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Upgrade DAC or Buy New

I own a Muse 296 DAC (first manufactured in 1998) which I've always enjoyed. I just changed my system where the DAC is driving the amps directly, but the output voltage of the Muse is only 1V, so am not getting enough output. I can upgrade the Muse to their model 192 (first manufactured in 2003), but it will cost $1,200 to do so.

So the question is should I spend the $1,200 to upgrade the unit to one that has been discontinued for a few years and is a five year old model, or look for something else? I would be willing to spend up to around $2,000 or so.
smeyers
smeyers OP
181 posts
 
Larryi,

Interesting; I just found out that Esoteric also uses them in their $14k X-01 CD Player. As I also mentioned earlier, Empirical uses them in their Spoiler DAC; this is a quote from their site: "PCM1704U-K D/A chips - some of the best-sounding D/A chips ever produced".

Interesting... It makes me think about keeping the DAC I have, but I would need an active preamp after the DAC, since the output voltage is too low. Do you know if a simple active line stage is sold for this purpose? I only need a single input and single output (probably with the ability to adjust output gain).
glory's avatar
glory
1,616 posts
 
Smeyers,

In '95 you were 98% CD & 2% LP. Sad indeed.

2008 Forget the CD or make it 2% CD & 98% LP and put the 2K or so into analog. =8^)

Shoot away.
smeyers OP
181 posts
 
Glory,

Now I'm 95% digital through a Sonos system, 5% through CD. No LP in my future; too fiddly and inconvenient for me.
stereo
147 posts
 
Hi Smeyers,
A good active preamp will fix your issue. I use an Audio Mirror Pp1. I use LP and CD. There are some really great reasonably priced preamps that will solve your problem without changing the sound of the system you have. I have not heard the Tact, so I can't comment on how it would compare to the Audio Mirror preamps. An Audio Mirror T-61 preamp (no phono) will do the trick for you and used for under $600.00. If you don't like it, it will sell quickly.
smeyers OP
181 posts
 
Thanks for the info, Stereo. The funny thing is I'm awaiting delivery of Audio Mirror's SET 45 amps which are supposed to arrive tomorrow. I couldn't replace the Tact with another preamp, as I'm using the Tact for digital room correction and crossovers. All I can do is add an analog preamp like the T-61 after Tact and before the amps like this: CD Transport -> Tact -> Outboard DAC -> Active Preamp -> Amps.

I'm also looking more closely at the possibility of upgrading my outboard DAC for a higher voltage level which would eliminate the need for an active preamp. I've been noticing that there are several high end DAC manufactures that think the Burr Brown 1704 (which I have in my DAC) was the most musical DAC made (it first came out in 1998) and are still using it in their products. I do really like the sound of my DAC, but it does not currently provide enough output voltage, which was the original reason for this thread.
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