Praise for DacMagic


Just wanted to give some very positive feedback for the Cambridge Audio DacMagic DAC. It doesn't seem to get much attention around these forums, but I am enjoying it immensely. In my opion, terrific value for the money.

During the past few weeks, I have used it with great success both within a PC music server and 2-channel environments.

Who knows, I may end up switching it out for a better DAC in the future, but for now I am quite pleased.

As a side note, I was not impressed with it at first when used to enhance an NAD C541 CDP. On a whim, I switched out the NAD for a modest Sony DVD player that is around 5-7 years old. Then, everything came into place and the music was rich and detailed. The Sony DVD/DacMagic combination blew the doors off the NAD/DacMagic combination. Go figure...
headshrinker2
I also own a DACMagic and my experience is similar to yours. When I first received it, I hooked it up with a modestly priced Onkyo CD player which I used only as a transport. However, when I substituted a far more expensive Pioneer Elite universal player, the change was dramatically better -- and I am something of a skeptic about revolutionary changes in performance. Sam Tellig, in the May issue of "Stereophile", reports similar results when switching from a Marantz CD player to a more "robust" one manufactured by Denon.
Interesting.
How about NAD vs NAD/DacMagic?
How about NAD vs SonyDVD/DacMagic?

My mhdt Paradisea+ did not match well with NAD C541i at all. Paradisea+ works quite well with cheap CD/DVD players, a little bit better than NAD. In a sense, it tells NAD C541i is pretty good by itself.
I am happy to hear that. I just pre-ordered one online and look forward to comparing it to my Benchmark DAC-1 on my main rig although it was purchased for my secondary/daily system in the living room.
OT: Ihcho, I concur that the NAD player ( I have a 541 without the i ) is very good by itself.

Back on topic, sort of : anyone using a DACMagic and wondering about the effect of a better transport might first try applying the tweaks I have used with success on the NAD, to wit : vibration-damping footers ( Bright Star or Herbie's ) and an isolation transformer for the AC.

Final icing on the cake is a Herbie's Black Hole damper on the CD itself.

Isonodes

Herbie's feet

Black Hole

Isolation transformers can be found on eBay. 125 VA to 250 VA rating should be fine.
Tobias: i have a NAD 545 BEE cd player. What kind of differences might I expect with vibration damping footers?