A DAC isn't a DAC isn't a DAC....
heiney9
Posts: 25,217
I finally got my 2nd second system set. Not all the pieces have arrived yet, but should all be here by next week. I previously reviewed the Athena AS-B1's I purchased. I gave them glowing reviews and I still think they are great especially for $120, but I'm starting to notice some small annoyances. I wish I wasn't so damn critical, but the biggest weakness I've now noticed is the very flat soundstage. Intruments are well defined but tend to float right in front of the speakers, absolutely no depth. The sound stage is fairly wide, but flat. Hell, for $120 not a big deal. I've been listening to them for about 10 days exclusively. Hooked my RTA-11's up again and then realized how deficient the Athena's really were. I know not a fair comparison. It's funny how we get so used to the sound our systems put out. Then when you take one of the links out, bam.....it hits you how really really good the system is after all. Anyways I am happy with the Athenas for my office/computer system.
Today I recieved my AMC DAC8 I purchased on Audiogon for $75. I was amazed at how hefty it felt, really solid. But, alas, I opened her up tonight and to my amazement there was almost nothing in there. The case was ultra heavy as was the face plate but the internal boards are pretty small. A single power supply no bigger than a "D" cell battery, a board with the dac chip on it the size of a cigarette pack and a longer slimmer board with the analog outs hooked up. An a small thin board for the front panel switches and frequency display leds. Now I realize this thing had/has a list price of $300 new, but I was expecting a little more hardware. Anybody know how to decode the chipset in a unit like this, Looks like it's a single dac chip and I couldn't tell where the digital clock was.
I hooked it up replacing my Adcom GDA 700. Listened to all my favorite/familiar music and I can tell you that this thing doesn't hold a candle to the GDA 700. I know $1000 vs. $300, it was to be expected. But again it's amazing the instant difference that I noticed. The bass doesn't have the deep slam the 700 has, the top end has a hint of glare that the 700 doesn't have. The DAC8 is very forward almost to forward. The DAC8 is better than the stock output of my Pioneer DVD player, but my Nak cd player sounds smoother, but the bass is less defined, ie; sloppier, and the DAC8 throws a better soundstage than the NAK cd player. If I didn't have the GDA 700 the glaring shortcomings of the DAC8 wouldn't be so obvious.
But hey, this will be a second system hooked to my computer for my office and being so critical, especially at this price point is just not fair. I purchased a Nakamichi SR-3A Stasis reciever from e-bay which should get here next week to complete the system. So when all is said and done I've spent:
$112.00 Nakamichi SR-3A reciever
$77.00 AMC DAC8 Digital to Analog
$120.00 Athena AS-B1 speaks
$25.00 Digital sound card
$25.00 Toslink digital cable
?????? Speaker stands
Not bad for a second system. I can't wait to hear everything together. This system should be more than adequate for what I'm using it for.
Today I recieved my AMC DAC8 I purchased on Audiogon for $75. I was amazed at how hefty it felt, really solid. But, alas, I opened her up tonight and to my amazement there was almost nothing in there. The case was ultra heavy as was the face plate but the internal boards are pretty small. A single power supply no bigger than a "D" cell battery, a board with the dac chip on it the size of a cigarette pack and a longer slimmer board with the analog outs hooked up. An a small thin board for the front panel switches and frequency display leds. Now I realize this thing had/has a list price of $300 new, but I was expecting a little more hardware. Anybody know how to decode the chipset in a unit like this, Looks like it's a single dac chip and I couldn't tell where the digital clock was.
I hooked it up replacing my Adcom GDA 700. Listened to all my favorite/familiar music and I can tell you that this thing doesn't hold a candle to the GDA 700. I know $1000 vs. $300, it was to be expected. But again it's amazing the instant difference that I noticed. The bass doesn't have the deep slam the 700 has, the top end has a hint of glare that the 700 doesn't have. The DAC8 is very forward almost to forward. The DAC8 is better than the stock output of my Pioneer DVD player, but my Nak cd player sounds smoother, but the bass is less defined, ie; sloppier, and the DAC8 throws a better soundstage than the NAK cd player. If I didn't have the GDA 700 the glaring shortcomings of the DAC8 wouldn't be so obvious.
But hey, this will be a second system hooked to my computer for my office and being so critical, especially at this price point is just not fair. I purchased a Nakamichi SR-3A Stasis reciever from e-bay which should get here next week to complete the system. So when all is said and done I've spent:
$112.00 Nakamichi SR-3A reciever
$77.00 AMC DAC8 Digital to Analog
$120.00 Athena AS-B1 speaks
$25.00 Digital sound card
$25.00 Toslink digital cable
?????? Speaker stands
Not bad for a second system. I can't wait to hear everything together. This system should be more than adequate for what I'm using it for.
"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!