jamm753 Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Hi All, I must say I have lived in the dark when it comes to the digital world. I currently have a reasonably good older type stereo set up - consisting of a pre amp ( no digital inputs ) and 2 power amps and really good speakers. I'm happy with the overall sound when it comes to playing CDs etc. At the moment, I have the TV audio running through the system also via RCA cables, plus a 3rd gen Apple TV going into the TV via HDMI and coming back to the pre via the same RCA cables. Both the Apple TV and TV have digital audio outs. I'm considering buying a Rotel DAC 1580 which has 2 digital audio inputs. In your opinion would the addition of the DAC in this situation give me better audio quality when watching general TV and streaming movies through the Apple TV? Many thanks James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 (edited) A dedicated DAC will certainly give you better audio quality, especially if you have really good speakers. Edited January 23, 2018 by Jonny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 I’d go for this DAC if I was spending that sort of money. Read lots of great things about it. https://www.denafrips.com/ares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamm753 Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 Hey thanks Jonny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 Not sure about TV when source is so so. Likely to get significant improvement with Apple TV when streaming movies. Given it is your first DAC, suggest you borrow one or get a second hand one? DACs can sound different and pricing varies. Maybe a cheaper DAC is enough for movie viewing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamm753 Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 Good advice, thanks snoopy8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 If there's one DAC that's absolutely gobsmacked me recently it's a Starting Point Systems DAC3 based on an old Philips TDA1543 chip. It's up there with vinyl playback for me. Better than all the Wolfson, Burr Brown, Sabre and 1955 based backs I've owned in the past. It just sounds completely natural to me. The detail is all there, it's just integrated in such a way that it seems the musicians are right there in the room with me. Having said that, I'm picking up a Gieseler Groß DAC next weekend which should be on another level entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flanders Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Any news on the Groß DAC @MattyW? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 Yes, the Groß has absolutely wiped the floor with everything I've tried previously in terms of sound quality. It seems to combine the warm, organic, vinyl like sound and 3D sound stage of the Philips TDA1543 with the superior detail and resolution of modern chips like the ESS Sabre, except it takes fine grained detail to another level as well without the listening fatigue I associate with modern chips. Straight digital content comes close to my more expensive analog chain. So close that the ease of use with digital content often trumps putting a record on. The real kicker is that my vinyl rips actually sound better than actual LP playback due to having had the low level surface noise removed with Click Remover. The rips have all the openess and smooth flowing sound of vinyl playback. The DAC is very toe tappingly musical, and since installing my wife has actually taken to humming along with and sometimes singing along with the music.... Along with a bit of a dance while moving around the living room. The only shortcoming is currently when switching from USB after playing for a while to any other input sound is obscured by extremely loud static and crackling. I've reported it to Clay and he was able to reproduce the effect in testing. A firmware update is being developed to resolve. In the meantime powering off at the wall and turning back on recifies. The only wrinkle in what is otherwise a perfect product. That said, once the cut down version of the Groß which Clay intends to replace the Klein line is released I'll most certainly purchase one for my second system. It takes things to a level of realism I've never heard before. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 Well, the firmware update fixed the crackling issues nicely. I must say that I don't use vinyl much any more. Interestingly if I rip my vinyl using my Schiit JIL and play back through the Gross I can't actually tell the difference. That's how good it is. It also does a wonderful job with lower res files in JRIVER. I'm up sampling to 2x DSD with fantastic results. Many will argue that up sampling can't improve things though I find it brings me closer to the music. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janjuggler Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 HI, Have you considered a pair of powered speakers with an optical out from the Apple Tv to the speakers, many of the power speakers have optical inputs and good DACs in them as well as an output for a subwoofer and have Bluetooth. Some examples are: Advance Acoustic Air 55 Wireless Bluetooth $700 Dali Zensor 1 AX Active/Bluetooth Speakers $1300 Klipsch RE15PM $1000 Audioengine HD6 $1000 Klipsch The Sixes $1800 That should give you a few ideas at different prices if looking to go down that path. JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 1 hour ago, MattyW said: It also does a wonderful job with lower res files in JRIVER. I'm up sampling to 2x DSD with fantastic results. Many will argue that up sampling can't improve things though I find it brings me closer to the music. I tried up sampling flac 16/44.1 to DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 and found only minor improvement when playing back on the Groß. . Decided not to do up sampling because it would have added a PC, upscaling software and complexity to my music chain (using SOtM SMS-200 Ultra as my player).. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 8 hours ago, Snoopy8 said: I tried up sampling flac 16/44.1 to DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 and found only minor improvement when playing back on the Groß. . Decided not to do up sampling because it would have added a PC, upscaling software and complexity to my music chain (using SOtM SMS-200 Ultra as my player).. I'm referring to playback over USB. That's the only area I use up scaling.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 2 minutes ago, MattyW said: I'm referring to playback over USB. That's the only area I use up scaling.... I use USB from SMS-200 Ultra to DAC. However, I would need a separate PC to do the up scaling because Ultra does not have grunt. Hence my decision not to upscale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 43 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said: I use USB from SMS-200 Ultra to DAC. However, I would need a separate PC to do the up scaling because Ultra does not have grunt. Hence my decision not to upscale. Quite understandable in your situation. I'm using an old Lenovo TinyPC for JRIVER. Seems to do the trick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 On 23/02/2018 at 5:43 PM, MattyW said: If there's one DAC that's absolutely gobsmacked me recently it's a Starting Point Systems DAC3 based on an old Philips TDA1543 chip. It's up there with vinyl playback for me. Better than all the Wolfson, Burr Brown, Sabre and 1955 based backs I've owned in the past. It just sounds completely natural to me. The detail is all there, it's just integrated in such a way that it seems the musicians are right there in the room with me. Having said that, I'm picking up a Gieseler Groß DAC next weekend which should be on another level entirely. I use a DAC2 hooked up to my Squeezebox Touch, great little DAC, it replaced an Audio GD 2 in my system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 27 minutes ago, Batty said: I use a DAC2 hooked up to my Squeezebox Touch, great little DAC, it replaced an Audio GD 2 in my system. It is a nice little DAC. Mine died though unfortunately. I do prefer the AKM based DAC's though. The Gross remains the best I've tried. I've also a Weilang Audio AKM 4497EQ based DAC which is very nice though considering I have to run a 240v to 220v step down transformer with it, and a Boyuu Reisong 1:2 SUT to get it somewhere close to the Gieseler Gross DAC it's not really in the same ballpark. Likewise the Weilang creates noise whenever the USB input is engaged. I should have waited for the Gieseler Fein DAC to be released for my second system instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxsimonjp Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 I own the Rotel 1580 and it is a very nice sounding DAC. So much better than the integrated dac of the cd player. Perfect for a dedicated pc audio to listen to streaming radio and tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts