The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.
- Thread starter Ed Selley
- Start date
MikeH
Well-Known Member
I love my Denafrips Ares DAC. Not sure how it would compare to the Cambridge built in. But if you’re happy with the Cambridge overall then I’d probably hook the Audiolab up to it and see how it sounds before swapping out the amp and DAC.
LeSamourai
Well-Known Member
I have finally accepted that I can't even placebo myself into thinking that I can hear the difference between a AAC ~256 and FLAC. I've tried testing a bunch of times, blind and not, on headphones and speakers, and I've focused on the high end and the low end of the sound, and I can't tell. I had a bunch of ear infections as a kid, and I've had tinnitus as long as I can remember, so maybe my ears just aren't great.
Most of my digital purchases are via Bandcamp, so I still save the FLAC copy into my archive, but I think I can finally accept that at least I, with these ears, won't lose anything by filling my phone's SD card with AAC copies of my collection... except knowing myself, next week I may change my mind and decide the refill it with FLAC files again...
Most of my digital purchases are via Bandcamp, so I still save the FLAC copy into my archive, but I think I can finally accept that at least I, with these ears, won't lose anything by filling my phone's SD card with AAC copies of my collection... except knowing myself, next week I may change my mind and decide the refill it with FLAC files again...
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
Doing the Pepsi challenge with mp3 and Flac, I would not be able to tell the difference. Where I do notice it is when I am listening on headphones (95% of my listening) for an extended time. I notice that I get hearing fatigue more with mp3 than with Flac. Same goes for cd vs vinyl.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
I did the same thing with my old iPod that I keep plugged into my car audio system. Squeezed in a lot more tunes for no loss of enjoyment.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Good. The more daft DRM that dies the better.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
This is why I didn’t want to prioritize any MQA stuff when I was looking at DACs and streaming
It was worth having it if you were looking at tidal but otherwise not and hopefully this the death of that kind of nonsense.
Yeah I have no problem with it going away, I mean my Blusound and my portable DAC can both unfold it but they can do the other formats too so no biggie.
MikeH
Well-Known Member
Will be interesting to see what Tidal does now
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
Interesting idea of using a DAP as a streaming endpoint
It’s kind of something I’ve been playing with in my head longer term. I really like how my fancy streaming box sounds but the limitations of AirPlay and not really wanting to come away from Apple Music for the amount of streaming I do and the convenience of the bundle with tv/cloud etc means it might not be a long term option unless AirPlay seriously ups its game.
Kinda thinking that when I’m ready for a new phono stage I might also trade in the streamer and just buy a second, lower down the line, iPad and connect it permanently over usb to the DAC. Only way to get full 24/192 out of Apple Music, nice big display and easy controls and quieter electronically than a laptop or desktop.
jamieanderson1968
Well-Known Member
My dream unit is something with a bit bigger screen, like an iPad mini, that is a dedicated music player
RASPTOUCH I-SABRE ES9038Q2M Streamer with Touchscreen 32bit 384kHz DSD128 - Audiophonics
With the RaspTouch, Audiophonics offers a simple and efficient hardware solution combining both network player and DAC. The device offers outstanding audio quality thanks to a high level digital to analog conversion based on a ES9038Q2M DAC.
www.audiophonics.fr
Being pi based can use volumio, or Ropee for roon, or any of the other open source os.
I'm considering getting a DAC for my setup, my relevant components to use the DAC are:
- CD player - NAD C548. This has a nice Wolfson 24-bit/192kHz DAC built in.
- Streamer - Raspberry Pi Volumio setup with JustBoom digi hat. This requires the use of a DAC for digital output
- Amp - Yamaha A-S501. It's a solid, loud amp, but probably the weak link in the chain. It has a Texas Instruments PCM5101m 24-bit/192kHz DAC. Also no Bluetooth for streaming from my devices.
- Zen One Signature - Uses Bit-perfect DSD & DXD DAC by Burr Brown (i.e., Texas Instruments) 32-bit/384kHz DAC. Has additional processing and Bluetooth 5.1. $349
- Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200M - Uses twin ESS Sabre Reference ES9028Q2M DAC chips, 32-bit/768kHz. Bluetooth 4.2. $549
i don’t have any experience woth the just boom but I have had, and have always been hugely impressed by the hifiberry hats.
im their pro range they do a digi hat https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/hifiberry-digi2-pro/ too but also a DAC hat HiFiBerry DAC2 Pro | HiFiBerry and they also sell custom made boxes for the pi and hat which make a nice package. The DAC may save you a few pennies! I had the first generation pro of both digi and DAC and loved both.
SnowmaNick
Well-Known Member
I’ve heard good things about the CA DACMagic, I’m not familiar with the Zen One. I’ve had a few less expensive DAC’s and was underwhelmed. I stayed to notice a difference at about the $600 level. Is it possible to save up a little more? Another portion is a used Mytek Liberty. I’ve had one for a few years and it’s been very solid. It blew the DAC in my old Parasound d out of the water and I preferred it to the Chord Cutest. Ones on Reverb currently for $600.
Mytek Liberty DAC (original) w USB, MQA and DSD | Reverb
Angsty
Well-Known Member
I
amp.apos.audio
I’d suggest the Topping DX3 Pro+. Has Bluetooth and a modern DAC chip that is more than sufficient.
TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Bluetooth DAC/Amp
The evolution of a classic The TOPPING DX3 Pro+ DAC/Amp is TOPPING’s upgrade of their classic DX3 Pro. With a new Bluetooth chip and DAC chip, the Pro+ outperforms its predecessor while also coming in at a lower price point. The Pro+ has 60% lower THD+N (DAC), 85% lower THD+N (HPA), over 100%...
amp.apos.audio
Last edited:
That is cheap as chips, I might just get it to play around with!
Thanks for the input, all. That Topping DX3 Pro+ is a very nice option! It's got the Sabre DAC, Bluetooth, headphone amp, and the screen is a nice touch.