Well, I took the DacMagic that I borrowed back to the shop last night, and the guy was like, "so soon." I told him my experience and he didn't question it. He simply asked about what I was trying to do, and, of course, I told him that I wanted to make my system sound better.
He told me that, when upgrading, you should always do it from the perspective of attacking the weakest point in your system.
I told him what I had and what my listening habits were and he flat out told me that I'd get the biggest bang for the buck by getting a better preamp. He suggested an Audio Research LS-3. Once I do that, then I'll turn my attention to first my digital source and then the DAC.
He suggested that, with my budget in mind, the Aragon/Audio Research combo will take me a long way before either is the limiting factor in my system.
I hope he's right because all of the equipment swapping that I've done in the last few months is starting to be a PITA and I'd really like to get to a point where I'm listening to the music rather than the equipment.
He told me that, when upgrading, you should always do it from the perspective of attacking the weakest point in your system.
I told him what I had and what my listening habits were and he flat out told me that I'd get the biggest bang for the buck by getting a better preamp. He suggested an Audio Research LS-3. Once I do that, then I'll turn my attention to first my digital source and then the DAC.
He suggested that, with my budget in mind, the Aragon/Audio Research combo will take me a long way before either is the limiting factor in my system.
I hope he's right because all of the equipment swapping that I've done in the last few months is starting to be a PITA and I'd really like to get to a point where I'm listening to the music rather than the equipment.