sastusbulbas Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Hi, Do any of you have an opinion on the Cambridge Audio Dacmagic Plus dacs? I am thinking of putting together a starter computer audio set up, I have a couple of old Dacs such as the Teac D-T1, Theta Digital DSPro Basic 3a balanced, and Genesis Digital Lens, but nothing up to date. I remember seeing benchmarks of this against a DCS and it looking pretty good. Although it is not high end, what would be considered bargains that punch above their weight in the £250 UK market? Being able to connect Nas, HTPC, stream, use USB or bluetooth all sound useful for a family based system. I also have power amps so connecting such a dac with a volume control could possibly be slightly beneficial in some set ups. Link to comment
opus101 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I very much doubt that any new DAC in your mentioned price bracket is going to beat out the Theta (if its the one reviewed here, or closely similar - Theta Digital DSPro Basic D/A processor | Stereophile.com ). So is it the newer connectivity options that incline you towards getting a newer DAC? Link to comment
sastusbulbas Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yeah it's the later model of that Theta Dac, my old CD system is a Theta Data III transport, Genesis Digital Lens, Theta Pro Basic 3a. The others I have are Teac VRDS T1 with Teac D-T1 dac, and an EAD Theatervision P as a player too. I also used to use an HTPC with an M-Audio 24/96 SC. most of that is too big for under the TV, and in storage at the moment. No space for the HiFi racks anymore. I would really like to give HDD based digital audio a go again, but controlled via my phone or a tablet, with a more modern dac which offers good bang for buck. But don't really want to go all out on expenditure, I was thinking a budget Dac should be better than the majority of my current Dacs, if it gets used a lot then I may start getting back into audio and looking at upgrades. But keeping it small, unobtrusive, quiet and family friendly would be nice. Link to comment
mwheelerk Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I am not comparing it to anything else but the previous DacMagic is what convinced me that a computer based system was a viable audio solution. "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open." Frank Zappa Link to comment
opus101 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 But don't really want to go all out on expenditure, I was thinking a budget Dac should be better than the majority of my current Dacs, if it gets used a lot then I may start getting back into audio and looking at upgrades. Curious as to what leads you to think this (bolded). Is it because digital technology has advanced so much in the meantime, that you figure it must have impacted value for money in sound quality terms considerably? Link to comment
Miska Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I am not comparing it to anything else but the previous DacMagic is what convinced me that a computer based system was a viable audio solution. I have the older DacMagic as a DAC for AirPlay (connected to Airport Express) and for PS3. I think it is pretty fine device and well designed. Signalyst - Developer of HQPlayer Pulse & Fidelity - Software Defined Amplifiers Link to comment
blownsi Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 You already have a very good dac. If you are looking for a different sound then you may find it. If you are looking for better then I think you need to extend your budget. Link to comment
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