2. digital
  3. 1066871413

Adding a DAC to a cdp

I enjoy the stories of transport and dac combos that come real close to sound produced by high end turntables. With over 500 cds I am not about to go to vinyl or even another digital format at this point. I currently have a Rega Planet 2000 cdp - decent but I know not the final word in cd players. I understand that my Planet has a pretty decent DAC built in. I also think that one option I might consider is the addition of an outboard dac between my cd player and amplifier turning the Planet into a Transport. Have read wonderful things about Bel Canto, EVS, Audio Note and too many other great dacs and how they can enhance the cd based listening experience and that the technology is really jumping forward. From your expierience what would I hear if I took this approach.
ladavid
reubent
6,973 posts
 
LADavid,

"your mileage may vary" depending on the rest of your system. What amp/pre-amp, speakers are you using? If your system is not a high resolution system and if you do not sit down in the sweet spot and critically listen, it may be difficult to appreciate the difference.

That said, I do have significant $ in my digital front end (Resolution Audio Opus21 CD player-$3500 list) and it was worth it for me. My system is highly resolving and I do sit in the sweet spot and do a lot of critical listening.

If I were in the market to perform a DAC experiment today (BTW, I have owned many different external DACs) I would buy a dACK! from Chris Own or the Scott Nixon TubeDac. Both are very reasonable at less than $400 new and both get nearly universal praise from those who have actually heard them. For more information about these two DACs, check out the forums ar www.audiocircle.com and www.audioasylum.com.

I might even buy a dACK! myself, just as an experiment. It is battery powered and comes with a charger. All indications are that is is world class, but at a real world price.

Enjoy,

TIC
viggen
838 posts
 
Just to second what the Cincinnati kid proposed, I highly praise my Nixon DAC. I got the $250 barebones version and have no complaints about it wutsoever other than its ugly. I think it definitely moves digital away from what is perceived as stereotypical digital sound.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
I would side with Phild...factor in Dac,interconnects,etc...not to mention "jitter" issues...I would simply upgrade to a new single box player...however...be prepared to spend more...alot more...to even marginally surpass the REGA....that being said...BEL CANTO digital players sound amazing...
after_hrs
128 posts
 
This post is very appropriate here.

I just recieved the AVA Omegastar dac. Its connected to a Rotel 955ax...for the moment. Just breaking it in but, right out of the box its resolving everything, back wall reflections in the studio, etc.! Pretty crazy. I think after its run in I'll just float away. So far I'm floored. What a far cry from the econo-dacs a few years back. My first was a dac-in-the-box (slow, veiled, dynamically challenged) follow by the venerable Audio Alchemy DDE 3.0 w/DTI Pro-32 fully modded by Dusty vawter. So far there is no comparison between the AA power duo and the Omegastar DAC. I'll just say so far it has the most natural, grainless presentation I've heard in my system. That incl. the most expensive Camelot dac, at 3 or 4 grand. This is insanely close to top vinyl.

The Bel Canto dac2 was on my shortlist but this AVA dac is something (4k) special at 1k...It recieved a Golden Ear Award from TAS, thats always good.
More to discover