What’s the best DAC match for the Cambridge Audio CXC original or V2?

@curiousjim - There are several very positive reviews of the Heed abacus on You Tube. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdwyzuixkqc

jim

I’m looking for a warm, even sound. What do I mean by even? The Bifrost seems to have its focus 25% on the low end, 60% on the high end and 10% on everything else. I’ve had two other less expensive DAC’s that were only noticeable on the high end.

lets dive into this a bit

my experience with the schiit bifrost (multi bit version) was that it was very midrange/midbass centric... deep bass was rolled off, highs were somewhat laid back but in my system, lower treble had a sibilance which was bothersome to my ear - my streamer and coax digital cable were good ones, am confident it was not jitter creating the sibilance with the bifrost ... for example, i plugged in a schiit gungnir mb -- deep bass was stronger, midrange less forward, mid bass less bloated, treble was more airy but no sibilance - overall a more linear more spacious sound

as you describe the bifrost sound, i would ask if you have the cambridge cdt in hand and your description is of the bifrost being fed by it... or was it by another transport? what input? what cable? what cable length?

hate for you to spend more $ on a supposedly better dac and still have the high end be so prominent still... there may be something more fundamental with your digital front end

do you have another source in your hifi? like a turntable? does that also sound 'treble centric' as you describe the sound of the bifrost?  also, was your bifrost the multi-bit or the plain-jane version?

jjss49,

 I have an Oppo BDP93, 1/2m AQ, digital or an optical cable(don’t remember brand right now) to  the Bifrost Multibit dac. AQ, 1m Colorado ic’s to an ARC SP9 MKll.  AQ, 1m Colorado ic’s to my servo amps, to Acoustat Model X speakers. I don’t have the Cambridge yet.  If it’s not going to make much of a difference, I might just switch the dac.   

jim - check your digital cable... if it is a coax cable, you should replace it with one that is 1.5 m in length... shorter spdif electrical digital cables may be prone to ’reflections’ of the digital waveform, which can lead to jittery sound (harsh and gritty) - if it an optical cable, get a real glass cable (length not key if it is less than 2-3 meters - https://www.uniqueproductsonline.com/gltodiopca.html or http://www.lifatec.com/toslink2.html - getting the cabling right is good hygiene and will help any transport / dac combo you may upgrade to

i don’t know much about the oppo’s as transports, maybe others here can comment... i suspect it is at least OK

as for dacs, i would suggest mhdt (any model) with a we 2c51 upgraded tube, ayre codex (optical or usb input only), metrum amethyst or neko audio d100-2 -- all are very natural sounding, with warm tonality, excellent bass, treble is smooth, not at all prominent or aggressive

jj,

Thank you! 
 I know my optical cable is NOT glass, so there’s an easy place to start. I’ll also ask AudioQuest what they recommend for the digital cable.
 And I will also contact MHDT Labs.

All the best.

JD