DAC's (again!!) - Advice Needed

I have always been tempted by a DAC, but as I said earlier, if people don't think there will be much of a difference then I won't bother.

I didn't realise it could be modded, do you know of anywhere that does it.

As for changes, I honestly have no idea, just got a job so thought I could spend about £100ish on a DAC as the CD is onlt worth about £100 then I won't get much better in the way of a new CD for £200

If you feel modding it would be a better way to go, then I will certainly look into it!!

Thanks

Andrew

 

Hi,

On the contrary, adding a DAC to your system has the potential to dramatically CHANGE the sound. However a CHANGE is not always an improvement.

I would encourage you to either buy Scott Nixons most basic Kit (or even to go hardcore DIY and buy just the parts and make your own), that DAC in particular is VERY different. The question is though, will the change be to your taste.

I would suggest learning to do it yourself. I used to offer to do such mods but I'm lacking the time now with all the work I have going on on other stuff.

You could read my article on modding the Marantz CD-67 (which is in most ways similar to the 6000) for starters....

Hint, if you have money to burn, always spend it on music first.... ;-)

Given that the Chip's and other parts to make a DIY Non-Oversampling DAC (similar to Scott Nixons) are about the same as a CD (including veroboard to wire it up) you can get the DAC and a load of CD's....

Ciao T

 

The Scott Nixon dac is good. Punchy and dry without being brutal, bit like a mid range Naim player in a good mood.

 

How easy is it to put together one of those DAC's? Would it be worth spending the extra £25 on the assembled board and then just buy a case and some sockets?

By then, I'm getting into the NOS DAC price territory though!!

Very confusing, didn't realise just how many options I had (especially at this price range)

Andrew

 

The SMD parts are pre soldered, so if you can solder small-ish parts without making shorts or damaging traces you'll be fine.

I ordered the built PCB, put it on a pine chopping board supported by some of those plastic PCB struts, and hardwired the input and output.

Bear in mind that Farnell have a £20 minimum order price, whilst after the PCB and chips the dac only needs about £5 of parts to make it work.

 

M-Audio Super DAC 2496 can be picked up for about £150 new or £100 used.

Very tweakable too:
https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=1176
https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=1612
https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=1940

 

I have contacted the seller and he can sell me one for $199 + $35 postage.

Is this a decent offer and will any other DACS at a similar price be any better?

Also, how would this compare to the (cheaper) Scott Nixon ones?

Thanks

Andrew

 

IMO that's a decent offer. At the current rate of the US dollar to the pound (1.89) that's about £124 inc. postage which is roughly what I paid. If you get nailed by customs you'll have to pay an extra 22% (roughly) on top to cover VAT and duty.

I expect the Scott Nixon DAC would sound very similar as it's basically the same design. Looking at his site it seems that his cheapest ready built DAC is $250 shipped in the US. Overseas shipping will probably be a bit more expensive so the prices looks pretty even to me.

Michael.

 

I was looking at the Scott Nixon ones which just need a case and RCA's, I'm more than happy to do a little DIY if it keeps the cost down.

The NOS one was $199+$35 postage, which is a little over budget, especially if I get hit by customs!!

I have stuck a wanted ad up at avforums in case someone has a decent old DAC they want to get rid of.

There is an m-audio flying cow ex-dem for £50 online, is this any good and how would I connect it up as it seems to have unusual connectors?

I could also get a Musical Fidelity Digilog and Audio Alchemy DDE 1.1 within budget, any of these good?

Thanks

Andrew

 

Hi,

If you stripboard and a surplus Wallwart as Powersupply (not too crummy a wallwart please) you should be able to make your own DAC along the lines of Scott Nixons DAC for a tenner in parts (no joke).

Well, is it ANY GOOD? Probably. Will it give you what you want? As you have not stated what you want, even if I knew these products intimatly (which I largely don't) I could not possibly tell.

The FC uses XLR Connectors, not at all unusual, just pro-audio. With all respect, it is very much sub-par sonically to my ears, the AA DDE 1.1 did to my ears not very well either, in it's own time.

The Digilog, no idea. It is ancient enough to have th TDA1541, which makes it first of all old enough for all electrolytic capacitors to have rotted beyond description, so it will sound rather bad untill they are replaced (gear older than 4 - 6 Years really requires a wholesale replacement of all electrolytic capacitors to perform ANYTHING like the designer intended). Past that, with a TDA1541 it might be a supremely capable mod platform, but likely non too great sounding if you buy it and use as is.

Ciao T

 

Thorsten, how many alias' do you have? wouldn't it be easier to be just Thorsten, everyone gets to know by your unique posting style

Anyway, if I sell it on, you can have mine for £100 plus post, how's that?

 

That sounds perfect, shall I keep my eye out for others in case you fall in love with it as well?

Andrew

 

well its yet to arrive, that's why I said a couple of weeks, and really it was just to try after Micheal's posting et al. for a bit of fun, but you never know what will happen.
I actually liked the dde 1.1, it was massive, bigger than the dac64 even, but a bit loose and grainy in the top end.
MF as ever competant, midiman has a good reputation, but as kuei yang wang, rca10y, 3d sonics, thunderstone, and a few others say, its pro audio connectors. The superdac is the successor.

I think tbh, most 'conventional' dacs offer a much of a muchness, different, not always better.

 

I see.

The flying cow is £50, DDE 1.1 is £125 and digilog just under £100.

As I really don't know what to expect, if I can find one which I can move on if necessary, all the better.

Will any of these have extra connectors? I could plug my minidisc and possibly freeview through it if I wanted.

Andrew

 

I've just thought, if I get a DAC, will the CDP still have its own volume control, or would I need a DAC with a variable output?

As the Rotel doesn't have a remote and I am very lazy, I find it very useful that both the CD and minidisc have a variable output

Andrew

 

You will lose the volume control on the CDP if you add a DAC. You'll get an instant boost in performance btw if you use the fixed outputs on your Rotel rather than the variable ones. You'll be going through one less volume control stage and the volume control on the CDP is likely to be of a poorer quality than the one on your amp.

On my old Marantz CD50SE the difference between using the fixed and variable outputs was not subtle.

Michael.

 

How about .this one

I am wondering if its the same as Michael's but in a nicer box.

 

Looks like the same principle with a few more frills (like TOSLink input - unnecessary IMO). Also don't like the idea of that C-frame mains transformer in there so close to the important bits.

Michael.

 

Price is good at under £57. Only one electrical digital input though.
These days people have more than one digital source. So at least one more digital inout would have been useful. Something I miss with my Super DAC

Thinking of using a Y adaptor but don't know if that will cause any damage

 

It does depend on the cd player as to whether that will be the case - even my cheap (now broken) Marantz CD4000 had a variable volume control that worked in the digital domain as well as analogue, though admittedly using the volume control on the cd player with a DAC didn't seem to give as wide a volume range as with analogue. Certainly though if the CD4000 had variable output in the digital domain, then I'd expect the 6000 OSE LE to have the same.