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Buying a DAC when you can't try it first

this is a generic "advice please" post.
I'm driving magnepan .7's with a primaluna evo 400 with KT150 tubes.
Most of my music nowadays it tidal streamed via a chromecast audio (CCA) with the optical output going into the DAC of a MusicHall C-DAC (its a CD player with a DAC that can be used by external sources).

I'm planning an upgrade path and leaning toward getting a DAC like the SMSL SU-9 or Cambridge DACMagic Plus and running the CCA optical through the new DAC. But i have no idea if those DAC's or something else at that price is going to improve on the musichall DAC (which some reviews say is a decent DAC).

Or should I ditch the CCA and separate DAC go the streamer route....but I'm worried that tying a streamer and DAC together limits upgrade path. However i am not totally against it. 

I'm just not sure if i even will hear anything measurably better than what I have so thought I'd reach out to you people for your thoughts and experiences. 

....sigh.

mid-fi-crisis
mid-fi-crisis OP
71 posts
 
Ok. I've gone and bought it, plus some expensive interconnects. 
I'm not frothing about it actually.
Maybe a bit more resolving, the old setup in comparison sometimes seemed a bit fuzzy around the vocals but the bluesound seems to seperate everything a little better. 
So it's an improvement albeit quite marginal. 

jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,601 posts
 
op

be clear

what did you buy and are you claiming marginal improvement?

node 2i or mhdt orchid or both?

2 hours after you posted to soix ’you had just bought it’?
mid-fi-crisis OP
71 posts
 
sorry....i bought the bluesound node 2i and some interconnects. No external DAC.
Yeah my local store is just 15mins away so BANG I lashed out.

i guess i need to spend more time with it but at this stage yeah marginal difference. I suppose the CCA output is close to bit-perfect and the musichall DAC must be ok,

on the plus side the BS2i is gapless and nicer to control
mid-fi-crisis OP
71 posts
 
I bought Chord Clearway Analogue RCA's. 
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
Ha. And now onto step two!  I have an audio mirror and love it...
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