I recently bought the V90-DAC and run FLAC files from a NAS drive via both Mac and PC. I also run a digital out from an excellent Sony CD player into the DAC. McIntosh and B&W Nautilus to give an idea of the quality of the sound. I did some blind A/B testing before deciding to keep the DAC. Conclusions: DAC sounds great. Brought extra airiness to the highs and substantially improved the depth and warmth of the bass - that's probably the biggest gain. Both from the computers and the CD player (you can run both line and digital out from your CD player and A/B test easily.) Buy from a reliable place that allows returns and try it out. I also blind A/B tested a high-end USB cable and sent it back - no difference. Regarding ripping CDs, use EAC or XLD and get bit-perfect FLAC copies. They should sound same or maybe better than live CD playback because of no read errors & reduced jitter, plus gives the infinite advantage of a digital library/player setup.
Best budget DAC
Hi all,
I'm considering a DAC for my system and I have to keep the expenditure very reasonable (under $300).
DACS considered: Audioengine D1, Audioquest Dragonfly, Cambridge Audio DACMagic XS & Azur DacMagic 100, Musical Fidelity - V90-DAC, Schiit Modi,
Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have actually heard or compared the DACs above, or others.
Also, if I do get a DAC, is there any advantage to ripping a CD and then playing the FLAC/WAV file through the DAC? Keep in mind that the DAC chip in my CD Player is listed as a "24/192 Cirrus Logic Delta/Sigma", but no specific chip number.
I haven't seen any comparisons of CD's to ripping and playing the file through an outboard DAC, so if you have seen such a comparison, your link to it would be greatly appreciated.
These are the components in my system:
Speakers - Elac B6
Subwoofer - Elac S10
CD Player - NAD C 516BEE CD Player
Preamplifier - Parasound Halo P5
Power Amplifier - Rotel RB-1080
Thanks. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
I'm considering a DAC for my system and I have to keep the expenditure very reasonable (under $300).
DACS considered: Audioengine D1, Audioquest Dragonfly, Cambridge Audio DACMagic XS & Azur DacMagic 100, Musical Fidelity - V90-DAC, Schiit Modi,
Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated, especially if you have actually heard or compared the DACs above, or others.
Also, if I do get a DAC, is there any advantage to ripping a CD and then playing the FLAC/WAV file through the DAC? Keep in mind that the DAC chip in my CD Player is listed as a "24/192 Cirrus Logic Delta/Sigma", but no specific chip number.
I haven't seen any comparisons of CD's to ripping and playing the file through an outboard DAC, so if you have seen such a comparison, your link to it would be greatly appreciated.
These are the components in my system:
Speakers - Elac B6
Subwoofer - Elac S10
CD Player - NAD C 516BEE CD Player
Preamplifier - Parasound Halo P5
Power Amplifier - Rotel RB-1080
Thanks. Your help will be greatly appreciated.