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Standalone DAC upgrade from onboard integrated

It’s about time I posted, I’ve been following long enough. I want to bypass the onboard DAC (Burr Brown) in my new Musical Fidelity M6si integrated with a standalone DAC to drive my Magnepan 1.7x’s. Budget is $1-2k. First issue: can I realize an appreciable improvement over the onboard DAC in the M6 with a unit in that price range? Second issue: I love the detail, clarity and imaging I get from the Maggies, but I don’t want them to get too clinical with a new DAC. Hence, I’ve been looking mostly at R2R typology to keep the “musicality”, perhaps at the expense of some precision. My listening tastes are mostly jazz, classical, with some vocals thrown in. Sources are about 50% streaming, 30% vinyl and 20% CD. Other components include Blusound Node, Marantz TT-15/Clearaudio Virtuoso and a 5 year old Marantz CD player. All insights or suggestions welcome.

phydo
fastfreight
1,276 posts
 

I would take a look at the streamer (node) in this chain.  It is ok, on par or equal at most to the DAC in the integrated.  An upgraded streamer will make an improvement now, and pave the way for a nicer DAC as describe above.  I feel any upgrade should make a significant improvement; be wary of lateral changes.

simonb
36 posts
 

Interesting as a friend of mine has done the same thing. He bought my Chord Qutest as a stand alone DAC to pair with his MS6i. I must admit after a listening session we concluded it made quite a difference. The MS6i is one hell of an amp only let down by the internal DAC. Also once you upgrade the DAC then other components like the streamer become the weak link. We also used my Diretta streamer to play local files and Qobuz via MPD and upmpdcli  and Roon. Then you started to see what the system was capable of. Onwards and upwards.

mattsca's avatar
mattsca
70 posts
 

I think the Denafrips Pontus 15th is a real contender here. I love mine, and it made a very noticeable difference in my streaming SQ. It’s an improvement over the DA2 in my McIntosh C2800, so pretty sure it’ll better that Burr Brown. And I’d say a streamer upgrade could be on the table, but definitely DAC first. 

tweak1
3,766 posts
 

Definitely check out the Topping D90, IMHO incredible value

rivington66's avatar
rivington66
86 posts
 

I love my Denafrips Pontus 15th - I run it through a McIntosh Mx110z and Mc240 (Eversolo A6 streamer) - I A/B it with my Clearaudio TT and Heed Quasar phono stage often  and It sounds pretty darn good to my ears.

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