DAC - To buy or to not buy(Confused)

[abhi_jollyguy]

As u guys can clearly see my set-up in my SIG, so my confusion is whether to buy DAC or not?

If yes so will it increase the sound quality? If yes so how much will it increase by using DAC?

My main source is WD TV Live only can say that I use 95-98% WD TV Live to play anything.

Thank you.

 

[rikhav]

Depends on the source material you use. If you play lossy mp3's, there is no point investing in a DAC

 

[Kittu]

Pack your setup completely and send it to bangalore .. We will source a DAC here to test it few months and let you know how is it going to improve the sound Quality...

If you are going to directly use the PC output to AMP , DAC certainly can bring in some improvements .. Hard to tell % ... But it sure will improve.

 

[iaudio]

I think Abhi wants to use the DAC with his WD Live mostly and with his DVD player otherwise when he wants to play CDs.
Abhi, the improvement in SQ with a budget DAC is not going to be phenomenal, rather it will be marginal and evident only with very critical listening. What is the budget you have in mind?

 

[venkatcr]

I think it is safe to say that any good quality external DAC will certainly be a vast improvement over the internal processing and D to A capabilities of WDTV Live. I have heard enormous improvements over the capabilities of a Dune by an Arcam rDAC.

Cheers

 

[audiodelic]

I think it is safe to say that any good quality external DAC will certainly be a vast improvement over the internal processing and D to A capabilities of WDTV Live. I have heard enormous improvements over the capabilities of a Dune by an Arcam rDAC.

Cheers

i second that .... the caiman got me substantial improvement even when using with ae a5

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

Depends on the source material you use. If you play lossy mp3's, there is no point investing in a DAC

My source material is 320 kbps, FLAC format songs, DVD Songs and blu-ray movies only.

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

Pack your setup completely and send it to bangalore .. We will source a DAC here to test it few months and let you know how is it going to improve the sound Quality...

If you are going to directly use the PC output to AMP , DAC certainly can bring in some improvements .. Hard to tell % ... But it sure will improve.

LOL:lol:

Actually Day before yesterday I have sourced my AMP to my PC Sound card which has ASUS Xonar DX and the sound output and clarity increased that is why this DAC idea comes in my mind.

That is why I am asking whether to buy DAC or not if yes so by how much it will improve the sound quality.

The following DAC's are in my mind if I need to buy it:

1. Arcam rDAC
2. Cambridge Audio DacMagic

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

I think Abhi wants to use the DAC with his WD Live mostly and with his DVD player otherwise when he wants to play CDs.
Abhi, the improvement in SQ with a budget DAC is not going to be phenomenal, rather it will be marginal and evident only with very critical listening. What is the budget you have in mind?

Yes u understood correctly, I will use the DAC with my WD TV Live mostly. As u said budget DAC

so these are my chosen DAC's:

1. Arcam rDAC
2. Cambridge Audio DacMagic

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

I think it is safe to say that any good quality external DAC will certainly be a vast improvement over the internal processing and D to A capabilities of WDTV Live. I have heard enormous improvements over the capabilities of a Dune by an Arcam rDAC.

Cheers

hmm Thank you

 

[Kittu]

LOL:lol:

Actually Day before yesterday I have sourced my AMP to my PC Sound card which has ASUS Xonar DX and the sound output and clarity increased that is why this DAC idea comes in my mind.

That is why I am asking whether to buy DAC or not if yes so by how much it will improve the sound quality.

The following DAC's are in my mind if I need to buy it:

1. Arcam rDAC
2. Cambridge Audio DacMagic

You can add Caiman also to the list. CA Dacmagic has got some good reviews ... rDac is new to the market with some new wireless features etc.
There is one more Emotiva XDA1 ... Try all of these post your detailed impressions .

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

i second that .... the caiman got me substantial improvement even when using with ae a5

But remember that u were using ur A5 from ur lappy integrated sound card - this is I can say from ur SIG.

so it's obvious that u will see big improvements using ur A5 with Bresford DAC:licklips:

 

[audiodelic]

But remember that u were using ur A5 from ur lappy integrated sound card - this is I can say from ur SIG.

so it's obvious that u will see big improvements using ur A5 with Bresford DAC:licklips:

actually i was using creative soundblaster xtreme notebook pcmia

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

I have just talked to Mr. Shane Coithramani from FX Entertainment about Cambridge Audio DACMagic and I have told him about my complete set-up and he said that the sound quality will improve minimum by 50%

 

[venkatcr]

Abhi, the sound output, particularly for music, is very subjective. If you read the reviews of Benchmark's DAC1, many people say it is as close to 100% accurate as possible. But the same reviewers call the output dry, and 'without a soul'. I have heard the DAC1 along with single driver speaker and an ordinary Marantz CD player. I have yet to hear any other system equal that in terms of soundstage, clarity, and fatigue free listening.

But remember this was from a CD through a CD player. Playing a file through a media player is a different matter altogether.

If you have shortlisted a few DACs, I would strongly suggest you listen to the same songs across all the DACs, and then make your purchase. Carrying a WDTV Live for audition should not be an issue.

Do not take a hurried decision based on some random percentages thrown at you. Remember, your ears have to tell you the percentage improvement, if at all you can measure it. You are talking about a 20-30K very critical investment for your music. Take you time and make a valued decision.

Cheers

 

[unleash_me]

I have just talked to Mr. Shane Coithramani from FX Entertainment about Cambridge Audio DACMagic and I have told him about my complete set-up and he said that the sound quality will improve minimum by 50%

Did Mr.Coithramani care to explain how he got that exact figure?

I was an early adopter of the Beresford few years back. I've moved on since then but this little dac brought great improvements to the sound output from my T60 laptop via an xfi notebook pcmia card. Even though I used it primarily as a headamp for HD595, when connected to my then system, iirc it was as good as or perhaps slightly better than my old denon 1920 dvdp which on itself can double as a decent entry level cdp for the money. Later I had a chance to compare the newer caiman with dacmagic and to my ears, the caiman was better. In your budget, you might also find MHDT's entry level Constantine interesting if you are into NOS DACs.

Cheers.

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

Abhi, the sound output, particularly for music, is very subjective. If you read the reviews of Benchmark's DAC1, many people say it is as close to 100% accurate as possible. But the same reviewers call the output dry, and 'without a soul'. I have heard the DAC1 along with single driver speaker and an ordinary Marantz CD player. I have yet to hear any other system equal that in terms of soundstage, clarity, and fatigue free listening.

But remember this was from a CD through a CD player. Playing a file through a media player is a different matter altogether.

If you have shortlisted a few DACs, I would strongly suggest you listen to the same songs across all the DACs, and then make your purchase. Carrying a WDTV Live for audition should not be an issue.

Do not take a hurried decision based on some random percentages thrown at you. Remember, your ears have to tell you the percentage improvement, if at all you can measure it. You are talking about a 20-30K very critical investment for your music. Take you time and make a valued decision.

Cheers

yes, u are right that playing a file through a media player is a different matter, coz WD TV Live is very small in size.

As u said that listen to same songs across all the DACs so I am from Gwalior and the DACs are available in Delhi or mumbai:sad: and yes I am not taking any hurried decision. I will take full time to make my decision whether to buy it or not as my topic name also saying "whether to buy or to not".

Thank you for ur concern

 

[spirovious]

Emotiva DAC owner experience & comparison is welcomed here.

 

[venkatcr]

Emotiva DAC owner experience & comparison is welcomed here.

I think a few members are awaiting delivery. I am not sure whether any have received it as yet.

Cheers

 

[roseboy24]

anybody suggest DAC idea for xtremerpro