Praise for DacMagic

Look what they've done to the DAC Magic Plus

Changed the damn Power supply to 12v DC!!!

What a PITA!

I won't be getting one of those any time soon

Still I do have enough room in my new power supply case to add a rectifier bridge later on I suppose.

You can buy 12V DC supplies pretty cheap, but getting perfect DC with no rippling will be the challenge

Have to wait for Pangea to come up with changes to their P100

NOW - MAKE IT SING - like a much more expensive unit !!!!

Before I start - make sure you read the WARNING!

OK - Had this unit for a while now and been happy with it - especially streaming via an Apple TV - better sound than my CD!

But I had noticed that the unit and power supply runs a little warm - that usually means it's being taxed a little.

So I started looking at upgrading the power supply, which is not easy since all third party units are generally DC and this requires AC!

Then I had a moment of enlightenment - LOW VOLTAGE LIGHTING!

They use a 12 volt supply - only thing is, the units you can buy (for the garden) have timer crap on them

WARNING: DO NOT - I repeat DO NOT use the latest "electronic transformers" being used in the lighting industry - because they may not produce a true SINE WAVE!

If you can find a proper electrical supply store you can buy IRON CORE lighting transformers - mine is rated 100VA and comes with a heavy steel enclosure approximately 3x6x2.5 inches.

You then need some 16 gauge copper wire and a DC connector (it;s what those little plugs are called). I also included an fuse in the 120v side

Whole thing cost about $50 + my time - but the difference in the details and soundstage was incredible.

Now I'm not sure why CA does not provide a larger power supply - it would cost them peanuts. guess they want to sell you higher end product

REPEAT WARNING: DO NOT - I repeat NO NOT use the latest "electronic transformers" being used in the lighting industry - because they may not produce a true SINE WAVE!

Torroidal transformers would be even better since they are more efficient and far less noisy

Yes, it hums a little, but once I placed some plastic foam under the cover and some rubber feet it was not detectable from my armchair.

This is by far the enhancement with the largest impact I have ever made - like stepping up to $5000 cd player.

Spacious sound, incredible imaging in 3D, amazing details never before heard

I used the power supply from the DACMAGIC on my CA 640p phono stage and guess what - similar improvements we attained!

Both these units needed... MORE POWER!

Riley804 thought I should include the following to address concerns about messing with power supplies...

A piece of equipment will only draw the power it has been designed to draw - increasing the power rating of the supply will NOT affect this - increasing the voltage will!

e.g. In north america small appliances of different power ratings are all connected to the same power supply - which is generally rated at 15amps - my alarm/radio does not draw 15 amps - probably closer to 0.5 amps, but it is perfectly happy connected to a 15 amp service :-)

Also - if your power supply is rated at 1 amp then you assume that's all it will draw. if it draws more than 1 amp, then the power supply will overheat

Most ratings are continuous, but with hi-fi you have to be able to handle serious peaks in the music and if your power supply cannot do this then you get heat generated, which in turn, causes a whole host of other problems.

All I have done is provide a supply with a higher current rating so the equipment can now handle those peaks - that is all!

Another thing I found is that the CA power supplies were not very accurate - the phono supply measured 16+ volts and the DACMagic measured 14.5 volts

Also - the 22 gauge wire on their supply is no where near large enough to handle the continuous and more importantly peak current draw of this unit!

The new supply I am using measures 13 volts - which is much closer to the 12 volt spec

One thing I have found is that the DACMagic runs considerably cooler with the new power supply - and that is goodness for a unit of this power rating.

Why? - it is likely that the circuit is now getting the current is requires in order to operate as it was designed and is not in a continual state of "stress"

Using an underrated power supply to restrict performance, as appears to be this case, is very dangerous - a fire hazard!

Granted - CA does not want people messing with power supplies...
1. because most people have a complete lack of understanding regarding power ratings - an underrated supply becomes a fire hazard
2. the consequences of putting an incorrect type of supply on equipment would be damaging - The reason for my "WARNING"

They have a blanket policy - Don't mess with our supplies! - it's just so much simpler than an explanation!

What I cannot understand is why CA limits the electronics that has such great potential if properly supplied with power - probably cost related, but could be, they wanted to reign in the performance of this unit so it does not compete with their more expensive line. Guess what - it competes!

This unit is sounding far from stressed right now :-))

BTW - I would caution that you DO NOT try this unless you are adequately experienced - failing to take the proper precautions can lead to equipment failure or worse - FIRE!

Be careful if you are attempting this.

ALSO - because of its size (i.e. Small) connecting the DC Connecter plug required me to insulate the wires inside the plug cover with shrink-sleeve to prevent a short circuit - FATAL!

If you try this - you do so at your own risk!

