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...
Ag insider logo xs@2xheadshrinker2
Just received June 2009 Stereophile yesterday, there is a follow-up review by John Atkinson on DacMagic. Check it out
I have the DacMagic hooked up my pc and listen to itunes downloads, to streaming jazz, to Mariner baseball games. Its a great little dac. Fits nice on my desktop. I have it running side by side to a $6,000+ combo transport (Accustic Arts) and Dac (Audio Note). The difference is maybe 10% and some tunes there just is not much difference. I have an upgraded usb cable coming so imagine it might take another step forward. Amazing value from my point of view.
I have DacMagic and it improves imaging, soundstage and definition to my CD player. I am thinking about swapping out the DacMagic's IC op amps in favor of Burson discreets. Anyone tried this or other mods?
Has anyone compared the DacMagic with the Azur 840c digital inputs? You would think they would be close or nearly identical, but things often don't work that way.