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What DAC upgrade made you say “DAMN, that sounds SO MUCH better than my last DAC”?

As the title suggests, what was your overall system and DAC at the point where you bought only a new DAC and said “DAMN, that sounds SO MUCH better than my last DAC”?

I’m a novice and so many people talk about improvements from new equipment as if they were only listening to varying degrees of static until they bought more and more new equipment which added up to them finally being presented with music. It’s like Salome and the seven veils. But when does the last veil get peeled away? 

So what system did you have and what DAC did you swap in that made you say “DAMN!!!!”?

I guess I’m looking for night and day differences, not gradual progressions……


pip_helix
poibroch's avatar
poibroch
4 posts
 
Previous system:
  • Lossless sound files from Mac Mini >
  • USB DAC input of Oppo BDP-105>
  • Pair of Geithain RL906 speakers.
"Damn!" DAC which replaced the Oppo in the otherwise identical room, system, and listening position:

Convert-2 by Dangerous Music.

The increase in sonic detail is breathtaking.

  • The individual character of each acoustic instrument, including voice, is now apparent.
  • The individual voices of backup singers are now clearly separated and identifiable.
  • The phantom centre is so solid that everyone hearing this system for the first time starts looking on the equipment rack for a third centre speaker.

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zavato's avatar
zavato
1,391 posts
 
I have heard man dacs that sounds great for digital. When I heard the Bricasti M1 I heard a dac that sounded great- with out the “for digital” qualifier
tweak1
3,545 posts
 
I thought I needed to upgrade my Audio Alchemy DDP-1 (DAC/PRE) + PS 5, outboard power supply, but didn't see a better quality dac/pre anywhere near my budget, so......
I decided to replace my optical cable with a Pangea coax XL digital cable. Im pretty sure no matter what dac/pre I would have replaced the AA with, if I still used optical, I would have wasted my money
ghdprentice
6,390 posts
 
While I haven’t done any testing myself, the rule of thumb is that optical is the least preferred connection. I have simply always steered clear of them. Good to hear evidence.
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