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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 22, 2011 21:42:03 GMT
This little puppy arrived today and I have fitted it into my computer system (ie: the system I listen to when I'm sitting at the computer)..... The system comprises of Asus DX Xonar sound card (SPDIF optical) > Cambridge Audio DacMagic > NAD C315BEE amplifier > JBL Control 1 speakers. All source files are Apple Lossles.     My first impressions are a definite "sparkle" to the sound with the DM onboard, there has definitely been a lifting of a very thick veil! There is also zero background noise now.... with the soundcard direct into the amp you could hear funny noises when you hit the pause button, now it is deadly silent. I'll leave the DM to cook for a few days and report back, I will also slot a headphone amp in and do some serious listening with headphones. As it stands, though, this is one seriously good little system for near field listening.... the imaging is just incredible.... I never thought I would ever be listening to music this close to a pair of speakers, it's a real eye (and ear) opener.... like a little hot spot with everything packed into a minature 3D soundscape, excellent stuff!!  |
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XTRProf
Fully Modded
Pssst ! Got any spare capacitors ?
Posts: 5,689
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Post by XTRProf on Feb 23, 2011 7:25:36 GMT
Heh, heh, heh, don't you think it's a little late coming onboard? We are now talking of Sabre 32 dac.  |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 9:13:35 GMT
Heh, heh, heh, don't you think it's a little late coming onboard? We are now talking of Sabre 32 dac. No, not at all Chong. The DacMagic suits my requirements, it has loads of inputs / outputs, is, thus, very versatile... I got it for a good price, I can use a Pinkie with it, it has a proven track record etc. etc. It's not all about going with the herd Chong, it's about choosing something that suits you (not the herd)... so far I am over the moon with the DM, it's doing what it's supposed to do and has improved the sound of my computer (as source) system. I am very happy with it. |
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Post by gommer on Feb 23, 2011 10:03:07 GMT
This is rather confusing to me. One day you propose a group buy for the mini APE, next day you're raving about a similar other product  |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 10:19:02 GMT
This is rather confusing to me. One day you propose a group buy for the mini APE, next day you're raving about a similar other product Excuse me? Can you show me exactly "where" on the DacMagic are the slots for USB sticks / SD cards and tell me "how" this is similar to the Mini APE in any way shape or form? The Mini APE is a music player... the DacMagic is a "DAC". I am NOT "raving" about the DacMagic, I said I have purchased one and am enjoying it. Am I not allowed to buy something without your approval? This is the first DAC I have ever bought and I think I am entitled to comment on it without having to explain myself to you (whoever you are) so mind your own business please! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2011 10:42:28 GMT
This is rather confusing to me. One day you propose a group buy for the mini APE, next day you're raving about a similar other product Excuse me? Can you show me exactly "where" on the DacMagic are the slots for USB sticks / SD cards and tell me "how" this is similar to the Mini APE in any way shape or form? The Mini APE is a music player... the DacMagic is a "DAC". I am NOT "raving" about the DacMagic, I said I have purchased one and am enjoying it. Am I not allowed to buy something without your approval? This is the first DAC I have ever bought and I think I am entitled to comment on it without having to explain myself to you (whoever you are) so mind your own business please! Mike I am sure that Marc didn't mean it quite the way you took it .  Alex P.S. Iam just having a little fun with the drawing too !  You sound as snappy as someone trying to give up cigarettes, or hasn't had a decent night's sleep for a week !  Attachments:
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 10:47:04 GMT
Sleep has been the problem since giving up the booze Alex and YES I am in a snappy mood today! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2011 10:54:50 GMT
Mike Forget the forum for a few hours and rediscover some of your favourite tracks through your new DAC. You are sure to pick up things you may not have noticed previously. (assuming you aren't still trying to catch up on a backlog of Little Pinkie orders.  ) Alex |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 13:26:20 GMT
This is rather confusing to me. OK..... please do explain why you are confused. In one thread I mention the Mini APE music player and in this thread I mention the Cambridge Audio DAC... I really need to understand what is confusing you? |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 13:27:33 GMT
By the way..... I will be "adding" the Mini APE to this rig |
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Post by gommer on Feb 23, 2011 16:11:59 GMT
OK..... please do explain why you are confused. In one thread I mention the Mini APE music player and in this thread I mention the Cambridge Audio DAC... I really need to understand what is confusing you? Well, the mini Ape is a player in the first place, but since it also plays through digital input, it doubles as a DAC. Hence the confusing part: group by for mini Ape, followed by buying and praising a DAC. Both are DAC's. Mini focussing on stand alone player and CA focussing on versatility as a DAC. You buy both, which is not rare, but you do it at the same time. I'm not judging you in any way, but usually, any given audio nut would evaluate new equipment before moving on. Again, this comment is not to be interpreted in a judging context, but in de context of explaining the 'confusing' part. On second thought, this could be the male equivalent of a woman buying 5 pairs of shoes in one go, which -to me- seems over the top while at the same time I realise it's not rare, nor confusing. To you these 2 devices are probably more in different worlds than to me. And I never thought this could be interpreted in a patronising manner, since personal opinions and remarks on any given subject are given all over this forum. Cheers, Marc |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2011 17:17:48 GMT
Audiocom International Cambridge Audio DacMagic Mods From £123.00 www.audiocominternational.com/cambridge-audio-dacmagic-mods-p-48.html?osCsid=b809bd6180f293074fc41f1d51ebd383DacMagic Level-1 Upgrade ■ 4x Panasonic FC analogue power supply capacitors. ■ 4x Panasonic FC digital power supply capacitors. ■ 1x Specially selected, NOS low noise regulators for analogue supply (DAC). ■ 1x Panasonic FC DAC regulation bypass capacitors. ■ 2x Sanyo OSCON SP for digital regulation bypass (clock). ■ 5x Sanyo OSCON SP for DSP & input receiver decoupling. ■ 3x Sanyo OSCON SP for digital input decoupling. ■ 4x LME49720 for low-pass filter. DacMagic Level-2 Upgrade ■ 1x Cryogenically treated Silver plated audio grade fuse. ■ 4x Panasonic FC analogue power supply capacitors. ■ 4x Panasonic FC digital power supply capacitors. ■ 1x Specially selected low noise regulator for analogue supply (DAC). ■ 1x Panasonic FC DAC regulation bypass capacitors. ■ 2x Sanyo OS-CON SH for DAC digital power supply decoupling. ■ 2x Sanyo OS-CON SP for DAC analogue power supply decoupling. ■ 1x Sanyo OSCON SP for digital regulation bypass (clock). ■ 1x Rubycon ZA decoupling for logic circuits. ■ 4x LME49720 for low-pass filter. ■ 6x Elna RFS Silmic II for output signal coupling. DacMagic Level-3 Upgrade ■ 1x Cryogenically treated Silver plated audio grade fuse. ■ 4x Panasonic FC analogue power supply capacitors. ■ 4x Panasonic FC digital power supply capacitors. ■ 1x Specially selected low noise regulator for analogue supply (DAC). ■ 1x Panasonic FC DAC regulation bypass capacitors. ■ 2x Sanyo OS-CON SH for DAC digital power supply decoupling. ■ 2x Sanyo OS-CON SP for DAC analogue power supply decoupling. ■ 4x Black Gate C DAC decoupling capacitors. ■ 1x Sanyo OSCON SP for digital regulation bypass (clock). ■ 5x Sanyo OSCON SP for DSP & input receiver decoupling. ■ 3x Sanyo OSCON SP digital input decoupling ■ ERS Cloth to remove EMI/RFI. ■ 1x Rubycon ZA decoupling for logic circuits. ■ 4x LME49720 for low-pass filter. ■ 6x Elna RFS Silmic II for output signal coupling. |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 20:38:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2011 21:25:18 GMT
Hi Mike Welcome to the club! Believe it or not, it gets much better as you go further with PC audio and higher quality DACs. Someone with your hearing will eventually discover that although "lossless" files on a HDD with all the album info etc. is very convenient, that you will more than likely be happy with just the basic folder and track info using .wav files, as SQ is better than playing "lossless" files on "the fly". Alex P.S. You haven't even discovered some of the better high resolution files yet ! |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 22:33:51 GMT
Hi Mike Welcome to the club! Believe it or not, it gets much better as you go further with PC audio and higher quality DACs. Someone with your hearing will eventually discover that although "lossless" files on a HDD with all the album info etc. is very convenient, that you will more than likely be happy with just the basic folder and track info using .wav files, as SQ is better than playing "lossless" files on "the fly". Alex P.S. You haven't even discovered some of the better high resolution files yet ! Believe it or not Alex, I spend more time listening to the music these days than I do analysing it.... I tend to find it's more enjoyable doing that There is ALWAYS going to be better but you end up missing the magic of the music in your search for perfection. |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 23, 2011 22:38:54 GMT
Absolute BULLSHIT!!!! "audio grade" FUSE?!! what a load of absolute HOGWASH!!! a cryogenically treated "fuse"?!! There must be a load of idiots out there if these people are making money selling "audio grade" fuses These people must be laughing all the way to the bank. The rest of their mods seem pretty sensible but, do me a favour, a "cryogenically treated audio grade fuse"? F@KC OFF!!!!! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2011 23:00:29 GMT
At least they don't charge an arm and a leg for it, going to step 2 from 1 is "only" £44 and you get some extra caps as well Btw, try leaving you car keys in the freezer tonight, you'll get an extra 10HP and 5% more mpg. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2011 23:12:41 GMT
Hi Mike Welcome to the club! Believe it or not, it gets much better as you go further with PC audio and higher quality DACs. Someone with your hearing will eventually discover that although "lossless" files on a HDD with all the album info etc. is very convenient, that you will more than likely be happy with just the basic folder and track info using .wav files, as SQ is better than playing "lossless" files on "the fly". Alex P.S. You haven't even discovered some of the better high resolution files yet ! Believe it or not Alex, I spend more time listening to the music these days than I do analysing it.... I tend to find it's more enjoyable doing that There is ALWAYS going to be better but you end up missing the magic of the music in your search for perfection. Mike At my age, I need near equipment perfection to fully enjoy my collection.I am enjoying music far more than 20 years ago even, because I am now hearing things that I was previously unable to notice due to my work related hearing damage .I have also purchased more music in the last few years than the previous 10 or so for that reason. The higher equipment quality helps to make up for some of the inevitable hearing losses with aging. Many people my age are resigned to just listening to AM radio, because they think their days of enjoying good quality music is over.It doesn't need to be that way. I love to lay back on the bed with headphones on and enjoy music for hours at a time, sometimes relaxing that much that I fall asleep !  Alex |
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leo
Been here a while! 
