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    The Computer Audiophile

    By The Computer Audiophile •

    Cambridge Audio DacMagic Review

    dacmagic-thumb.jpgThe Cambridge Audio DacMagic is not fancy by any means. It's a blue-collar DAC amongst white-collar competitors. The DacMagic doesn't command a stratospheric price and it gets the job done nicely. Strengths of the DacMagic are its versatility and price to performance ratio. The DAC offers three digital inputs and one digital output. These options almost guarantee it will work with any computer. The DAC's performance is boosted by its Adaptive Time Filtering (ATF™) asynchronous upsampling. No matter what sample rate the DAC is presented it upsamples to 24/192 and outputs good quality sound. At less than $400 this DAC isn't going to find diamonds in a lump of coal but it is a great value that will take lemons and make lemonade.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <b>Versatility</b>

     

    The Cambridge Audio DacMagic is built to very good quality standards. It's a solid DAC compared to many other DACs that have come and gone from Computer Audiophile. As most readers have likely seen this DAC usually rests vertically in the included rubber stand. This makes for a great fit next to a computer monitor or a set of desktop speakers. The DAC can also rest horizontally and fit nicely with your existing components. The buttons on the front of the DAC are easy to use and switch inputs or phase with the slightest touch. The front panel also has an incoming sample rate indicator that illuminates sample rates from 32 to 96 kHz. This is not to be mistaken with a bit perfect indicator like an HDCD light. The sample rate indicator is also nice for people new to computer based audio. It's an easy way to visually identify if the correct sample rate is leaving your computer. This may sound elementary to some learned computer audiophiles, but there are days when all of us have to look at the end of a TosLink cable just to verify it's connected.

     

    The DacMagic has all the inputs and outputs the everyday audiophile will need. Two optical, two coaxial, and one USB input are enough for most applications. The DAC offers one coaxial and one optical digital output, and standard single ended (RCA) and balanced (XLR) analog outputs. The coaxial output came in very handy for me during the review. It allowed me to test for bit perfect output from my computer in a roundabout fashion. Using the MediaMonkey waveOut plug-in (v2.0.2a) I selected the DacMagic as my USB output device. I connected the coaxial digital output from the DacMagic to my Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC. Then I played HDCD encoded 16/44.1 tracks to verify the bit perfect signal reached the Alpha DAC and illuminated the HDCD indicator via the DacMagic's digital passthrough. If nothing else, this test verified the audio signal reached the DacMagic unaltered by Windows XP or anything else.

     

    The DacMagic USB input does not support native high resolution files at 24/96. In addition the Windows XP music server I used during this review did not have a coaxial output to send 24/96 files to the DAC. To test 24/96 albums with the DacMagic I connected the Bel Canto USB Link which converted USB to coaxial at full 24/96 resolution. Even though the DacMagic upsamples every input signal to 24/192 there was still a great advantage to using <u>some</u> 24/96 material. I have several DVD-Audio discs that I've ripped to 24/96 AIFF files. My John Hiatt <i>Bring The Family</i> 24/96 version is much better than any of the 16/44.1 versions available. Thus, sending the 24/96 AIFF version to the DacMagic, without downsampling to 16/44.1 via USB before upsampling to 24/192, was sonically very advantageous. The fact that 24/96 is a multiple of 24/192 certainly couldn't hurt either. It's often best to upsample in the same family as the original source material i.e. 24/88.2 to 24/176.4, and 24/96 to 24/192. The reason I used the verbiage, "... certainly couldn't hurt..." when discussing the DacMagic upsampling from 24/96 to 24/192 is that the Adaptive Time Filtering (ATF™) asynchronous upsampling is not your father's upsampler. The sonic impact of upsamping always depends on the manufacturer's implementation within the DAC. The Cambridge Audio DacMagic has a very solid upsampling implementation that is on par with many of the much more expensive DACs I've listened to recently.

