DAC - To buy or to not buy(Confused)

Well when I got my DAC first, I didn't have the avianos with me. So hooked them up with the now sold polks. The first impressions was WTH. The mids are fine, the highs are good but whats with the bass. The bass seemed to be overly accentuated and the polks were not being able to handle the lows well. Was little disappointed. Still used it for the burnin thing.

Things improved but still the bass was little overpowering so I had to turn down the bass knob a bit to actually get the sound I wanted.

Then came the Avianos. They indeed are GOD sent. They had such a control over the whole spectrum. The highs were good with the polks but after listening to the avianos, I realized how good they sound now.

To me the DAC showed a major improvement in highs and lows. The mids shed all the sibilance they had and the timbre improved but the highs feel so tamed, so softer and nicely put than before. The bass is very fine now. I am not much into techno and other stuff so can't comment about the attack and all but for the kind of music I hear, the accentuated bass, nicely handled by Avianos, threw a new dimension to the mix.

Overall I am very satisfied with the product. In fact highly impressed by the concept of DAC, how they can turn your music into something you never imagined.

There is another aspect to it, though. My wife still doesn't feel any difference. For her, if norah jones is singing, she was singing before and she is singing now :p She simply doesn't understand the improvement in the texture, the subtle improvements, liveliness and vivacity, the presence of human touch.
I can very well tell that people who are new to DAC might not even feel that its worth spending so much on these little devices but as you get deeper into the sound, you'll realize how critical these components are.

I am so excited with this DAC thing that I am thinking of stepping up even higher in the chain. Looking at the Benchmark DAC, Peachtree iDAC and MF M1 at the moment. Itching to get them an replace this one. (Damn this cycle never ends !!!!).
 
Just got the V-DAC and True Colours Industries Coral Cable :)

Congrats!! This thread was like a hindi movie ... loooong and never ending with no climax in sight. :eek:hyeah: Now for the closing scene where chacha chachi maama maami, bhaiyya behen, mausi all gather around to audition the DAC and make final comments before the curtain closes!! :clapping:
 
let her listen to the music on dac for few days/ weeks, and then switch back to non dac version. Difference would be obvious then.
 
I have not even ran my DAC for 1 Hour so can't say much now but I can only say one thing:

Output from WD TV Live: Music is so lazy(sorry couldn't get any other word than lazy), less energy, Low Sound Output.

Output from V-DAC: WOW Music has all the energy it needs like I have feed Glucon-D to the music:lol:, Vocals :eek:hyeah:. Music is more energetic now.

So I am burnin' it more.

These are just my initial impressions.:)

To add more:

Music was seriously lifeless without DAC :)
 
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I have not even ran my DAC for 1 Hour so can't say much now but I can only say one thing:

Output from WD TV Live: Music is so lazy(sorry couldn't get any other word than lazy), less energy, Low Sound Output.

Output from V-DAC: WOW Music has all the energy it needs like I have feed Glucon-D to the music:lol:, Vocals :eek:hyeah:. Music is more energetic now.

So I am burnin' it more.

These are just my initial impressions.:)

To add more:

Music was seriously lifeless without DAC :)

You know what, I felt the same with my Nuforce Udac. If a Udac can do this, V-DAC should have definitely blown you away !!!This is a difference best felt than read :)
 
we need more feedback on your DAC with details as to how the sound had changed for the same songs heard before and after.
 
Abhi waiting for your detailed review...
Based on your review I could go for same DAC as both of us have same setup.
 
ok after listening to my set-up with DAC for 14 days, I guess it is enough for burn-in'ing though I am not a believer of burn-in.

First of all the substantial difference I have found between WD TV Live and V-DAC is the sound output. Let say 10 O' clock position of WD TV Live is equal to 9:10 or 9:15 O' clock position having V-DAC in a chain. V-DAC is not at all aggressive sounding DAC even when the volume control is on the 12 O' clock position though I never needed to put the volume control on 12 O' clock position after having V-DAC in a chain.

There was a less energy with the analogue output of WD TV Live whereas such thing is not present having V-DAC in a chain. I can say that there is a good degree of articulation(understandibility of voice and instruments and their intereactions) having V-DAC in a chain. There is now a definition in music one can also say resolution which is important to reveal the insidious information from the music. Depth is also gud which was not good with the WD TV Live.

The sound is more dynamic now as I have written before in this post about the energy in music. Focus in a music has increased. One thing which is really noticeable is the "fullness" in sound i.e., good low frequency response, male and female voices are very gud. Bass is more tight and controlled even my DAD, MOM and bro were able to notice this thing. There is a grip, sturdiness in the bass now.

Now come to the important trait of Musical Fidelity V-DAC which is it's mid-range - Very lush aka Rich, Full which has a sense of warmth & fullness, mids has more authority with a life in it. No sibilance or brightness to talk about in the mids, absolutely no. Listening to "My Heart Will Go On of Celine Dion" will show you V-DAC's important trait which is it's mid-range.

Soundstage is very good, excellent.

The sound is more transient now, I can say this coz I listen to James Asher and Anandan Sivamani who are a percussionist. Sometimes I feel like I am listening to their percussion live.

If anyone is afraid that V-DAC can tends to increase the high frequencies in his stereo system so just forget this thing. High frequencies are smooth, not lacking any detail INMHO.

I have also took the optical out of my Xonar DX to the DAC and I was not able to find out any difference may be because the final sound coming from the V-DAC.

Musical Fidelity V-DAC's sound signature is like one can listen to it for couple of hours without any ear-fatigue.

Thank You All.


With Warm Regards,

abhi_jollyguy
 
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Hi Guys,

New to the forum, been going through the pages, but haven't found the real answer to a question I have.. Think this is the right topic, but if it's the wrong one, please shoot me down gently.. :)

I listen mostly to music by streaming it from my macbook through Apple TV to my receiver.

I have the following set up:
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V557
Speakers: Wharfedale Diamond III / IV's.

Though I'm not unhappy with my sound, I hear many stores that a separate DAC will make a lot of difference. As I now have the chance to buy a DAC Magic for a good price, I'm tempted.. I love music, so really tempted actually.

But am unsure if it will make any difference. Some say that as long as you listen to MP3's it won't be a huge difference (a turd will always remain a turd....), though elsewhere I do read that even with MP3's, a separate DAC will make a difference..

What would you think?
 
A DAC does make a huge amount of difference to listening even if you are using the Apple TVs internal DAC....

Do try and compare a separate DAC vis a vis streaming from Apple TV and then decide on a DAC...

There are good used DACs availavle on hifiads as well....
 
Great, many thanks for your answer. Unsure if I can try one before at home, but this definitely got me thinking in buying one.. Was just uncertain if it also helps if you mostly listen to MP3's..
 
Even FLAC's will get better with a good dac. And the crappier the source, the larger the improvement.

It makes it sharper without making it harsher if that makes sense.

Cool.
Srinath.
 
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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