OMG. Am I a Dac collector...?

[wappinghigh]

I used to laugh at an older friend of mine and his camera collecting behaviour.

 

Then another who was into swiss watches.

 

Of course they could only use one of these at a time.. that's what made me laugh.. they would bring out the others and use them for a short while, admire some little idiosyncracy of them.. They would know and recite with pride everything about them: and why "this little feature" meant so much to them: then put them away...

 

LOL

 

Now I find myself with 5 Dac's....

 

And I'm doing the same! hahahahahha

 

I say to myself: this is ridiculous... need to sell that old Benchmark Dac1 on ebay: then I remember how much I luv that thing: I plug it in, and it becomes my main go to Dac again...but worse I find myself lusting after anther one on ebay with the same sigma dac inside *just* with analog inputs...LOL!!!!

 

I find myself going back trolling over the Benchmark seconds pages hahahahahha

 

Is this "normal" behaviour?

 

Anybody else having a similar experience..?

[mav52]

nope, but I do have plenty of 35mm film and digital cameras

[rodrigaj]

I have way too many fountain pens and bottles of ink.

 

My wife make me sell my audio gear before I can buy another, so that keeps things in check. I regret selling it, but I do realize the logic of it - not just from a financial point of view. I mean, would I ever, really set up my ProAC/Naim/Linn Sondek system of the early 80's because I loved it so much? Nah...

[Melvin]

Hey Wap, I have 5 DACs too and often listen to my Tranquility DAC which is of the NOS variety and sounds way better than it should. I tell myself I need it/them in case my Qute Ex fails or want to set up a 3rd system LOL.

[kevalin]

My wife collects wine, I collect dacs. We have an understanding. I enjoy her wine and she enjoys my dacs. I find the dac more influential than tubes, surprisingly. I may end up with a PCM renderer/dac, DSD dac and a third for SPDIF (TV, etc)...all in one system. Wife sometimes gets annoyed when the system changes and I forget to show her how to listen the music she desires.

[djtw]

I'd like to think this is "normal" behavior as we are always trying to find that new listening experience. The digital side of this hobby is changing so quickly. Having said that, I just bought my 4th DAC, although it is 20 yrs old...

 

 

Enjoy.

[lmf22]

As a graduate student with limited income, I'm forced to sell old components after buying a new ones. Financially, it doesn't make much sense to keep multiple DACs. If I don't have to worry about finances, I might have kept some of the DACs. There are much worse things to collect, like piles and piles of old newspapers and magazines ;p

[kumakuma]

There are much worse things to collect, like piles and piles of old newspapers and magazines ;p

 

Got a few of those as well as digital "piles" of music that I will probably never listen to again.

[esimms86]

C'mon guys, even my phone has a DAC. Have an iPod or iPad? DAC. Pono Player? DAC. My Woo WA7 headphone amp has a DAC I never use (great, moderately expensive tube amp, so so DAC). Then there's portable vs. main vs. office system(which I don't have). Then there's the reference headphone system. It doesn't take long to collect a bunch of these gadgets! ifi or Geek anybody?

[Superdad]

100% true stories:

 

Back in the 1980s I used to go over to this weird guy's (Elon was his name) apartment in Hollywood to buy American-made Marantz gear from him (Marant 18 and 19 receivers, 20B tuner, 16 power amp, etc.). His place was so crammed with audio gear that, I kid you not, he could barely open his front door--had to move sideways through it and through most of his apartment. Gear was stacked EVERYWHERE! There was one clear spot on the carpet in the middle of his "living room?" floor. When I stepped there, he asked me not to--because that was the spot where he slept!

 

Then there was the fellow in the valley who lived in a big house with mostly empty rooms (I think he had gone through a divorce--likely over his audio gear obsession). He led me up to a large bedroom that was empty except for a 7-ft x 5-ft x 4 ft high pile of receivers, power amps, preamps, tuners, etc. None were in boxes--he kept all the boxes in a different room! The room was dark except for some track lights spot-lighting the pile of gear.

 

Anytime my wife gives me a hard time (rarely) about the items in my audio "museum," I recount one of the above two stories to her and she then feels lucky…

 

I also once bought an old Electrolux Model G vacuum cleaner from a creepy guy who collected and repaired vacuums--his house was in a bad neighborhood, his living room walls were lined with vintage vacuums and parts, and the only light in the room was a bare bulb hanging from a socket from a wire from the ceiling. I still get the chills when I think about that one!

[rodrigaj]

100% true stories:

 

Back in the 1980s I used to go over to this weird guy's (Elon was his name) apartment in Hollywood to buy American-made Marantz gear from him (Marant 18 and 19 receivers, 20B tuner, 16 power amp, etc.). His place was so crammed with audio gear that, I kid you not, he could barely open his front door--had to move sideways through it and through most of his apartment. Gear was stacked EVERYWHERE! There was one clear spot on the carpet in the middle of his "living room?" floor. When I stepped there, he asked me not to--because that was the spot where he slept!

 

Then there was the fellow in the valley who lived in a big house with mostly empty rooms (I think he had gone through a divorce--likely over his audio gear obsession). He led me up to a large bedroom that was empty except for a 7-ft x 5-ft x 4 ft high pile of receivers, power amps, preamps, tuners, etc. None were in boxes--he kept all the boxes in a different room! The room was dark except for some track lights spot-lighting the pile of gear.

