I own a Lampizator dac which is easily best I have heard but is up there in terms of price. On the affordable side I can highly recommend JKenny dac (out of Ireland and I own as well). Have not heard it but have read rave reviews about Metrum Octave which I think is German production. There are many good and affordable dacs out there as the technology seems to have really matured the last 2-3 years.
im using Audio-GD Master 7 DAC. i dont have any comparison to other similar priced DAC, but its a BIG improvement over clarity, depth and detail to the lowered priced DAC ($3-500)
AMR dac seems very very good, i think should be widely available in europe, they do have certain patent for the circuits, this is not one of those repackage circuits from someone else
Abbingdon Music Research - Products - Digital Processor-777
AMR dac seems very very good, i think should be widely available in europe, they do have certain patent for the circuits, this is not one of those repackage circuits from someone else
Abbingdon Music Research - Products - Digital Processor-777
Interesting suggestions, thanks. I made a bid on a used Audio Aero La Fontain but it is very expensive. It is a DAC, drive, preamp and also plays SACD but really I do not need the preamp or SACD part. And too expensive perhaps. Anyone heard the La Fontaine? There is a dac-only version of it too but then I have to buy it new and that is out of my price range.
Listened to La Fontain yesterday. It was a pure luxury product no doubt. Partly I was impressed but I was not totally convinced. The room had some issues making it hard to get grip of the sound I think. But an impressive player with very transparent and clean sound. Very focused voices on some CDs. But the price is 7000 euro used. Grrrr.
IMO don't invest anything too high a sum in digital source since it is like with the PC market i.e. yesterday's wonder is today's standard. Some companies have 30days money back on direct sales for their DACs even. Whatever you go for make sure a dealer/former owner gives to you the opportunity for home test. See Twisted Pear Buffalo DAC for kit/diy in the digital threads here also.
Yes, the seller said that if I really was interested he could let me try it at home for a week with money back if I for some reason did not want it. It is a complete solution though since it can play DSD files from computer and you get a good preamp and esoteric drive. But to be honest it is very much money even if it might be worth it. So I probably should not take that bank loan, lol.
I disconnected the external power supply from my cd-player tonight. It is years older than the main player. And strangely enough, I think the cd-player now sounds better. It sounds cleaner and more relaxed but not less dynamic at all. I also think it sounds a little more extended in treble. So I will certainly not need it any more. I will keep the cd-player for comparing with a DAC playing music with data files.
That's odd! Is your external supply a Hicap? I noticed quite a big improvement in dynamics when I plugged a Hicap into my old Naim CD3.5. Perhaps the PSU needs a service? Or maybe your CDP doesn't respond as well to a PSU upgrades, as my old CD3.5 did?
No doubt!
I have been listening more to well known music and it is clearly better! The only thing I maybe have "lost" is a little bass weight, but everything else is better. More extended treble, cleaner midrange with more insight and slightly easier to hear text from singers. I sold the power supply yesterday. So I am not that much in need for a dac anymore, but I think I will try one as a complementing source for my cd-player since I believe there is even more to get out of my system. The speakers have easily showned what different sources do yo the sound so I am happy about that too.
I have been listening more to well known music and it is clearly better! The only thing I maybe have "lost" is a little bass weight, but everything else is better. More extended treble, cleaner midrange with more insight and slightly easier to hear text from singers. I sold the power supply yesterday. So I am not that much in need for a dac anymore, but I think I will try one as a complementing source for my cd-player since I believe there is even more to get out of my system. The speakers have easily showned what different sources do yo the sound so I am happy about that too
.Test of signal cables.
I have made several tests with a few different signal cables since a friend of mine bought some very good cables, I heard a significant better sound when he used them in his system. So I had to try one at home and I have never heard my system sound that good before. Very easy to hear the difference in my system. So I have decided to get a pair of this cable to start with and then later add another pair when I can afford it to run it all the way from cd/dac to power amp. So what is different? Much cleaner sound without any harsness or stressed flow of music but still very dynamic in a natural way. Bigger soundstage with added depth and detail, too. It sounds so natural. I am hoping to be able to buy a pair very soon. The DAC will have to wait.
I have made several tests with a few different signal cables since a friend of mine bought some very good cables, I heard a significant better sound when he used them in his system. So I had to try one at home and I have never heard my system sound that good before. Very easy to hear the difference in my system. So I have decided to get a pair of this cable to start with and then later add another pair when I can afford it to run it all the way from cd/dac to power amp. So what is different? Much cleaner sound without any harsness or stressed flow of music but still very dynamic in a natural way. Bigger soundstage with added depth and detail, too. It sounds so natural. I am hoping to be able to buy a pair very soon
. The DAC will have to wait.It is rather strange how much better it sounds, even my "problem" CDs sounds better (Norah Jones and Diana Krall). I have never heard some of the ABBA cds I have sound so good, and it is very easy to hear the different sound quality from cd to cd. The interconnect I use is called "Pulse B". Maybe someone have a dealer near them and can try it and report what they think.
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