OLD DAC OR NEW ? FOR THE SAME MONEY

[antonisgr]

i really want your opinion on something

i had on my system benchmark dac 1 usb and later moved up to weiss minerva which i also sold once i installed a sony scd-xa5400es( system consists of the b&w 802d and classe cp500&ca-2200 )

i also tested but not thorougly just for a couple of hours a weiss 202 dac and i didn't like it ( it was too shiny if may say and lacked lower body )

i had for 1 week a heed dactilus dac and the naim dac

the heed is a great product for its price point ( 1500eur ) but that wasn't exactly what i want in sound terms

the naim is very close to what i'm searching sound wise ( full bodied with detail and very relaxed and naturally timbre )

its the dac that suits my taste better than anything i owned or heard on my system

 

BUT

surfing the net i saw many ads with dacs of the past 5 years (give or take) with very attractive prices

i'm talking about accustic arts dac 1 mk4 - dcs delius - audio aero prima etc

so if you would like to spend 2000-3000 eur would you buy a brand new dac or a higher priced used like the ones i mentioned

please note that audition would not be possible for the old models

 

 

 

[Bear]

Personally I am a big fan of buying most equipment used so I can get higher end for same price as lesser equipment new. I have put together a system that would cost well in excess of $25,000 retail for around $10,000. Many of my components were bought on Audiogon - all in mint condition. The disadvantage is of course that you can't really audition the components. However, if you don't like what you hear you can always resell on say Audiogon. You may take a little bit of a hit as you have now added one more owner to the chain, but if you can buy a say $5,000 component for $2,000 or less you can take a little hit here and there and still come out way ahead of the game. You also have to make sure that what you get is not already outdated for the purpose you are looking for. It works great for say amps, speakers and cables. Less so for say receivers where technology is moving very fast. DAC's are in my opinion good candidates to buy used. Just make sure it has the input options you need like USB or Firewire if that is how you want to use it and that it has the ability to handle whatever sample rates are your preference. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Paul R]

I'm very conservative about buying used gear, unless it is from someone I trust. In the $1K+ range, one slip can be a painful experience to swallow. Not just the money, but because I would have bought a hunk of audio gear I don't like in the first place, and tied up funds I could have used for something I would really have wanted.

 

Also, I think from your original posting that you are very clear about what sound you like, and without being able to audition the used DACs, what are the chances you are going to get the sound you like from one of them?

 

-Paul

 

 

 

[DanH]

This may not be completely relevant, but there are a few conventions that one should follow when writing in English. One is to always capitalize the pronoun "I". Another is to end sentences with a period (.), exclamation point (!), or question mark (?). A third is to always capitalize the first word in a sentence. Perhaps you have not followed these conventions because you are pressed for time, but the few extra keystrokes are worth the small investment when you consider that your objective in writing is probably to have what you've written read by one or more people. The readers are forced many times over to apply additional time and effort to comprehend what you've written. You're small incremental effort in conforming to conventions would therefore pay quite handsome returns.

 

 

 

 

 

[mwheelerk]

I guess my only thought would be about the USB implementation and to think that it has been improved upon with more recent technology but that is more of an impression and opinion than something factual I can present.

 

[PeterSt]

not being native english but always using punctuations and capitals im hardly ever understood if it were for me this is about some american interpretation i dont get hence cannot anticipate upon sufficiently so i wonder whether it would be better to make it all a bit random so you guys can inject the punctuations and capitals wherever you like thus in the end coming up with a net better result

 

Ik kan het natuurlijk ook gewoon in het nederlands proberen en kijken hoe dat uitpakt.

 

[antonisgr]

english is NOT my native language

anyhow is difficult for me to express all the audiophile terms even in Greek since i'm not a professional journalist-reviewer

 

 

[johniboy]

about two year ago I was in the same situation as you. I wanted to upgrade my dac from a universal player to go computer audio. I audited a large number of DACs. At that time usb was not "in". I was not satisfied with what I heard in the 1000 to 2000 EUR range. The step up sonically was not big enough to justify the price. Then I got lucky and got a dcs elgar plus for a bit above 2000. It was the best purchase I ever made. The DAC is so much better than what I heard in the same expense range. This does not mean this is true for all equipment. But in my case it turned out luckily. Also I now own a "legacy" dac, which means I cannot play with the usb boys. On the other hand, who knows, in 2-3 years usb may be an outdated computer interface and I would need to buy just another new dac...

 

[manisandher]

"You're small incremental effort in conforming to conventions would therefore pay quite handsome returns."

 

Well, if we're being really picky, this should read "Your" and not "You're"...

 

Mani.

 

 

 

 

[DanH]

Bien joué!

 

[reverendo]

I'm kind of in the same situation that Antonis is, too.

ATM I have a very nice DAC, the Camelot Uther 2.0 MkIV with latest upgrade 24/192 Anagram chips.

OTOH I sense some roll-off in the HF, especially after I have compared it to other DACs (like the North Star 192 MkII which I owned previously) although I still prefer the Uther's overall sound.

I'm looking for a DAC with Pre in order to drive my amp directly.

I wonder if the Audio Aero Prima DAC SE is still an interesting DAC or if newer DACs would be more worthwhile nowadays.

Does anyone own an AA Prima DAC? Could someone subjectively describe it's sound? I'm a little worried about the tube in it, making it too musical, since the Gryphon is slightly on the musical side of things.

Hope anyone can help me out.

best regards

André