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What made the biggest, most noticeable improvement

My musical fidelity v-dac ii broke and is being repaired under warranty but while it is away it made me think that out of all the improvements I have made to my rig since this craziness started 9 months ago, my dac made the biggest, most noticeable improvement. Every other upgrade made slight improvents here and there but my dac (with upgraded power supply, of course) gave me far better imaging, tighter more defined bass, and more micro detail. I figure the dac in my denon dvd2900 is good and that the dac in the classe ssp 25 pre-amp is good (both sound the same to me) but the musical fidelity v-dac ii with upgraded power supply just blows them away, and I figure it's out classed by many other dacs. Anyhow, besides speaker placement and speakers, what made the biggest improvement in sound quality to your rig including acoustic panels, diffusors and bass traps?
128x128b_limo
b_limo's avatar
b_limo OP
2,273 posts
 
Hey there, Patal! If your question is directed towards me I've got to say that there are people here way more qualified to answer than I. Just start a new thread with that exact question and you will get many, good responses! I'll go out on a limb and say that a DAC will be the better choice, but who knows, I may be wrong! If you are planning on doing both crossovers and a dac, crossovers may be the better first step, not sure though. All I know is that I can't wait to get my dac back :-)
patal
21 posts
 
Hi B,thanks for yoyur response,I already have aDAC and I am in a quandry whether to spend thousands on upgrading the crossovers.To be honest I am listening to the system and saying to myself how much better can this get in relation to cost.The delights of having HI Fi as a hobby ?
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,302 posts
 
The BSG Qol
aaronknock
44 posts
 
In what began as a very modest hi-fi, I've upgraded or auditioned much more expensive amps, sources, speakers cables, interconnects, power cords, power conditioners, stands, and speakers. Obtaining a great DAC made the biggest difference.
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
The biggest, most noticeable improvement? Well, lessee...

First it was the speakers
Then it was the amp
Then it was the cables
Then it was the room
Then it was the treatments
Then it was the cdp
Then it was the DAC
Then it was the preamp
Then it was the amp again
Then it was the speakers again
Then it was the DAC again...

Get the point? The point being that any component or adjustmet to the listening event carries the capacity to be perceptually the most impressive improvement encountered up to that time. I'm not saying they all do all the time; one must select well to get such a gain in a component.

IOW, it is a fruitless endeavor to seek a magical component which supposedly will confer the best gain or improvement. I have heard representatives from all of the above with the capacity to stunn in terms of improvement of a rig's sound.
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