanks and thanks for the info. I didn’t know that. I had the same Classé delta cp500 pre as and Classé ca2200 amp with this ps audio dac for 18 years. The upgrade to the e380 Accuphase was a pleasure surprise in sound quality and musical. So, I was excited. Then I started looking at dacs and there are so many it just got to be overwhelming, so I just bit the bullet and got the dac 60. Well, I was pretty disgusted as you read. 
 

It seems to be breaking in nicely, but the verdict is still out. Not sure it’s worth the money when mine is fine.

So, another question for you guys. When I start streaming here soon, I will probably get the bluesound node. My dealer recommended that one. I will probably use the USB port on the dac. Should I keep the dac 60 for that purpose? I’m pretty sure the spec’s for that of the dac 60 are better.

 I am late to the game for streaming, but do pay for qobuz and use it through my iphone in the car.