Dacmagic

[Adhiraj]

Just bought the CA Dacmagic and I am in love with it!

Was previously using El Cheapo philips DVD player as source,sounded thin,no body ,no detail.Add CA Dacmagic and instant and very evident improvement in overall detail and soundstage.This thing uses dual mono Wolfson Dac's that feature in CD players of Rs.40,000+ Category,it cost me about 23,000 + 4000 that the Philips cost me and Voila! Magic! Oh and computer usb input is a nifty addition.Recommend it highly, unless ofcourse if you are already using a decent CD player +20,000 ,in which case it would probably not make that dramatic an improvement.But if you are using MidFi gear ,my God are you in for a world of fun.

Cheers!

 

[vinod_david]

Congrats, that's a superb DAC. The x2 Wolfson inside Magic, is the same as in CA 640c V2, so I can understand your joy!

 

[gobble]

Great. another forum member I know was about to buy this and was curious. He should be reassured by your post.

cheers

 

[Adhiraj]

Yep, thats the one 640C V2 ,very very highly regarded CD player.Really surprised by what it did to the Philips ,now it sounds almost as good as my analogue source

 

[Kittu]

Adhiraj,

Congratulations!!!!!:clapping:

How is the USB play from computer thru the DACmagic. Did u connect DAC magic to any amp or using directly ? btw what speakers you have ...

Kittu

 

[gobble]

Yep, thats the one 640C V2 ,very very highly regarded CD player.Really surprised by what it did to the Philips ,now it sounds almost as good as my analogue source

What is your analog source?

 

[rallynut]

it is a well regarded budget dac,and the plethora of inputs can be very useful indeed.btw,ur analog source?heh,sounds like an echo in here!congrats

 

[Adhiraj]

@Kittu ,yes the dacmagic connects to the computer directly via usb and shows up and installs automatically ,plug and play,its that simple.I am using a NAD C355Bee Amp also a recent purchase.

@Rallynut and @Gobble

My analogue source is also a budget piece but it does the job with my current speakers beautifully.I am using a Project Debut 3e with a phono pre amp designed and built by a friend of mine ,the phono pre is designed to be specific to the cartridge that I am using (Ortofon OM5e reviewed here Ortofon OM5E...The Perfect Low Cost Phono Cartridge Or The Poor Man's Reference Pickup? - Ortofon OM 5 E Magnet Phono Cartridge - Epinions.com ) as in it contains equalisation specific to the cart.
Klipsch Synergy F1s are my mains at present ,nice and for the price that I got them at nicer still but soon going to be the following

http://www.hifivision.com/diy/11991-soundlogic-atma.html

 

[rallynut]

oh neat,another vinyl guy .enjoy the music.cheers

 

[gobble]

oh neat,another vinyl guy .enjoy the music.cheers

And he loves the digital sound Gawk! Gawk!

Why dont you take the analog in from your Vinyl in to the ADC and let the DAC bring it out in full bloom again ? You might like it "better" hyeah:

 

[Adhiraj]

I tend to treat them both differently but equally .
There is a certain charm that Vinyl has that CDs just cant replicate ,I feel that the transient respone ,especially in the treble section,and dynamic range in my vinyl setup beats the my CD hands down any day of the week.
But CDs have convenience and obviously music availability,no crakle pops and hiss.So yeah ,both different both with pros and cons, none a bastard child.

When it comes to vinyl its as much the feel of playing a vinyl,than the quality of sound.Somehow it makes the experience more interesting and less clinical.That little bit more emotive.Especially since you have to frikking care for the media ,and records are so hard to come by that you end up being somewhat emotionally attached to the albums you have.Whereas mp3,just download it again.We can wax eloquent about technicalities ,but you cant argue against emotion baby!

 

[Adhiraj]

15 years into the future,our kids will look at us strangely when we talk about holding and reading a good paperback book.We wont be able to argue with the obvious advantages of ebook readers.But the feel and the smell of an old classic is something we will find very hard to explain to our children who will,by then be used to the smell of what ,an Ipad.
Unfortunate for us romantics ,but such is the inevitability of progress !

 

[CLEARCUT]

Of course i prefer behringer dec 2496 more versatile and too good and cheap.

 

[Adhiraj]

@Clearcut
I wasnt aware that the Behringer DCX 2496 was a standalone DAC ,I always thought of it more as a crossover system with a few loundspeaker management tools.How do you get around the problem of differing voltages in the input and output and level matching of pro and consumer audio? Do you also fashion the balanced to RCA connectors yourself or are you using completely balanced drive?

 

[thevortex]

I think Clearcut may have been talking about the DEQ2496.

The SRC2496 too can act as a standalone DAC apart from chipping in with other duties.

 

[CLEARCUT]

Ya its deq 2496. Versatile, connections via xlr. More versatile. But i use it as a dac only. No boost or lowering. I come to know it can also be used as adc. I dont know how it will be. Self learning with technical interest is needed here for adjustments. Brochure is not so simple.

 

[Adhiraj]

Does it give -10Dbv or +4Dbu as output level? What amp are you using ? if you are using a home amp how do you manage to interface both levels without overloading your amp input?

 

[thevortex]

Does it give -10Dbv or +4Dbu as output level? What amp are you using ? if you are using a home amp how do you manage to interface both levels without overloading your amp input?

It can do better than that. It can even be used as a full preamp given that it can do gain adjustment from -30 db to +30. Apart from that there is also a switch behind which controls overall output level and switches between professional level (+22 dbu, if I remember right) and normal home audio level (+10, again if I remember right).

 

[Adhiraj]

Hmmm, I see how it could be used ,but I guess better for eq then Dac.Again the convenience of using the Dacmagic as a super high quality external soundcard to your PC is unbeatable besides it uses twin Wolfson WM8740 DACs ,all in all an excellent product for the price.

 

[rajuwaste]

Hi Adhiraj,
I read an article which is telling OPPO BDP-83 audio performance is almost equivalent to Cambridge Audio DacMagic.As per my understanding it could even playback upto 24 bit 192khz format so that we can enjoy greater depth audio as well ( I hope cd audio limited to 16bit 44khz).