Usb dac

reeltrouble1

that is an i-something salesman at your door, not sure how he got around the moat.

RT1

madmax

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

that is an i-something salesman at your door, not sure how he got around the moat.

RT1

With the manley iAmps, iPre, iVinyl playback system and iCD recorder it only seems right to use USB and a laptop.

debussyj

Well, I guess it's a case of "what you never had you never miss". So if you just had the Dacmagic, you would think it's the greatest. But I am getting the sense from your unbiased reviews that quality of construction plays a big role too. You've at least narrowed things down for me between the Music Hall and the PS Audio III. Naturally, because I already have the PS Audio on a different setup, I'm biased about the sound I get from it. I also like the quality of construction and the fact it's very upgradable. Rick Cullen is a class act and I enjoy dealing with him. The main reason I was thinking about the Music Hall was the tube output and wondered how much it sweetened up the soundstage. Buy Max, you found it to be very neutral, correct?

dkg999

Some additional thoughts/observations from the comparison I did:

The Cambridge Audio DACMagic has the three different settings. I don't remember which setting we all agreed was the best, but it really seemed like there was one good setting of the three, and the other two settings weren't very good at all. The Wolfsen DAC chips have been smoothed out considerably over some of their earlier CDP's. The sound was detailed without being overly analytical or harsh. The soundstage did seem like it was in a box where you could identify the edges, and that was highlighted when you compared it directly to the other DAC's.

The Channel Islands DAC had better high/low than the Cambridge or the PS Audio, not significantly better, but enough better that you could notice it. The soundstage was farther forward than either the Cambridge or the PS Audio. Where I had some issue with the CIA DAC was in the mid-range, which seemed to be a little more analytical than either the Cambridge or the PS Audio. The upgraded power supply made a big difference with this DAC. If you aren't going to spring for the upgraded power supply, buy the Cambridge Audio DAC.

The PS Audio DAC had slightly less detailed highs, and slightly less defined lows, than the CIA DAC, but had the biggest sound stage that was wide and only slightly forward. The PS Audio also had a more tube-like presentation of the mid-range and high end. I found it to be the most musical of the three, and matched the best with what I like in sound quality and sound stage. The build quality also seemed to be the best of the three, but that's a subjective opinion of my own not based on much in the way of quantitative evidence.

As always, YMMV.

debussyj

Excellent feedback, dkg999! You're narrowing my decision! DJ

madmax

debussyj wrote: »

Well, I guess it's a case of "what you never had you never miss". So if you just had the Dacmagic, you would think it's the greatest. But I am getting the sense from your unbiased reviews that quality of construction plays a big role too. You've at least narrowed things down for me between the Music Hall and the PS Audio III. Naturally, because I already have the PS Audio on a different setup, I'm biased about the sound I get from it. I also like the quality of construction and the fact it's very upgradable. Rick Cullen is a class act and I enjoy dealing with him. The main reason I was thinking about the Music Hall was the tube output and wondered how much it sweetened up the soundstage. Buy Max, you found it to be very neutral, correct?

I did find it to be very neutral. One thing I'll note, and I think it is a laptop thing, is that every 3 or 4 minutes I can detect a super quick sound dropout for maybe 1/100 of a second. Easy to miss if you are not listening for it. My guess is some program is interupting the laptop. I doubt it has anything to do with the DAC. I have not tried to isolate it yet just because it is not very noticeable. I would buy this again but then I have not auditioned others.
madmax

Hobbyguy

Does the dropout occur in the exact same passage? i.e. if you play the song over and over does it occur at exactly the same place in the music?

madmax

I think it occurs in different places but I'll check. What are the implications?
madmax