Price range for the DAC?
How to proceed?
Removing my Aqua La Voce dac from my system has eliminated fatigue and reduced but not fully eliminated sibilance. Running my Jay’s CDT2MKIII into my Hegel H390’s onboard dac is definitely a more relaxed presentation but tonally leaner than I prefer. Some have suggested I swap out the Hegel, but first I’d like to try another dac.
What I’m unclear about is how to go about choosing another dac that will not duplicate the same drawbacks I’ve experienced with the Aqua. Are there details in the design or specs that can guide me in this regard? I'm unsure how to proceed.
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- 86 posts total
@stuartk You have a really nice system. That Aqua DAC seems really high quality and is R2R. I see good arguments in other threads that the DAC might be the problem. I find it hard to suspect the DAC, as it's well made and is R2R. Of course, if it's the DAC, that's a simple one for one switch. If do wonder about the Hegel and (maybe) the room acoustics. Is there anyway you can borrow another amp to try out to see if that changes anything? If you tried an amp that was definitely on the warm side, you could really know about the Hegel. Looking at your room, I see there's not much about acoustics you can do that's easy. There is a nice discussion here -- some really good posts -- which indicate that room acoustics likely won’t solve it, though there is some debate about that. Some more discussion here, mentioning EQ and toe-in, among other ideas. |
I am not an expert here at all... Once said i experienced sibilance when i had bad synergy between gear pieces speakers and dac or amplifier or bad dac( which is not the case here i think) and room acoustic can only solve it in part ....Room acoustic alone dont solve synergy problem ... A bit of EQ can help a lot ... |
I don’t know it’s the DAC for certain. What I do know is that when the Aqua DAC is in the signal chain, there’s fatigue and exaggerated sibilance. When I run my Jay’s transport direct into the Hegel’s DAC, fatigue goes away and while there is still some sibilance, it is not nearly so exaggerated. BUT, the sound is quite lean unless cranked. I may try a Border Patrol, which is affordable and could be returned if it didn't work out. On the whole, this system is way more resolving than its predecessor, so it’s possible the sibilance is coming from somewhere else and was simply not evident up to this point. It could be the room. If this is the case, probably the only course is to revert to a less-resolving system. Others have suggested the Hegel may be the culprit. I hate to give it up because I love how it brings my speakers to life. At 67, I don’t want to deal with an even heavier Coda or Pass. I had a tubey-sounding Wells Majestic that was nice but lacked control in the bass, which is why I began searching for an alternative and ended up with the Hegel. As I haven’t been active in the local audiophile community, those might be able to loan me gear "don’t know me from Adam". Paying the price for my introversion! Thanks for your interest. A Schiit Lokius didn’t help but perhaps a unit with more bands????
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- 86 posts total