Electricity is quite simple - unless you cock-it-up!

Soundbit - RE: same outlet - there is not problem with this - actually it would be preferable to prevent the dreaded earth loops

There is a taylor made ps from Pangea that is built for this type of upgrade - I would recommend their solution over the DIY one - since they are the pro's

see
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGP100

Even at $100 it will make you Dacmagic sing!

Happy listening

UPDATE: another AG member is using a ready made power supply

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGP100

It's a bit moe expensive, but professionally made by a reputable power company

If I had found out about this I would have gone this route simply because of the hassle soldering the silly little DC connector

I like the look of this unit very much because they have tackled all of the problems and then some including noise filtering - something my solution does not

I would advise going this route

enjoy

CA have just released the Dacmagic Plus

- 24bit/384kHz upsampling
- Audio File Play via Bluetooth
- Volume Control
- Headphone jack

They are available in Canada - and I'm tempted, but I'll wait for the 768kHz up-sampling version.

It will probably take them around 3 years to bring out the next gen with some really significant improvement

Or perhaps they will update the streaming technology on their DVD players so I can have a single unit to also replace my Dacmagic, Apple TV and CD player

Their BR players have some of this but lack the Internet streaming at present that the apple TV provides.

Especially if they have upgraded the power supply!

Well - I'm in the process of building my Mk II power supply and I was looking for a really good "screened" cable for the 12V AC to the Dacmagic (and the 640p).

Trouble is the good copper leads are too heavy a gauge for the little DC connectors!

Then I though about the braided power cables and how their geometry deals with RF very effectively.

THOUGHT: Hey! - Kimber makes braided cable!

So I purchased 3 ft of their smallest gauge (of cheapest line) speaker cable and fitted the connectors - Voila!

NOTE:- This works because it's ONLY 12V

DO NOT TRY THIS WITH A 120V CORD!

Now I know the "Power Cord Debate" rages across AG, but all I can say is...

H__O_L_Y______C_O_W !!!..... OK, so it was a more like BL**** H***!

HUGE 3D sound stage, incredible details, pinpoint accuracy (NO! - I mean PINPOINT) and amazing natural sound.

But get this - as soon as I turned it on! NO WARM UP!

Just how good can the Dacmagic get?

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! Best $400 I've ever spent!

FYI - the MK II Power Supply will have 2 toroid transformers (Dacmagic + 640P) and vastly upgraded wiring and connectors in a single case.

This is one upgrade I am really looking forward to :-)))

Not Really - better cable - better sound!

Rat Shack speaker cable is not great quality

your battery is a very stable DC supply (no waveform distortions), providing it has the capacity to deliver the required current peaks it will sound better.

DC supplies are quite different form AC supplies - they have to have a stable DC voltage AND be able to supply instant demands for current.

Try the Mogami with the battery it will be even better

The Mogami - provided the ability to supply the instant current requirements that the Rat Shack could not.

Try a bigger battery for even better results

My Kimber leads are amazing - very dynamic!

Magfan - Be aware that the new Dacmagic Plus is 12v DC and not 12v AC, so you cannot use the same power supply as the original Dacmagic.

Other than that it is an impressive spec.

Sop1 - the Pyramid PS3Kx appears to be a 12v DC and the original Dacmagic is 12v AC - so they are NOT compatible.

However, the new Dacmagic Plus is 12v DC - according to the user manual on the CA website, so it is compatible

How well it works depends on the build quality of the transformer and rectifier in the power supply (there is a huge variance across power supplies) and how much noise it introduces.

The cable you use to hook it up is extremely important. I started using some 14 awg speaker cable, then changed to Kimber speaker wire - very high quality copper - amazing difference in sound!

You may experience some humming from the actual power supply unit, since $30 would only buy you a pretty basic transformer which tend to hum at the mains frequncy.

But, I did run run mine for a couple of months with a basic transformer (not the one you mentioned) and the hum did not get through to the analogue sound circuits.

I purchased these DC connectors from Ebay, which worked extremely well on mine. They grip the cable like a vice!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150602258980

They took about a week to arrive.

Sop1 - here's another possible GOTCHA!

Beware of 12V AC power supplies that use an "electronic transformer"

When I was looking for a transformer I came across these "electronic transformers" used in 12v halogen lighting and discovered they may not give you a perfect sine wave and could cause problems in the DAC.

Much like a DAC assembling the audio signal, they build the sine wave, but the applications they are intended for do not require a perfect sine wave, so they don't bother to try!

The other problem is they might not handle the instantaneous peaks required in analogue audio, i.e. like a good old iron cored transformer would!

So the DAC would sound like CR*&!

If you are not a DIYer the Pangea is the best option I have seen at present.

Let me know if you see something else