2. digital
  3. 1208305526

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
stereo
147 posts
 
The 1704 is a very good dac chip. My favorite is the BB TDA1541A/S2. Zanden uses the same chip in their dac. I am in the process of finishing a TDA1541A dac kit. I am using in the mean time a NAD T585 which is really amazing me. It may be the best $500.00 I've ever spent on a player or any component.

Your gonna love those Audio Mirror amps! I was so close to getting them, but was afraid they wouldn't drive my speakers well enough so I went with 350 watt mono block class D amps.
smeyers OP
181 posts
 
"It may be the best $500.00 I've ever spent on a player or any component."

Isn't it great in the world of megabuck electronics when you find a sleeper?!?

"Your gonna love those Audio Mirror amps!"

I certainly hope so! I really wanted to try the SET route, but needed something that had more than just a few watts. How do like the class D stuff? I had thought about it, but decided to stick with tubes for now.
stereo
147 posts
 
I had Ric at EVS build me a set of monos using UCD700 modules and a standard power supply. They sound great. They are so effortless and fast. I had the Pp1 sent back to Vlad at Audio Mirror and updated with a new volume pot and some black gate caps and the preamp and amps work great together. I was using an Onix xcd-99 cd player and just didn't like it. I got the T585 a few month ago and the system really sings now. The one other component that I thought was a no brainier was ProAc Response 1s. Those speakers with a sub where unbelievable.

My other suggestion for a new digital unit may be a Timbre dac. I think it is a TT-1. They were $4k years ago and about $600-700 used now. The reviews are really good and they go fast here.
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