@utkarsh That's a nice deal you got there.
@Flash: Do you really need an invite mate? Lets take the combo for a spin this weekend
And yeah love the O Brother...
One of the finest films and OSTs
Back to the DAC
1. The installation was a breeze.
2. It replaces one input (Disc) selection.
3. It's not Plug n Play like other USB DACs. (Well PnP for 16/44.1 but not above) It needs the NAD drivers which is both good and bad. The driver gives 24/96. This was a bit hit and miss upsampling. Works great for some music, not much difference with others.
4. The sound is brilliant for the price. I compared with a Maverick Audio D1, HRT MSII and CA 540C
Lets talk more about the sound. These are my observations and going by my overall liking for the NAD house take things with some "Captain Cook"
Detailing: This is the biggest plus of the DAC. It is brutally revealing and detailed. No obvious coloration or warmth which was my biggest concern going for this. For me the HRT MSII was a fairly detailed DAC but it had its limitations on the lower side of the frequency spectrum, and they were uncomfortable at times even for a non-bass-head like me. The Maverick has an extended low and it was pleasing to the ears till I had heard the Beresford. The NAD goes very close to the Gatorized Caiman, and it is a huge complement. The mids are perfect, something you could expect from a NAD and highs are not suppressed at all. Tried getting the tape-out to a Yamaha power amp and my Denon 1611 and boy did that remind me how piercingly bright the Paradigms could sound. I had forgotten that aspect of the Paradigms since I acquired my C326.
So bottomline the DAC does not "add" anything of its own.
Sound stage and imaging: Surprise surprise a DAC needed almost a week's playback to get its soundstage. It was absolutely muddy and shallow to start with. The instrument separation was spot-on but the imaging was missing. I can probably attribute this to the Amp and not the DAC, a bit confused here really. Though I've experienced break-in improvements with speakers and amps, for a DAC it was a new thing for me. And I've had a few in the past.
Now the things are in order and the order is great! Nothing to complain in this department.
VFM: Absolutely.
Net negatives for me here is the Maverick sort of assisted the bass boom somewhat and it had grown on me. With the NAD for the first few days at least I am feeling some lack of bass. I am sure with time I'd grow over it but as of now it does not leave the back of my mind.
Net positives is on less device to operate for my parents and they are very happy with the overall presentation.
