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Best DAC for my situation...Read on!

So thoughts and opinions please.
What I have and my idea.
Oppo 105D and Bluesound Vault 2 feeding into McIntosh C48 preamp.
I chose the C48 because it is a nice complete all in one box solution, headphone amp, mm and mc phono amp, lots of analog inputs with 2 sets of xlr inputs AND 5 total digital inputs.
Now I have both the Oppo and the vault connected by analog and digital inputs to the C48 so I can compare modes pretty instantly and I have to admit both cases the analog sounds better.
Which makes me wonder if the C48, although a great all in one solution may be the hold up as far as the DAC performance is concerned.

What I was considering as a trial is a seperate DAC that can handle the digital signals from the units and then output the analog signal via xlr preferably, back to the C48.
At this stage I have no intention of getting rid of the C48 as I really like the analog signal SQ as well as the headphone performance.

Any good suggestions in the range of $2000 used or am I really not going to see much improvement at that price range over the C48 capability?
128x128uberwaltz
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Reasoning vs listening. The only way to know what you prefer is to listen for yourself.

Dave
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Dave,

I agree. Reasoning is a guide only on how to approach something. Reasoning can get you out of a lot of rabbit holes -

For example, why do some DACs sound terrible with one digital cable but better with another. Is it the cable? Is it the DAC? Reasoning says that bit perfect data into a jitter immune DAC should not be affected by the cable unless the DAC has build and design issues.

However, what sound is preferred is a personal judgement that the listener must make.

So I propose Reasoning AND Listening is the only way to know. Without both you can get stuck in a silly rabbit hole of mediocrity with a bunch of unecessary band aids trying to resolve equipment component issues and living in denial that a high $$$$$ item MUST work perfectly because the king of audio design built it (appeal to authority rather than reasoning).
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Completely agree shadorne. :) The plethora of gizmos to address issues with USB transmission is a glaring example of adding band aids in an attempt to address endemic weaknesses of the technology as well as in component design/implementation, but I think there is more to digital cable influence than that.

Re: the influence of different digital cables on sound quality, as I think you have said before, this has a lot to do with the quality of the particular component’s input design and the clock implementation. Perhaps most sensitive is the component’s USB input design/implementation (vs S/PDIF or AES/EBU) as there are more potential demons to conquer with USB data transmission. Overcoming potential noise issues with USB’s unique use of the 5V power lead in the same cable/connector interface is a challenge with USB and also that most USB designs are asynchronous, thus depending on the data transmission integrity of the source and the cable to avoid data loss that impedes the DAC’s analog reconstruction process. Maybe completely jitter related as you say a lot but I am not convinced that there is not more to it than jitter. Things like impedance match/mismatch, RF/EMI rejection and signal isolation to eliminate noise riding on the signal, etc.

Anyway, very nice to agree on a balance of reasoning and listening as the superior path to better results.

Dave
audioengr
3,282 posts
 

Shadorne wrote:

Reasoning says that bit perfect data into a jitter immune DAC should not be affected by the cable unless the DAC has build and design issues.

IMO, there is no such thing as a jitter immune DAC.  Never heard one, never tested one that proved to be.  It's the cable.

Therefore, I submit that the jitter of the source ALWAYS be considered important.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

tiago729
18 posts
 
The only way I would replace the Oppo 105 would be with the newest UD 205. In my opinion it is the most complete digital preamp/DAC in the market right now. You get all the usual digital connections  (usb,coax,optical) plus hdmi, and ARC (adds up as many hdmis your tv has). You also get XLRs as you know, and now Roon certified! Save the money you’d put on a more expensive DAC, get the Roon lifetime subscription with the Oppo 205 and never look back :)
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