True, and that would probably be about as useful as saying 'I don't like them so I wouldn't buy them' without a qualifier. The point being, they do sound different to me and I tried to describe why. If you don't find the 'why' or 'what' important that is fine too.
As someone posted earlier... we know where we are and what the subject is about. I think we're more aware than you might wish to believe Anyway, it's all good
It's all good. You're also not the first one to mention that there's a lot better units out there than the Cambridge. The 951 is my first streamer and I'm over the moon happy with the new format and wondering why the hell I waited so long.
My system in my primary home (listed in my profile) using a Gold Note DS-10 with the outboard PSU10 Evo. Love this piece! I also have a remote apartment that I stay in for work. There I am using a dragonfly Cobalt. I like it but I am very curious to hear what a better DAC would sound like in this system (which is a Cary SLI-80/ Sonus Faber lumina 2 pairing)
Try the 24/96 files, would be interested in your take. For me the May is too rolled off so yes I would cross it off my list.
I can’t ever recall over the years having the same DACs in two or more different components in order to compare. If you could wouldn’t the onus fall solely on the DAC?…Or maybe not.
The Gold Notes were my last outboard DAC and power supply in my main system before switching. They were great sounding units. Very musical.
You sucked me in. I had to try the 24/96. I agree, his direct capture is rolled off. I compared Pentangling from both the May and D2000 to Qobuz and both of his captures are rolled off. The high res file did fix everything else that was wrong in my previous listen. Either windows, youtube, or a combination was causing weird and really bad things to happen.
I've owned my for several years and I've had no issues other than the unit occasionally freezes and then I shut it off using the rear on/off switch. Enjoy
Good to hear that it's been a mostly trouble free unit for you. Do you have any thoughts on the filter settings? I've tried switching them and reading what effect they have. If there is a difference it's so slight that neither my wife or I notice any change.
How many DACS would you actually audition if in the market? Seems like there’s an overabundant number of choices out there and what would be the prime factor in your choice other than cost?
As I posted earlier, not surprising you don't initially notice a different as the setting aren't going to be a "night and day" difference. It may also depend on genre/music you're listening to. As I suggested earlier, the best approach is to listen to your favorite album, one you know intimately, as you play with the different filter settings. Also understand this will take a bit of patience as you may not notices things at first. Honestly it may take more than one listen to hear those subtle differences. Also, listening on headphones may help, but understand what sounds great on headphones, may be different through speakers. At any rate, because the difference are so subtle, it's going to take patience and critical listening. Oh, and I don't have any "settings suggestion" because, we all hear differently, plus equipment and setup differences. Add that what sounds good to me, may be garbage to you. Good luck.
I've been using a Yamaha MusicCast WXAD-10 as my streaming DAC. I recently got a Topping D10s and it certainly feels like a step up. The Yamaha was a bit closed in and blanketed while the Topping is open and detailed. Unfortunately now I need to find a new streaming box.
PS Audio Digital Link III Very rich and fluid sound - I assume because of the hefty power supply and internal amplifier design?
On the track of the T+A Dac 200 and the Holo May they are two completely different topologies. I didn’t bother with the You Tube because it always sounds like crap- not sure how anyone could actually make a decision using that as an input. I would love to hear the T+A in my system if given the opportunity- the Dac 200 uses multiple Burr Brown dac chips which I’m sure provides a very low noise floor. In reading reviews and specs I’ve come to realize that it’s a really sophisticated converter! To be honest I haven’t pursued an audition because it’s a dac/preamp combo and although some would find that attractive I have no use for the preamp/volume function. I appreciate the Holo dac for its build quality and the R2R/NOS approach (which follows the path of the dac I currently use). I have not been able to compare them side by side but would love to have them both!
I really love the concept of the T+A DAC 200. Although I I have no use for DSD as I don’t personally believe it sounds better than PCM. Too bad they don’t make a more simple DAC with just the 4 Burr Brown chips DAC 200 D/A Converter
The T+A DAC 200 is an interesting DAC. It has separate sections for DSD and PCM decoding. The PCM section uses 8 Burr-Brown chips. Bun none of the reviews I've read about it mention which Burr-Brown chips it uses. Anyone know? I assume they're one of the R-2R style Burr-Brown chips. But I can't find any info that confirms that.
Where did you find that info? A Google search for that exact phrase finds nothing. And a search for variations of that finds nothing useful.
It’s actually 4 per channel (8 total). I remember reading about the Accuphase DC-91 which had something along the lines of 16 PCM-63 dac chips per channel! That must have been a first when it hit the market. Here’s a link to the Dac 200 manual- https://audiophilestyle.com/s3/article-images/2022/0901/T+A DAC 200 Manual.pdf
Straight from the source. The maker of the DAC He comments on it here. DAC - Digital to Analog Conversion
Can you link to a specific post? I've searched the AudiophileStyle form and am unable to find the info. It's like my google-foo and search-foo has failed me. This info shouldn't be this hard to find.
Thanks! It's frustrating how hard it can be to find info like that in internet searches and forum searches. I did search both google and bing using a variety of search terms. And also the AudiophileStyle forum using their forum search. But didn't come up with that info. My search-foo is weak. I'm assuming he means the DAC 200 uses 4 PCM1795 chips per channel and not 4 total. Because the marketing for the DAC says it uses 8 Burr-Brown chips. Also good to see they bypass the delta-sigma stage in the chip and use their own filtering. I assumed that was the case if they were using a Burr-Brown chip. Good to see confirmation from the company. T+A is not a good name for an audio company if you want people to be able to do good internet searches for your gear. Kinda like naming your band "The The".
