What dac to use with a logitech sb3

Hello, ive now bought a new logitech classic and im impressed,
i thought i would not be able to see its facia but that is not the case, im now thinking about getting a better dac the lavry da10
and benchmark 1 seem to be favored by many but can they be used with the classic cheers ocean

 

Well anything will work, as the SB3 has both optical and coax output, so it comes down to price and performance, which is a complicated question! I have a Beresford Caiman, which is pretty good; it loses some transparency to my old dCS stack but is more dynamic. It is also somewhat cheaper...

 

stay away from the benchmark 1[mk1] I recently had the mis fortune to listen to an sb3 through it .....it was far worse than a behringer src2496 at £90 ....in fact the owner of the benchark went on to sell it and replaced it with an src ..

my sb3 is run through an audio synthesis dax decade .....but have also used various nos dac's and a couple of older MF dac's ..

the dax is head and shoulder and a lot more better than these [as it should be at £6000ish ]

the original berrisford is not bad but don't be totaly taken in with the hype .....

if you can still get the src ..... it has great potential and is very cheap

 

This is something that I am going to face in the near future too, as a SB owner.

in my current address, I have severe room issues, that cannot be treated acoustically without ruining asthetics, and I simply don't want to digitally EQ.

moving very soon, will address the DAC issue.

First thing - don't dismiss the DAC in the SB. In my awful room (!), it sounded less 'full' than an audio synthesis DAC, less 'valvey' than a California Audiolabs valve dac, but neither better nor worse than either.

I am hoping that in a great listening acoustic space differences will become more apparent. It is difficult (nay impossible) to hear performance issues in such a compromised space.

On the ''hot list'' for me to audition are -

1) A simple NOS Dac.
2) Prometheus do a nice DAC, cheap too. Definately worth a look this one.
3) DIY hifi supply's 'SATCH' DAC - also worth serious consideration
4) Twisted Pear do a 'Buffalo' DAC - which I am going to bully Paul into bringing to my house - and reward him with tea and biscuits! haha.

Option 1 - NOS - Ebay, how cheap are they!?!?
Option 2 - This is very cheap for the reputed performance. Check out the reviews.
Option 3 - it's DIY but they build at a price.
Option 4 - it's get your soldering iron out time.


For me - I think it's going to be the Prometheus DAC or the Twisted Pear Buffalo DAC....or maybe Option 5, which is a lovely DAC a friend of mine is bringing into production soon - very, very promising.

So, yeah audition carefully - and again I reckon the standard SB DAC is really actually pretty blooody good.

 

Re what dac to use with a logitech sb3

I used to play vinyl in the 80s but then got a cdp

i thought this was much better than vinyl, records sounded like i
had the mono button on or dolby button on compared with my
cdp.

I now dont play vinyl, but i do find the digital shrill annoying on
some cd's, having now listened to my set up with the sb3 the
music is definitely better and im playing free and bad company
again, i would still like to improve the sound but not at a massive
cost, the differences i would imagine are slight with different dacs
im into playing with the cheap ones first thanks for your help and
advice cheers ocean

 

Hi Ocean... the Prometheus one is inexpensive and well reviewed - $450 ish. The NOS ones are cheap too.

Good luck with it all.

Cheers
Chris

 

Re what dac to use with a logitech sb3

I must say i like the look of the twisted audio dac im very good
with soldering iron aswell, but i would like to hear from somone who has tried one, all types of music sounds different so i think
you have to play the same 10 cds to compare,

1. Tanita Tikaram, Twist in my Sobriety i think this track sounds
great listen to the snardrum, i could probably naim 10 but i would
have to think, but im going to listen to as much new stuff as possible over the next few weeks before spending any more money, cdp as definatly gone out the window now cheers ocean
any music recomendations would be good cheers

 

The MF V-DAC is also excellent on a budget.
Superb at £130 online price.

 

super mf dac for the money, i have one with my pc ,
nando.

 

If you are lucky your next preamp change might include a DAC stage. I use a Linn Kinos with bith coax and optical input. Not sure which others do this, perhaps those from the AV world?

 

Re what dac to use with a logitech sb3

Hi all and thanks for all the replies, ive bought a Musical Fidelity X-DACv3 from the bay with little pinky psu £246, if i dont like at
least i can resell it hopefully not to much out of pocket, thanks

ocean

 

Hi Ocean,

I hope you like the MF X-DAC V3.

Early last week I got me a Cambridge DACmagic. I ordered it without (the possibility of) an audition first, purely based on the raving reviews and some peoples experience with this DAC.

I'm Very happy with the improvements the DAGmagic made to my SB3!
The soundstage gained more depth (first thing I noticed) and voices and instruments sound more natural.
To me, listening to my music became more involving.

In fact, I'm to pleased with this affordable DAC, that I decided to put my Naim CD-5i up for sale!
(which I still think is a great CD-player)

cheers,
Alco

 

Re what dac to use with a logitech sb3

Alco ive never heard the dacmagic but im told its great for the
price, after hearing my system with just my sb3 as a source i find
it cold and analytical sounding im hoping things will improve with
my new purchase, ive now got to find a digital coaxial lead aswell

thanks ocean

 

The Beresford Caiman is a very different beast from the earlier 7510's and 7520. It's a high-end DAc for £220.

I'm now using the Caiman as my main DAC driven by the coax digital output of my Transporter because it actually manages to slightly beat the Transporter on resolution of instrumental timbre, fine details and decay whilst ceding nothing in other areas. Quite an achievement for £220!

The bass is particularly good. This is an area where many other DACs fail to make the grade and is the reason I no longer own a Lavry DA10 for example.

 

Re what dac to use with a logitech sb3

if i dont get on with the mf x dac v3 its the caimen or dacmagic
next on my list but i do think it all depends on your system and
what you are after sound wise, ive never heard valves but i think
it would be the sound i would like. cheers ocean

 

What makes you think that?

Valve amplifiers come in a huge variety of types and styles and vary considerably in the kind of sound they create.

Please don't listen to one only and think that you have heard valves. You may need to listen to quite a few before finding a sound that you like.

Then again you might find you prefer a hybrid (I do) but they also vary quite a lot.

You might equally discover that valves are not for you and stick with solid state.

Enjoy the journey!

 

Re What dac to use with a logitech sb3

Thanks everyone for the help and advice you have given me.

My new Little Pinkie V3i PSU got delivered tuesday, then wensday

windows 7 came in the post and because my x dac v3 was still

to arrive i put the windows 7 onto my pc, then thursday my x dac

v3 arrived in the post thats when i found out that sb3 dont run
on windows 7 so i had to reinstall xp. any way the sound from the x dac v3 is much warmer and solid no more shrill, early days
but switching between sb3 and dac there is a lot of difference in
the sound which i find much less annoying.

Has anyone used sb3 with vista or windows 7 cheers all ocean.