 

Anytime my wife gives me a hard time (rarely) about the items in my audio "museum," I recount one of the above two stories to her and she then feels lucky…

 

I also once bought an old Electrolux Model G vacuum cleaner from a creepy guy who collected and repaired vacuums--his house was in a bad neighborhood, his living room walls were lined with vintage vacuums and parts, and the only light in the room was a bare bulb hanging from a socket from a wire from the ceiling. I still get the chills when I think about that one!

 

Those are examples of hoarders, it is a subset of OCD and recognized by American Pychiatric Board. Probably the most extreme case is the two brothers in NYC whose top floor collapsed in on them killing one of the brothers. The other brother died later and it was then that the authorities found the body of the first brother. It is unclear whether the "later" brother knew about the death of his brother.

 

They collected everything including audio gear. I believe there was an automobile engine in there as well.

 

Creepy indeed.

[elcorso]

I own several DACs, sell what I can, but finished with three in use.

 

I'm a tube collector, from NOS to new nice replicas.

 

Ah, and of course, Bonsai trees. All the new species I can find and some new trees from reproduction and imported seeds. Had a 'bad luck' with north of the planet trees, they don't like not to have your four seasons, but even with those I do try hard. The last one, a Black Pine from Japan lived about 3 years with me, then died (this was a record this side of the world)

 

Roch

[Jabs1542]

C'mon guys, even my phone has a DAC. Have an iPod or iPad? DAC. Pono Player? DAC. My Woo WA7 headphone amp has a DAC I never use (great, moderately expensive tube amp, so so DAC). Then there's portable vs. main vs. office system(which I don't have). Then there's the reference headphone system. It doesn't take long to collect a bunch of these gadgets! ifi or Geek anybody?

 

I think my toilet has a DAC in it, it says Sabre under the tank lid

[jnoneiliv1]

I love this thread. I am guilty of DAC collecting. Cheap e-bay nos DAC, inexpensive asynchronous USB DAC, more expensive audiogon DAC. always planning to complete home reference to listen to all and prove I can hear a difference before next upgrade. Of course now I have vinyl also. Help!

[trithio]

C'mon guys, even my phone has a DAC. Have an iPod or iPad? DAC. Pono Player? DAC. My Woo WA7 headphone amp has a DAC I never use (great, moderately expensive tube amp, so so DAC). Then there's portable vs. main vs. office system(which I don't have). Then there's the reference headphone system. It doesn't take long to collect a bunch of these gadgets! ifi or Geek anybody?

 

Never thought about this but guess I also have over 10 dacs.

Other than that I'm kinda collecting HPs and already have more than 10.

[Superdad]

I think my toilet has a DAC in it, it says Sabre under the tank lid

 

A most appropriate application! May all your flushes be of the highest resolution.

[Sam Lord]

I find myself with 5 Dac's...hahahahahha

Is this "normal"?

 

"Why of course it is Mr. High. Would you like some warm milk with your biscuits?"

 

Like all multichannelers, you have been enabled by the home theatre mafia. There's an 11.2 channel Marantz now for chrissake. But that is evolution. Why, in a few years you will be blessed with a Texas accent, drink cold beer and sugary iced tea, and attend a Southern Baptist megachurch. And like it.

 

*Snap.*

 

Wake up Wap, you just had a bad dream.

[wappinghigh]

^haha Yep: you got it.. nightmare more like it !

[wappinghigh]

I love this thread. I am guilty of DAC collecting. Cheap e-bay nos DAC, inexpensive asynchronous USB DAC, more expensive audiogon DAC. always planning to complete home reference to listen to all and prove I can hear a difference before next upgrade. Of course now I have vinyl also. Help!

 

haha. Join the club

[wappinghigh]

...first prize of a brand new Auralic streamer goes to the person who can post a picture of the most no. of DAC's connected to preamp. I'll also accept photos of em connected to audio matrixes.. 16x16--heck 32, 64 even! LOL (unofficial prize of course hahahahaha)

[TimU]

I was laughing at you guys until I realized I own six DACs with a seventh (Geek Pulse Xfi!) on the way!

 

Four are actually in use in different systems, two are in the drawer, and I have no idea what I'm going to do with the Geek Pulse.

 

Edit: Actually I have seven going on eight. I forgot the one in my car!

[wappinghigh]

LOL (back)

[wappinghigh]

 

Current favourites. With my simplest setup. Res labs Invicta for DSD fed by Audirvana plus. Or my still got to Dac. For PCM.: My old Benchmark Dac1 fed Sonos (fixed volume so I can fiddle the wonderful Benchmark volume control right at the desktop) by a Cullen Circuits modded 24 bit ZP. DAC's direct to Rotel power amp. 2.1 Old REL Quake (flipped on its side so I can reach controls and it becomes a forward firing sub) with KEF iQ5's....toe'd in for "headphone" effect. No I know it's not "conventional". Might not be pretty. Didn't cost me a packet. Not the biggest or grandest set up in town , but gee is it a blast.