peanutbutterjam 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Hi guys, Anyone heard of this DAC before? I've searched around but this practically doesn't even seem to exist on the internet. Only came across 1-2 forum posts saying its pretty good, but totally not substantial. No reviews whatsoever. Just shoot if you know anything Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ical 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) Bro, get a proper source instead. A budget cdp will give you better result. Think of a DAC chip like a computer processor. What you pay is what you get. A good DAC is never cheap. Edited March 11, 2009 by ical Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted March 12, 2009 Bro, get a proper source instead. A budget cdp will give you better result. Think of a DAC chip like a computer processor. What you pay is what you get. A good DAC is never cheap. Every CDP also got DAC what. Cheap CDP got cheap DAC. So I don't understand your recommendation. Want to elaborate? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ical 0 Report post Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) In audio, source is everything. There's always some lossless even when converting from cd to loseless format. CDP is different, it read directly from cd itself and has better driver, power supply, etc than computer which improve sound. Not only the DAC play a part. So a budget cdp using a cheap DAC will usually sound better than a external DAC using computer as source. I believe the next meet by Stereo will enable you to compare the difference. Let your ear be the judge. Some nice reading: http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd/ Edited March 12, 2009 by ical Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peanutbutterjam 0 Report post Posted March 13, 2009 (edited) Bro, get a proper source instead. A budget cdp will give you better result. Think of a DAC chip like a computer processor. What you pay is what you get. A good DAC is never cheap. Thanks for the advice, and I actually totally agree with you. I haven't heard a really bad CD player so this must have some truth. However, as much as I know this to be the case, practicality is an issue. The fact is that over the past few years I've archived the vast majority of the CDs I've come across in lossless formats. To cut the long story short, most of my music is in digital lossless. I suppose this is exactly part of the issue with vinyl, other than the costs. What exactly are you going to do with your entire CD collection now? Esp considering that you might just never find your favorite pieces on your ideal medium. If a person was rich enough he might be able to afford both setups and slowly build up his collection, but that is really just the luxury. Frankly I was extremely tempted to get a CDP couple of weeks ago. But practicality must come in. I am acutely aware of the far better cost-performance ratio of a CDP compared to a DAC, but ultimately this is first about my music then the equipment. I wish now that my music is on CD medium, but that not being the case being able to hear my favorite pieces is first priority for me. A good DAC is never cheap. Definitely so. But that isn't really the question. The question is how best to maximize the performance with a limited budget. In a way that is why we are all here, to find out just how much performance that $x can give you. Edited March 13, 2009 by peanutbutterjam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ical 0 Report post Posted March 13, 2009 Understandable for your case. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wwenze 0 Report post Posted March 13, 2009 (edited) TS, how about you burn your collection into black vinyl-wannabe CDRs and get a CDP in the hope that you'll get better SQ ...j/k. After reading all those links in previous threads you should have some idea of how DAC and transport work and how they alter the sound. Just remember... CDPs have SPDIF out for a reason. You're going to buy the product of that reason. Nothing much can go wrong. Edited March 13, 2009 by wwenze Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted March 13, 2009 In audio, source is everything. There's always some lossless even when converting from cd to loseless format. CDP is different, it read directly from cd itself and has better driver, power supply, etc than computer which improve sound. Not only the DAC play a part. So a budget cdp using a cheap DAC will usually sound better than a external DAC using computer as source. I believe the next meet by Stereo will enable you to compare the difference. Let your ear be the judge. Some nice reading: http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd/ Thanks for the advice. I have more than 4 CDPs including a portable one all at different price range. They all sound different and the best one I have is from Stereo. But even my best CDP sounds better with an external DAC. But you know, one man's meat is another man's poison. I normally listen to CDPs only for speakers. For headphones, I find CDPs too cumbersome. Anyway, you don't have to like what I like and vice versa. We all can be different. Peace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ical 0 Report post Posted March 13, 2009 Haha! As long as you're happy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites