Praise for DacMagic

KS- I'm using MA RS6 too. Driven by Naim Nait XS. Nice sounding speakers for small to medium size room.

Hola,
I'm thinking about using a Dacmagic to run a Rotel RCD 991 AE. Does anyone have experience with this set up? Is the cd player already as good as I'm going to get? It's currently being played through a CA 840a via XLR cables.

I listen to vinyl about 95% of the time. I'm trying to bring some cds back from the dead. The dither on the Rotel has improved the sound/fatigue factor (especially compared to my old NAD 521BEE), but the warmth of vinyl still reigns supreme.

I'd like to be confident that the $400 leap is worthwhile. Eventually, I'd also like a Wadia dock to improve sound from the iPod for playlists during parties. However, the Wadia is another future purchase and is of secondary concern.

Thanks for any help,
T.

I've had a bunch of Dacs now and for various reasons. These include Musical Fidelity x3 dac, PS Audio III, Grace M902 Chinese made Matrix, and now the DacMagic. Each has its own character and I mainly used them to play thourgh my computer set up but also tried it out in my main system that is all Simaudio with Wilson Sophia 1 speakers. I think the Dacmagic is the best value by far. My favorite remains the Grace M902 but I sold it since I don't used it much and I sold it to buy the Matrix and the Dacmagic and still have money left over. The musical fidelity was nice and warm but too many things need (power supply, cords) to sound good. The PS Audio was sold to get the Grace and I liked it as well but I think the DacMagic is second only the Grace. The Grace is much more analytical while being very dynamic and had excelelnt bass. The DacMagic is more lush and I don't mind it with the Wilson speakers. I mainly use it to upgrade the sound coming from my 500gb Apple TV.

I use my DACMAGIC with a Cambridge Audio 550C CD Player. I bought the DACMAGIC to upgrade an old NAD 541 unit, ¡but the NAD died suddenly!

After some months using the DacMagic, I think that the differences that the DAC may produce are subtle (using it with a good transport), these are more noticeable with human voices, then a lesser degree with acoustic instruments (like piano, guitar, ...). Then, the differences are much less noticeable, almost imperceptible when compared to electric instruments (like the rock music in general).

What I hear, especifically better with the combination 550C/DACMAGIC is simply more detail, more textures, better definition and enhanced image, and even I fell a more airy sound. In contrast to the 550C alone, I hear a thud sound, as if the speakers were covered by a thin pastic.

I need to clarify something: the Cambridge 550C is an excellent CD player, most people could live with the 550C very happy without an external DAC. I thank that sound of the 550C is better than my old died NAD 541 (if my listening memory don't lie to me, due to the fact that I wast not able to compare both CD players)

NOW - MAKE IT SING - like a much more expensive unit !!!!

Before I start - make sure you read the WARNING!

OK - Had this unit for a while now and been happy with it - especially streaming via an Apple TV - better sound than my CD!

But I had noticed that the unit and power supply runs a little warm - that usually means it's being taxed a little.

So I started looking at upgrading the power supply, which is not easy since all third party units are generally DC and this requires AC!

Then I had a moment of enlightenment - LOW VOLTAGE LIGHTING!

They use a 12 volt supply - only thing is, the units you can buy (for the garden) have timer crap on them

WARNING: DO NOT - I repeat DO NOT use the latest "electronic transformers" being used in the lighting industry - because they may not produce a true SINE WAVE!

If you can find a proper electrical supply store you can buy IRON CORE lighting transformers - mine is rated 100VA and comes with a heavy steel enclosure approximately 3x6x2.5 inches.

You then need some 16 gauge copper wire and a DC connector (it;s what those little plugs are called). I also included an fuse in the 120v side

Whole thing cost about $50 + my time - but the difference in the details and soundstage was incredible.

Now I'm not sure why CA does not provide a larger power supply - it would cost them peanuts. guess they want to sell you higher end product

REPEAT WARNING: DO NOT - I repeat NO NOT use the latest "electronic transformers" being used in the lighting industry - because they may not produce a true SINE WAVE!

Torroidal transformers would be even better since they are more efficient and far less noisy

Yes, it hums a little, but once I placed some plastic foam under the cover and some rubber feet it was not detectable from my armchair.

This is by far the enhancement with the largest impact I have ever made - like stepping up to $5000 cd player.

Spacious sound, incredible imaging in 3D, amazing details never before heard

I used the power supply from the DACMAGIC on my CA 640p phono stage and guess what - similar improvements we attained!

Both these units needed... MORE POWER!