dac majic???

soundfreak1
soundfreak1 Posts: 3,414
edited March 2012 in Electronics
How does the cambridge dac majic (a year old) stack up in the 300.00 price range as far as value and proformance vs other comparably priced units?
Main Rig:
Krell KAV 250a biamped to mid/highs
Parasound HCA1500A biamped to lows
Nakamichi EC100 Active xover
MIT exp 1 ic's
Perreaux SA33 class A preamp
AQ kingcobra ic's
OPPO 83 CDP
Lehmann audio black cube SE phono pre, Audioquest phono wire (ITA1/1)
Denon DP-1200 TT. AToc9ML MC cart.
Monster HTS 3600 power conditioner
ADS L1590/2 Biamped
MIT exps2 speaker cable
Post edited by soundfreak1 on
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Comments

  • dragon1952
    dragon1952 Posts: 4,899
    edited March 2012
    There's a ton of info out there. I just got done doing some research and ended up going used but at $347 shipped new with warranty (Amazon through Audio Advisor) I think it would be hard to beat the value. Do a Google on "dacmagic vs" and you should have lots of reading.
    2 channel - Willsenton R8 tube integrated, Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE DAC, audio optimized NUC7i5, Windows 10 Pro/JRiver MC29/Fidelizer Plus 8.7 w/LPS and external SSD drive, PS Audio PerfectWave P3 regenerator, KEF R3 speakers, Rythmik F12SE subwoofer, Audioquest Diamond USB cable, Gabriel Gold IC's, Morrow Audio SP5 speaker cables. Computer - Windows 10/JRiver, Schiit Magni 3+/Modi 3+, Fostex PMO.4n monitors, Sennheiser HD600 headphones
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,195
    edited March 2012
    The Dac Magic is one amazing sounding DAC. It's worth full retail price so if you can get a penny off or more its totally a deal. It has Wolfson 8740 Dac's inside. Every single time I use one , it makes a noticeable difference in the system.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,068
    edited March 2012
    mantis wrote: »
    The Dac Magic is one amazing sounding DAC. It's worth full retail price so if you can get a penny off or more its totally a deal. It has Wolfson 8740 Dac's inside. Every single time I use one , it makes a noticeable difference in the system.

    Ditto!! +1 & then some.
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • maximillian
    maximillian Posts: 2,144
    edited March 2012
    Just wondering if this DAC would be a step up in my case.... I have a modded original Xbox with XBMC to stream Flac and Apple Lossless files from a NAS over Toslink to a Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH. The Pioneer's pre-outs go to a Adcom GFA6000 that drives Lsi 9's. I have been thinking of getting this DAC and a pre-amp in place of the Pioneer for 2 channel listening (80% use), and keep the Pioneer for the remaining HT use.

    Will I see a noticeable improvement with this DAC over the Pioneer Elite? Thanks for your input.
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  • 98Badger
    98Badger Posts: 317
    edited March 2012
    I had a Dacmagic for a while and it is a good value for the price range you are looking at. It has what I consider a darker sound. I found it a bit lacking in detail and bass control but I was comparing it to more expensive units.
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