DAC - To buy or to not buy(Confused)

[sanjgupt]

How about music fidelity V-dac? How experts on this forum would rate V-dac?
my friend is traveling to UK soon. so I was thinking to get V-dac from there. Kindly suggest.. other option is to get DACmagic. but I am more inclined towards V-dac. please suggest if any other option..

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

How about music fidelity V-dac? How experts on this forum would rate V-dac?
my friend is traveling to UK soon. so I was thinking to get V-dac from there. Kindly suggest.. other option is to get DACmagic. but I am more inclined towards V-dac. please suggest if any other option..

Why r u going for Music Fidelity V-DAC? May I know the reason? Is it better than the DACMagic?

 

[arun_chak]

You may also consider Nova from Peachtree audio. Looks like that DAC is good and it has a tube in preamp stage. An audiophile product. Check this thread:

http://www.hifivision.com/authorised-dealers/4190-taking-orders-nova-peachtree.html

Cheers,
Arun

 

[sanjgupt]

Why r u going for Music Fidelity V-DAC? May I know the reason? Is it better than the DACMagic?

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just going based on reviews. v-dac has more favorable reviews than dacmagic.
I am not an expert on high-end music

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

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just going based on reviews. v-dac has more favorable reviews than dacmagic.
I am not an expert on high-end music

I am also not an expert on high-end music. I was asking u that what made moving towards V-DAC?

 

[sanjgupt]

You may also consider Nova from Peachtree audio. Looks like that DAC is good and it has a tube in preamp stage. An audiophile product. Check this thread:

http://www.hifivision.com/authorised-dealers/4190-taking-orders-nova-peachtree.html

Cheers,
Arun

cost of Nova DAC seems to be very high ~ $1500.

 

[rana_kirti]

the sheer no. of dacs out there is gonna make it very difficult to make a choice.... so read multiple reviews of products u cant demo and try to get a demo of the ones you can....

 

[venkatcr]

anybody suggest DAC idea for xtremerpro

There is no such thing as DAC for a particular player. You can use a DAC with any player that has a digital out.

Cheers

 

[StanleyB]

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%

50% is a very small amount. I look for at least a 100% improvement on a system with a DAC. In other words: the improvement has to be like night and day. If you have to concentrate on detecting the improvement then the cost to achieve it might be just in the mind.

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

50% is a very small amount. I look for at least a 100% improvement on a system with a DAC. In other words: the improvement has to be like night and day. If you have to concentrate on detecting the improvement then the cost to achieve it might be just in the mind.

Is it true? Will I see 100% sound quality improvement if I use DAC with my present set-up?

 

[venkatcr]

Abhi, as I said before it is incorrect to put a percentage to the 'improvement'. SQ is very subjective. What is good for one man's ears could be bad for another man's ears. Unless you do a large number of auditioning, you cannot quantify what you are missing or what you are getting.

It is also important to understand what improvements you are looking for. Yes, a good external DAC will certainly improve the sound coming from most media players. What the improvements are and whether the improvements are what YOU are looking for are things only you can decide. There are so many aspects to sound - clarity, soundstage, transients, tightness, separation..... quite a long list.

You will certainly find improvements when you use a DAC. Frankly you will be stupid if you try to put a percentage and decide on that basis. You have to listen to the DAC yourself, and do a A-B comparison of the same songs with your current setup.

Cheers

 

[sydney]

check this link

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets/documents/Hi-Fi_Choice_DacMagic_group-test_April2010.pdf

 

[shailenderb]

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

Agree with Venkat. I too heard Arcam rDAC with Dune at Raghu's (Decibel) and ended up buying Dune HD Prime 3. Planning to get rDAC soon.

Regds / Shailender

 

[abhi_jollyguy]

check this link

http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets/documents/Hi-Fi_Choice_DacMagic_group-test_April2010.pdf

Thanks a lot for this link, It helped me a lot Thank u

 

[rana_kirti]

m looking at either the Nuforce icon uDAC 2 or MF V-DAC. It'll be one of these two for me.

 

[StanleyB]

Is it true? Will I see 100% sound quality improvement if I use DAC with my present set-up?

You aren't guaranteed to see a 100% improvement with just any DAC and system. If you already have an excellent system then the DAC might make next to no difference. But if your system is acceptable, then a good DAC can make a big difference.

 

[StanleyB]

m looking at either the Nuforce icon uDAC 2 or MF V-DAC. It'll be one of these two for me.

There are quite a few customers comments on the VDAC that might put a damper on your expectations of it. What HIFI also did a group test. Also see the comments from a customer at Beresford Caiman DAC - The Art of Sound Forum.

 

[magma]

"acceptable" systems now theres a debate !

most people dont realise the most expensive part to a music setup is Reality(real estate!)
Meaning - the room you actaully put your setup in
The room treatments and placements are probably the most important factor in "acceptable" systems

the above has been stated by quite a senior member more than a couple times
The above INMO contributes most to the music your hear

entry level dacs in entry level systems in a typical indian room with compromised positioning
(im assuming most of us in INida dont have a dedicated listening rooms and almost all audio setups are compromised seriosuly due to this in placements,room treatments etc)
is going to do nothing

though im no one to advice
ive heard too many statemnts " wow this DAC is super - improved the sound by 25%!"
i dont know what to say to that
Do you actaully know what 25% iprovemnet is?!
it would bloody be phenomenal

personally i just cant belive entry level dacs in entry systems could be such good magicians

 

[StanleyB]

personally i just cant belive entry level dacs in entry systems could be such good magicians

I feel sorry for you and your wallet if you have such a low opinion of the price tag on a DAC that cost very little. The PCB and componnets on more than 95% of all external DACs cost less than U$100 to build. The largest part of the cost on the expensive DACs is spent on the case, marketing, and profiteering.

 

[unleash_me]

personally i just cant belive entry level dacs in entry systems could be such good magicians

Try it out with any decent enough 'entry level' headphone and see if you can notice the magic!