     

     

     

     

    <b>Price / Performance</b>

     

    With the 2008 holiday shopping season nearing an end and the global financial situation looking dismal, it's fabulous to see high performance low price audio components. The DacMagic is certainly one of these components. It has Dual Wolfson WM8740 24bit DACs, a Texas Instruments TMS 320VC5501 DSP upsampling digital filter and a 2-Pole Dual Differential Bessel Double Virtual Earth Balanced analog filter. As the front panel of the DAC suggests it supports input sample rates from 32 to 96k and upsamples everything to 24/192. All of this comes together to produce some very nice sound from a reasonably priced package. The DacMagic did not sound offensive throughout the range of high and low frequencies. The DAC was pleasant to listen to and was not fatiguing at all. There is nothing worse than a component that turns an enjoyable listening experience into a headache causing nightmare. Fortunately the DacMagic was enjoyable from start to finish. Listening to Rock and Acoustic music this DAC sounds great and has no trouble sending out analog exactly what came in as digital. John Mellencamp's new album <i>Life, Death, Love, and Freedom</i> in the 24/96 CODE version sounded very nice from track one through fourteen. I enjoyed listening to the complete album through the DacMagic. Classical Music with a wide dynamic range was a little different story. The DacMagic doesn't extend up or down as far as I prefer and the sound was congested at times. Listening to quite a few tracks from High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) it was clear this is surely not an Alpha DAC, but at $4,600 cheaper nobody should expect Alpha DAC performance from the DacMagic. All three digital interfaces sounded virtually indistinguishable from each other. This is good news for audiophiles with only one type of digital output on their computer. There is no need to wonder if purchasing a new computer with an optical or coaxial output, instead of the USB output, would improve the sound. In my opinion this DAC alleviates a little "Audiophilia Nervosa." Select an interface, start listening, and stop worrying. All the interfaces are good.

     

    Note: The majority of listening was done using a Windows XP music server, MediaMonkey, uncompressed AIFF files, and the waveOut plug-in.

     

     

     

     

    <b>Conclusion</b>

     

    The Cambridge Audio DacMagic is a very nice component to mate a computer with a traditional audio system. In addition this DAC would make an excellent higher-end desktop audio system even better. Placing the DacMagic vertically next to a monitor allows easy access to switch inputs if needed and offers a close-up view of the sample rate indicators. The DacMagic's very good sound quality is what we've all come to expect from Cambridge Audio. In typical Cambridge fashion the price of this DAC is very reasonable as well. The DacMagic's high quality upsampling implementation is a big reason why this DAC competes with major high-end audio players. The DacMagic may be viewed as a utility man on a star-studded roster of DACs, but there is no doubt this DAC offers major league performance at a minor league price.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    DacMagic Upsampling Information <a href="http://files.computeraudiophile.com/2008/1222/upsampling-dac-info.pdf">PDF Link</a>

    DacMagic Manual <a href="http://files.computeraudiophile.com/2008/1222/AP239051DacMagicUserManual01English.pdf">PDF Link</a>

    Manufacturer: <a href="http://www.cambridgeaudio.com">Cambridge Audio</a>

    U.S. Distributor: <a href="http://www.audioplusservices.com">Audio Plus Services</a>

    Price: $399

     

     

    Associated Equipment: Windows XP music server, Mac Pro, Lynx AES16/e card, Kimber USB cable, Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC, PS Audio DLIII, Devilsound DAC, Benchmark DAC1 PRE, Kimber Select cable, Avalon Acoustics speakers, Focal Electra Be series speakers, McIntosh tube amplification, Virtual Dynamics power cables, Richard Gray's Power Company cables, Bel Canto USB Link.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/DM001.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/DM001-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

    <center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/DM002.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/DM002-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

     

    <center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/dac_magic_front.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/dac_magic_front-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

     

    <center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/DAC_Magic_rear.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/DAC_Magic_rear-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

     

     

     

     

     

     

    <center>Digital Filter Algorithm Graphs</center>

     

    <center>Linear Phase</center><center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/LinearPhaseFilter.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/LinearPhaseFilter-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

