Sufentanil - That was exactly my reasoning. I have now DVD player and Airport Express (computer across the room) connected to Benchmark DAC1. According to Stereophile review Bel Canto DAC3 is better (and has remote) than Benchmark DAC1 but costs 2.5x more.
I need help - Better DAC or NEW CD player?
I am in the middle of purchasing some components for my new system, unfortunately, reading posts on a rainy night on Audigon only makes my "upgradeatitis" syndrom more acute.
The problem is that some time ago, I bought a squeezebox Duet, to use as transport for lossless files. The idea obviously was to get a good DAC to go along with it.
The one I was almost set on was the Dacmagic, which gets very good reviews here and almost everywhere you look. But, on the other hand, I am willing to spend a little more......Now, the thing is my current CD player is a Rotel RCD 1072, and was wondering whether this Dacmagic would give me any improvements if I use the rotel as a transport for it.
Or, I could get for example a Wyred DAC or a Benchmark DAC1 and use the Rotel for transport, but I dont know the limits of the Rotel as transport alone, I dont want to spend 600 more bucks on a better DAC to be fed with 2 "not so good" transports (the Duet and the Rotel).
So I am kinda stuck!! On the other hand I am contemplating getting the Dacmagic to use only for the Duet, and getting a new better CD player altogether, which puts me into another doubt, I dont know if the little money I can for the rotel + lets say 1000 more will really give me any improvements in the system if I purchase a whole new CD player since the Rotel is said to be very capable.
FWIW my amp will be a W4S STI500 and speakers are B&W 803D.
Let me know what you think about this and your suggestions on what you would do.... thanks in advance for all your help!
The problem is that some time ago, I bought a squeezebox Duet, to use as transport for lossless files. The idea obviously was to get a good DAC to go along with it.
The one I was almost set on was the Dacmagic, which gets very good reviews here and almost everywhere you look. But, on the other hand, I am willing to spend a little more......Now, the thing is my current CD player is a Rotel RCD 1072, and was wondering whether this Dacmagic would give me any improvements if I use the rotel as a transport for it.
Or, I could get for example a Wyred DAC or a Benchmark DAC1 and use the Rotel for transport, but I dont know the limits of the Rotel as transport alone, I dont want to spend 600 more bucks on a better DAC to be fed with 2 "not so good" transports (the Duet and the Rotel).
So I am kinda stuck!! On the other hand I am contemplating getting the Dacmagic to use only for the Duet, and getting a new better CD player altogether, which puts me into another doubt, I dont know if the little money I can for the rotel + lets say 1000 more will really give me any improvements in the system if I purchase a whole new CD player since the Rotel is said to be very capable.
FWIW my amp will be a W4S STI500 and speakers are B&W 803D.
Let me know what you think about this and your suggestions on what you would do.... thanks in advance for all your help!
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- 42 posts total
Kijanki and 4est, The Benchmark DAC and the Wavelength/Ayre DACs are both asynchronous, and neither is "adaptive." Meaning that in both cases the d/a conversion process is accomplished with a clock that is independent of the computer's clock and that is not periodically "adapted" or re-synchronized to the computer's clock. However the techniques used in the Asynchronous Sample Rate Converter (Benchmark) approach involve some very small degree of interpolation as part of the jitter elimination process, as mentioned on the first page of the datasheet Kijanki linked to, while the Asynchronous USB (Ayre/Wavelength) approach does not. Charles Hansen's well-written white paper on the Ayre DAC addresses this further and provides some good additional background. Under what circumstances and to what degree that interpolation may be audibly significant, I have no idea. Best regards, -- Al |
Thank you Al for the clarification. The Benchmark is a great DAC and can be very revealing- worth the trouble. After experimenting with one for the better part of three years, I keep finding ways to get more out of it, hence my initial post about transports mattering. I purchased a hiFace usb>spdif for hi rez (async type like ayre requiring drivers) computer use and noticed it took the usb up a notch. This lead me to experimenting with different connections on it including using my Weiss DAC as a firewire to spdif converter. The only reason I posted in the first place was that if I hadn't tried different transports (and then servers), I would have sent my first Benchmark back. The first transport I tried was an Oppo DVD player that I was looking to replace the DAC section w/. Well, that Oppo (the original), and my current Oppo (983) both suck as tranports, and yet are very servicable with video and as cd players. The same thing with an higher end 50# copper clad SACD player. Of the five transports I tried, 3 were "dull", and the best was a $40 cheapie DVD from Best Buy with an awful picture that lasted 6 months before it quit. I have a hard time imagining that only one was "bit transparent". I also know that it isn't just galvanic isolation as I have tried optical USB and it sounds different than toslink from the same server. In all of these I never had any clicks, spits or sputters (until I tried Pure Music- another story). The Benchmark was a ground breaking product in my mind, but is not infallible. It can be sensitive to power and its input- both of which Benchmark claims isn't. Ultimately what does one expect for $1000 in this hobby anyway? |
Regarding Sufentinal's comment: "...unless you get one of those relatively rare CD players that does have digital inputs." This is why I recommended the Cambridge 840. It has an excellent transport, power supply and chassis, better DAC's and electronics than the DacMagic, and the ability to play disks or serve as an upsampling DAC for external transports. In it's price range, it is a "relatively rare CD player" in terms of sound quality, versatility and value. The company has been on a roll lately, and my guess is that they will be coming out with the successor to the 840 soon, probably called the "850". So the 840's may be available new at discounted prices soon, and a new and likely more capable player will also available to purchase at a price point near the previous model. To provide one person's opinion on the DacMagic versus the DAC performance in the Rotel 1072 - there is no comparison. The DacMagic is much more musical, with better PRAT and overall resolution. Not a horizontal moove in my opinion. That said, the Cambridge 840 is more natural and "analog" sounding than either. |
- 42 posts total