christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Hi there, Existing gear: Marantz CD63 SE XBMC - VALAB NOS 1543 DAC ("reclocking version 10") Marantz SM-80 Power Amplifier..(150W p.c. into 4 Ohms) Duntech Crown Prince Loudspeakers. I have been pleasantly surprised by how comfy my existing combo sounds with the Valab DAC but simply does not has the immediacy, detailed high frequencies or the pinpoint location that the CD63 has. It is a lower cost DAC but on the whole I am happy with the way it presents acoustic guitar, vocals and the occasional piano. However, I would love to try a DAC that has something more like the CD63SEII in terms of its absolute presence for under a grand so Ill be more likely to flow my Flacs. I know it can be such a personal decision, but I figured there might be a few DACs that other people here have found interesting and you think I should track down and try. Cheers, Chris
Juicester Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 something by audio gd - say the Ref5.... or the Rega Dac 1
Batty Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Want to swap DACs for a week or so? I have an Audio-GD NFB2
Gordon Macfarlane Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Audio-gd dacs are a great choice but may I also add that a more grunty power amp is really required for the Duntechs.
christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 Audio-gd dacs are a great choice but may I also add that a more grunty power amp is really required for the Duntechs. Yes. I have found I only have a fairly narrow SPL listening range where it works or me as it is now. I was going to get it right there where I know it and then turn the whole thing upside down with an amp change down the road! I am a bit limited in terms of budget that I want to allocate to an amp. I was hoping to happen upon something some day and sneak it through the front door when no one was looking. Open to all suggestions.
christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 Want to swap DACs for a week or so? I have an Audio-GD NFB2 Thanks for the offer. I'm not sure what the accepted method of swapping is. Maybe I'll get my act together and come along to an SA get-together first some day. I am more comfortable wasting a hifi dealer's time should it not work out :-)
Gordon Macfarlane Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 (edited) Hi Chris , I run a Rotel Michi power amp with my Gales. They run around the $1000 second hand but are superb both in terms of sound quality and drive capability. There is a Nakamichi PAE7 on Gumtree in Perth for $1300 : not as much grunt as the Michi but not too far off and also a great sounding power amp imo. Bottom line : you need a power amp that can deliver lots of current into a lowish impedance load. A Rotel RB1080 should run about $600 and has greater current drive than the Marantz. I would try to get an amp capable of driving the speakers b4 trying to sort out dac choices. Edited July 24, 2013 by Ozcall
Batty Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Thanks for the offer. I'm not sure what the accepted method of swapping is. Maybe I'll get my act together and come along to an SA get-together first some day. I am more comfortable wasting a hifi dealer's time should it not work out :-) My NFB-2 is sat collecting dust at the moment, using an el cheapo 1543 DAC.
Nada Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 (edited) Amp first for sure. Any Xindak mono-blocks around second hand? They are both powerful and fluid. Ive heard most of the DACs above. The Ref5 to me is the pick. Edited July 24, 2013 by Nada
THOMO Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 You will probably have to spend at least $4000 on a DAC to better your CD player.It is a good one. I tried a range of DACs up to around $2500 and none of them came close to my CD player. As Ozcall says you would be better to spend the money on a more suitable amp.Your speakers are deserving of something much better than the PM80..Duntechs really need lots of power and current.
Telecine Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 There is a Rotel RB-991 amp in the classifieds for $600, worth considering if budget is tight: http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/classifieds/item/1541-rotel-rb-991/
christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 Hi Chris , I run a Rotel Michi power amp with my Gales. They run around the $1000 second hand but are still superb both in terms of sound quality and drive capability. There is a Nakamichi PAE7 on Gumtree in Perth for $1300 : not as much grunt as the Michi but not too far off and also a great sounding power amp imo. Bottom line : you need a power amp that can deliver lots of current into a lowish impedance load. A Rotel RB1080 should run about $600 and has greater current drive than the Marantz. I would try to get an amp capable of driving the speakers b4 trying to sort out dac choices. Thanks Ozcall. There is a Rotel rb 991 for sale in the SNA classifieds and it's in adelaide. Worth a try? Also how can I tell if the sm 80 is falling short in terms of current? I'm finding pretty solid and well defined bass characteristics at all but extremely volumes - but hey, it's a bit new to me. I can see this is going to be fun experiencing the differences various components will make now that I have a reasonable loudspeaker.
christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 There is a Rotel RB-991 amp in the classifieds for $600, worth considering if budget is tight:http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/classifieds/item/1541-rotel-rb-991/ Thanks, I just saw that too.!
christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 You will probably have to spend at least $4000 on a DAC to better your CD player.It is a good one. I tried a range of DACs up to around $2500 and none of them came close to my CD player. As Ozcall says you would be better to spend the money on a more suitable amp.Your speakers are deserving of something much better than the PM80..Duntechs really need lots of power and current. Thanks. Not the pm 80, it's the sm 80. According to my tech, a completely different amp ( other than the fact it's a power amp and not an integrated amp) In fact I have liked this power amp with all other speakers I have hooked up I would rather buy another one as they can be bridged...I heard them 2 blocked up to some mirage m1s many years ago that made me want them bug I could only get one then and have regretted it ever since :-)
Peter_F Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Thanks. Not the pm 80, it's the sm 80. According to my tech, a completely different amp ( other than the fact it's a power amp and not an integrated amp) In fact I have liked this power amp with all other speakers I have hooked up I would rather buy another one as they can be bridged...I heard them 2 blocked up to some mirage m1s many years ago that made me want them bug I could only get one then and have regretted it ever since :-) I owned a SM80 with the SC80 preamp. I enjoyed them but they drove a set of Polk 10b Monitors which is an easy load. I found with the SM80 the cap's were an issue and were leaking after about 10 years and was an expensive fix so I traded them in on a poxy Yamaha AVR (just don't go there!!). The SC80 had many issues with dry joints and switches after about 5 years. If you can, I would suggest reaching out to your local SNAers and have them bring over various power amps to try in your system. It can save you a lot of money and frustration IME.
Peter_F Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 My NFB-2 is sat collecting dust at the moment, If only you were in Perth mate, would love to try one in my system.
christosd Posted July 24, 2013 Author Posted July 24, 2013 I owned a SM80 with the SC80 preamp. I enjoyed them but they drove a set of Polk 10b Monitors which is an easy load. I found with the SM80 the cap's were an issue and were leaking after about 10 years and was an expensive fix so I traded them in on a poxy Yamaha AVR (just don't go there!!). The SC80 had many issues with dry joints and switches after about 5 years. If you can, I would suggest reaching out to your local SNAers and have them bring over various power amps to try in your system. It can save you a lot of money and frustration IME. That does sound like a good way to go - perfect actually as I 'aint movin' those speakers . I'll start warming up the coffee machine.
vmhf Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Two really good ones worth mentioning... A Meitner MA-1 and AMR DP-777. If you can't afford those then try the Rega DAC. I recently got one and have put it in my main setup now after thinking it was too good for my second setup 1
danter Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Just to offer an alternative viewpoint. You don't have to spend 4k to top the dac in the CD63 (yes I have owned a few and still have one). AG Ref 7, lite-dac 83 etc I personally prefer. Also regarding rotel power amps, I found the 1080 to be one of the most under-whelming amps I have tried. Haven't heard further up the tree such as the Michi, but have heard only good things about it. Check the classifieds and eBay. There have been some very good options of late around the 1k mark (self promotion - will be selling a Marantz 240 power amp shortly, fully recapped for around$500 - not sure how it would go with low ohm loads - Zaph could answer that for you). Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Juicester Posted July 24, 2013 Posted July 24, 2013 Two really good ones worth mentioning... A Meitner MA-1 and AMR DP-777. If you can't afford those then try the Rega DAC. I recently got one and have put it in my main setup now after thinking it was too good for my second setup looking at the rest of his gear, tell me if you think he's going to seriously drop that kind of coin on a DAC?! And if he did have that kind of money to spend, don't you think it might be better spent on speakers?.... 1
christosd Posted July 25, 2013 Author Posted July 25, 2013 Amp GTG at Christosd's soon then Hey, I can just see the confusion in my family's face, "one week you get these hideously huge speakers and the next, you have (friendly) strangers bringing stuff into the house rather taking it away!" Forget the coffee, its the frayed shields on my interconnects, the $6/metre speaker cables, and the embarrasingly crackly (bypassed) pots on my Yamaha Pre that I need to tidy up before I have you guys around. . 1
christosd Posted July 25, 2013 Author Posted July 25, 2013 looking at the rest of his gear, tell me if you think he's going to seriously drop that kind of coin on a DAC?! And if he did have that kind of money to spend, don't you think it might be better spent on speakers?.... You are probably right! At this early stage of the "journey" however, I am a firm believer that its not just about the money when it comes to listening to music. For me its can also be about that special combo that works in the room, with the type of music, and with the ear you have, and the circumstances under which one listens. I think that listening to music is no different to performing it for me - a brand new high dollar guitar played though a mega dollar effects rack and a MOSFET moster might blow my brain in terms of its tonall uniformity and eventonal flexibility for the player, but it still will not sound like a vintage guitar / vintage valve combo of a particular type if thats what I felt like listening to or playing. I will never be able to fund a chase for absolute and accurate reproduction by any stretch, but I hope to find a good (old) combo that works and I am prepared to maintain at this stage. Easy for me to say until I hear a 'real' system and my finances change, but for the moment Ill be comfortable with baby steps (guesses)...a REGA DAC seems to be so well liked here that I'm pretty sure if I feel that if it doesnt work one can always sell it on and try something else!..The opinions on the amps are extremely welcome too...thanks. I suppose the Crown Princes with a bigger amp is something of a classic 'combo' I should try too.
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