     

     

     

    <center>Minimum Phase</center><center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/MinimumPhaseFilter.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/MinimumPhaseFilter-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

     

     

     

    <center>Steep Phase</center><center>

    <a href="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/SteepPhaseFilter.jpg"><img src="http://images.computeraudiophile.com/graphics/2008/1222/SteepPhaseFilter-small.jpg" alt="DacMagic"></a>

    </center><center>click to enlarge</center>

     

     

     

     

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    GeneZ

    RC...<br />

    <br />

    You said...<br />

    <br />

    <br />

    >It's been a while i posted here, i had the DacMagic when it came out and almost immediatly upgraded it internally and there was little improvement to be found.<<br />

    <br />

    Problem is, I found that the DacMagic requires a break in period that lasted me several months before it truly settled in. If you almost immediately upgraded? You have no way to know how the DacMagic is intended to sound. Some other companies may in fact burn in their units before shipping. I have no idea what you are hearing, because what you did, cut you off from first discovering what the Dacmagic is truly capable of.

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    RCduck7

    It has been playing non stop for more then 2 weeks before AND after the upgrade, i normally woudn't do that i admit with a source but i did this becausse at the time my amp was new to. If it wouldn't sound as it should after in total 4 weeks or more in total without listening + the several hours listening to music i guess it never will. Sorry, should have metioned it. After a month or so in possesion of the DacMagic and then upgrade it isn't exactly immediatly.

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    GeneZ

    Sorry,<br />

    <br />

    Mine took months before it really smoothed out like it has. It sounded good when I first got it, but the high end was a bit odd to my ears. Now, it sounds very realistic with a good source. <br />

    <br />

    Unlike you, I had no choice to flip between all the different units you seem able to. So, I had to stick with what I had. Read online that it can take a long time for break in. One person claimed 300 hours. So? Here I sit with a DacMagic that sounds to my ears pleasantly superior to when I first turned it on. At one month there was not all that much of a change if I recall correctly. Yet, it sounded better than anything that preceded it. <br />

    <br />

    <br />

    What can I say?

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    RCduck7

    I still have the DacMagic in my posession, not sure i can be bothered playing it for so long. I do have a a few CD's to make burn in faster (or so they claim).

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    GeneZ

    I can not say what your problem with the Dacmagic really is... It may be an incompatibility issue. <br />

    <br />

    The following excerpt taken from Stereophile. <br />

    <br />

    "Other than that, I've so far avoided the subject of how the DacMagic sounded. In a word, it sounded glorious—far better than you have any right to expect for 400 bucks. Especially in Linear Phase, I heard well-defined bass, exquisitely extended highs, and a natural midrange. The soundstage was admirably wide, and soloists and their instruments were precisely positioned. What more do you want?" <br />

    <br />

    By Sam Tellig • Posted: May 29, 2009 • Published: Mar 1, 2009 <br />

    <br />

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    RCduck7

    I don't have a problem with the DacMagic, it doesn't sound bad for sure becausse i sold my beautiful Xindak DAC-8 wich is regarded as high end stuff, i missed the bass from the DacMagic on this Xindak. It is just that in my system i found the Metrum NOS Quad DAC sounded better to my ears. At first it seemed the Quad was holding a bit back in the highs but highs are there when they need to be. The Metrum sounds in my system more balanced and together when i compared it to all the stuff that has a DAC inside like cd player, receiver,... i have in my house. My system consists of a passive EVA II Pre Amp, the power stage of a DUSSUN V8i and Hyperion HPS-938 speakers. Maybe it's a case of sytem matching, maybe one wouldn't like the Metrum DAC, who knows. But the dutch review is very convincing when he compares this low cost DAC to his reference DAC. It set a bit of fire in the Netherlands and personally i'm ok with that as i can relate to the reviewer.

