Is low cost DAC worth it?
Been learning a lot from you fine folks... thanks!
I am driving Boston Acoustic Lynnfield 975 speakers with a Willsenton R8 amp (recent purchase to try it out) and streaming over wifi through Apple Airport Express. It sounds pretty good but I find myself wondering if adding a low cost DAC would improve the sound any?
Maybe something like the Cambridge DacMagic 100 or 200M?
My hearing is not that great anymore, so I don’t think it makes sense to jump on a DAC costing thousands, but I understand the Airport Express is a decent DAC, so not sure if a low cost one would make any difference?
@soix 👍 presently using an N150 with a Pontus II for a dedicated headphone system and N200 with a Terminator II in a speaker system. So yes I'm both an Aurender and Denafrips fan boy. @wolfgarcia no snobbery here. I've owned both a DacMagic 200 and Bifrost 2 as well. Both excellent and great bangs for the bucks. Its just that in this hobby I get bored sometimes and like to experiment. After all at 75 yrs young, you can't take it with you. Money that is. |
OP, I’m an old fart as well. Most of us have hearing that is compromised in some manor. But typically it will not take away the enjoyment of better sound, since better reproduced music sounds better in all frequencies. So, just because you may not be able to hear the highest frequencies (for instance) you can still appreciate the richness in the midrange and low frequencies. Also, having good undistorted high frequencies will impact the lower frequencies in a positive way. Also, listening is an acquired skill. My partner has always had better hearing than I (most women do), but I could always hear all sorts of nuances that she could not. Such is the enjoyment of well reproduced music. |
@marco1 Have you considered adding a DDC? In my HeadFi rig I added a Denafrips Iris (bought used) to take advantage of my Musician Pegasus’ (shares some DNA with your Pontus) i2S input and the improvement was not small. And this was using this $6 0.5 foot HDMI cable from Monoprice. Anyhoo, FWIW. |
@soix I've thought about it but I'm short real estate in that system and looking to eliminate boxes. I'm actually thinking about going with something like the Aurender A15. Now before you pull out the flame thrower, the A15 uses the N200 streamer, a step up from the 150, so the question is what the added DAC brings to the table? Plus the Aurender engineering is really quite good so its not just how good the DAC is, its how good everything works together in one box. I know the combo players do not get a lot of respect here on A'gon, but like I said before, I like to experiment. I really need to find somewhere to listen to one. |
If one is on a tight budget and interested in streaming, the item in the link, is winning favour and converts from individuals using similar devices costing quite a few times more than this one is offered at. Hook the WiiM Pro up to the DAC as seen in the Link and there is something seemingly quite special to be had for, very very sensible monies parted with. I hope the OP sees this as a suggestion as a viable option and worthy of their consideration.
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