Team wtf is it?
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Post by leo on Feb 24, 2011 1:21:55 GMT
Heh, heh, heh, don't you think it's a little late coming onboard? We are now talking of Sabre 32 dac. Any commercial ready built dac using the Sabre to its full potential would cost a fortune, these things are expensive. I recently heard the £900 Wyred 4 sound dac and was honestly very disapointed with it. Moon 750D transport/dac is supposed to be good but it costs just under 8k UKP's  The DM is a decent little dac for the price, theres a lot worse out there . Unless your willing to go full diy you'd have to spend quite a lot on a commercial design that would be a worthwhile improvement over the DM |
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XTRProf
Fully Modded
Pssst ! Got any spare capacitors ?
Posts: 5,689
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Post by XTRProf on Feb 24, 2011 4:25:43 GMT
Heh, heh, heh, don't you think it's a little late coming onboard? We are now talking of Sabre 32 dac. Any commercial ready built dac using the Sabre to its full potential would cost a fortune, these things are expensive. I recently heard the £900 Wyred 4 sound dac and was honestly very disapointed with it. Moon 750D transport/dac is supposed to be good but it costs just under 8k UKP's The DM is a decent little dac for the price, theres a lot worse out there . Unless your willing to go full diy you'd have to spend quite a lot on a commercial design that would be a worthwhile improvement over the DM Yup, you've got a point there. But I'm not actually referring to commercial or not but what people are generally looking out for at this moment for a dac. Just look at the Sennheiser HD800 when Mick put out the thread and all of a sudden many responses came in eventhough it's high price. This shows how interested people are into this highend HP. Of course, if we can't afford the commercial ones then naturally it will have to be the diy ones. Even then, many commercial dacs of the lower price range need to be modified extensively to sound greatest as they are manufactured to a price point and profit. |
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xerxes
Been here a while!
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Post by xerxes on Feb 24, 2011 4:33:23 GMT
Just recently, I bought a HRT Music Streamer II+ and I've been using it with JRiver media player with the ASIO plug-in to play uncompressed WAV files via USB. This set up sounds as good, if not better than my CD player, which cost about five times as much as the the Music Streamer DAC, albeit you need to factor in the cost of a PC, hard drives etc. However, you don't need a particularly powerful PC for music, so I'm using one made up from old parts after upgrading my main PC. I tried several media player applications and J River is the nicest one I've found, it's not free, but not particularly expensive. You can set it up for secure rip, where it will re-read the CD to try and make a bit perfect copy and it handles WAV files, so that it looks up the data and finds album art etc. Whereas some players don't seem to catalogue WAV files properly, only formats with meta data like MP3, FLAC etc. I'm surprised by that, the Wyred 4 Sound DACs have been getting some very good reviews at various sites I've come across. However, the UK supplier does offer a 7 day home trial: www.itemaudio.co.uk/wyred_dac2.html. However, as usual, the price seems to work on the $1 USD = £1 GBP principal. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2011 7:13:29 GMT
Owen
A friend of mine has a W4S. He was very disappointed with it initially, however, now that he has >200 hours on it, it is sounding very much better.Apparently the designer now has a modification for it that supposedly gives more than >20dB improvement in dynamic range.
Alex
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 24, 2011 8:44:11 GMT
I must try my new camera out on the guts of the DacMagic today.... if it's true what people are saying this little puppy is a prime candidate for tweaking |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 24, 2011 9:24:43 GMT
Mike
Have you tried it with a Little Pinkie yet ?
Alex
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 24, 2011 9:32:16 GMT
Mike Have you tried it with a Little Pinkie yet ? Alex Ages ago, yes... i had one on loan from a guy who wanted me to make a PSU for it. I am running it with the stock PSU for a few days and will then change over to a Pinkie.... I want to get a good idea of the sound first. |
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