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    cespy

    I also noticed it took a little time for my DacMagic to settle down. I've had it for over a year now and I feed it music files from a PC via a Juli@ card playing high resolution FLAC files. It sounds wonderful. And, I know that high resolution digital music is the future, not only because of its ease of distribution but especially because of the very high quality of sound reproduction it provides.<br />

    <br />

    I expect that I will upgrade at some point, but I feel no urgency to do that at the moment. Maybe I'll upgrade when Cambridge Audio introduces a DAC that directly converts files at 192k.<br />

    <br />

    Michigan Man

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    GeneZ

    The other day I was looking over the Cambridge Audio page to find out a spec on my DacMagic. Realized something for the first time, and it explained why I enjoy listening so much in the Minimum Phase mode. Here is what they say on the site. Note the last sentence. <br />

    <br />

    "Minimum phase meanwhile does not feature constant group delay but rather the co-efficients have been optimized without feed-forward so that the impulse response exhibits no pre-ringing in the time domain. Some commentators have argued that the pre-ringing as seen in nearly all digital filter designs may affect the transient attack of percussive instruments. <b>Minimum phase implementation eliminates this and is a technology only seen previously in some extremely highend CD playback systems."</b><br />

    <br />

    http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/content.php?PID=320&COID=128&Title=Filters<br />

    <br />

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    GeneZ

    <br />

    New aspect... Addendum.<br />

    <br />

    I have seen a change in my thinking since making my comment about preferring the Minimum Phase setting of the Dacmagic. I have a new new pair speakers used for nearfield. Audioengine P4's. Much to my surprise, now the Linear Phase setting sounds the best and most natural. Its possible that the other speakers I had been listening to had some ringing by the tweeters (one was a plastic, the other aluminum) that the Minimum Phase setting countered. Now in the Linear Phase setting I hear a very natural and open high end that I was not getting before with the other speakers. Looks like the engineers had that in mind, as well. <br />

    <br />

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    Xtian

    nice review, <br />

    and for all the mac fans:<br />

    the dacmagic is'nt meant be used as volume control.<br />

    <br />

    my dacmagic is connected to a windows based PC and if i change the volume in VLC player, i have the same problems, almost all or nothing...<br />

    <br />

    99% of cd players and blu ray players come without volume control...<br />

    normal use with the dacmagic would be if you change the volume with the remote of your integrated or pre amp...<br />

    <br />

    if you want to go straight to your power amp without pre amp, you'll need to implement a 10K potmeter in the cable between dac and amp and that will act as your volume control (you'll need a high grade potmeter!)

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    Mark Powell

    Chris' review of the Dagmagic was in 2008. some time later it was totally revised. Most of the circuitry is different. Now there is a Dacmagic Plus, but that is a different animal altogether.<br />

    <br />

    I have found very recently that the current model (post 2010, but not the Plus), coupled with a Musical Fidelity V-Link II can give very good performance.<br />

    <br />

    Taken a stage further, with the power lead (red) in the USB cable cut near the DAC end, a 4-cell NiMh rechargeable battery connected between that and the ground (black), so that the V-Link is powered from the battery, rather than the maybe noisy computer USB power you can get even better. I also cut the red wire near the computer too so it could not act as an 'aerial' within the cable but that is being fanatical. If you do this, Do NOT charge the battery with it connected to the cable, you may destroy the V-Link.<br />

    <br />

    Provided you are happy with its 96K limit you will find that it then gives a truly 'high end' performance. If price and performance is related, I would say at least a 5000 dollar performance.

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    RCduck7

    I just tought about this forum today. Well, time goes bye. In the meantime the metrum dac's, the quad, Octave and now the Hex are getting rave reviews. It seems my gut feeling was right about it. It is easy to negelect advice from someone you don't know over the internet. Don't excuse yourself to be judging so early. But those negelecting my advive won't propably remeber me and moved on. Then again on the audiocircle they did take notice, so did the people at 6moons that read my posts before getting in contact with Metrum. No, i did not get paid for letting it out in the open if anyone would ask. I just tend to get something in the open once i'm on to something that's worth anyones attention. I am not a dealer, just a hobby.

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