Heresy here....but, could it be that there isn't as much difference between DACs/Players as is touted? I've had similar experiences over the years in a roughly equivalent system switching between Rotel/Theta Theta/Sony Rotel/MSB and Pioneer/MSB. I still keep upgrading and I think my system sounds better each time, but on that A/B test, I don't know and it makes me wonder....
Getting more from my DAC
I need some advice. I've put together a mid-fi office system over the last few months:
Sony XE500 CDP acting as a transport
MSB Link DAC III with 24/96 upsampling
McCormack Micro Integrated Drive amp with upgraded PS
Tannoy System 600 nearfield monitors
Toslink cable between transport and DAC. Ratshack gold series interconnect between DAC and amp. Audioquest Type 6+ wire between amp and speakers.
I was fairly happy with this system until I tried connecting the Sony CDP directly to aux posts on the amp and switching back and forth between the CDP/DAC combination and the stand-alone CDP. On a straight A/B comparison, using the selector switch on the front of the amp, I hear almost no difference, even with well recorded piano music/female vocal/jazz.
This is disappointing. The amp is low powered but pretty transparent, I believe - as are the speakers, which were designed as pro monitors and have a reputation for being revealing. So why aren't I hearing a more perceptible improvement - change, even - in the sound when the DAC is introduced into the system?
Are my crappy cables strangling the DAC? Is the transport too cheapo to let the DAC do its work? Do I need to follow the MSB/Modwright upgrade path before the DAC will really shine in my system? Or is the whole system a bit too bargain-basement to benefit from a decent DAC?
Words of wisdom gratefully received.
Sony XE500 CDP acting as a transport
MSB Link DAC III with 24/96 upsampling
McCormack Micro Integrated Drive amp with upgraded PS
Tannoy System 600 nearfield monitors
Toslink cable between transport and DAC. Ratshack gold series interconnect between DAC and amp. Audioquest Type 6+ wire between amp and speakers.
I was fairly happy with this system until I tried connecting the Sony CDP directly to aux posts on the amp and switching back and forth between the CDP/DAC combination and the stand-alone CDP. On a straight A/B comparison, using the selector switch on the front of the amp, I hear almost no difference, even with well recorded piano music/female vocal/jazz.
This is disappointing. The amp is low powered but pretty transparent, I believe - as are the speakers, which were designed as pro monitors and have a reputation for being revealing. So why aren't I hearing a more perceptible improvement - change, even - in the sound when the DAC is introduced into the system?
Are my crappy cables strangling the DAC? Is the transport too cheapo to let the DAC do its work? Do I need to follow the MSB/Modwright upgrade path before the DAC will really shine in my system? Or is the whole system a bit too bargain-basement to benefit from a decent DAC?
Words of wisdom gratefully received.
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- 14 posts total
- 14 posts total