Cambridge Audio DacMagic -- $400, balanced.

[Cankin]

oh, sorry, forgot to put that in my profile

I'm in Toronto

yeah, the store next to my house, but according to the thread on HF (and if I remember correctly)both US/Can. dealers should receive their stocks about this week

[aardvark baguette]

blasted thing is really tempting me.

[aardvark baguette]

then don't buy some OJCs for a week and get one.

You say that as if its a viable option.

[The Monkey]

I think I will be getting one.

EDIT: Although Wild West Electronics keeps pushing back the arrival date.

[Lil' Knight]

I think I will be getting one.

EDIT: Although Wild West Electronics keeps pushing back the arrival date.

I got the email that the first batch for US is Oct 22nd, and they will ship on 27 or 28th. Hopefully they can do that because my amp will be shipped next week.

[donunus]

Hey Lil night, you're here. I'm stalking all these dacmagic threads now too looking for some impressions. I'm a little afraid at some of the impressions ive read saying the highs are a little brittle and the overall sound being a little sterile. I already have a semi analytical amp (the gilmore lite with dps) so something warm and cozy sounding might be more in my alley.

[aardvark baguette]

put it in a blanket.

[wrecked_porsche]

Yeah, blankets are very cozy, especially when its a cold rainy day outside.

[donunus]

hahaha

[Salt Peanuts]

Bumping an old thread, but here's one that went up on A'gon today.

AudiogoN ForSale: Cambridge Audio DACmagic

[The Monkey]

Audio Advisor has one for $305.

[Cankin]

Are there any improvements if I use XLRs to RCA to my amp compare to RCA to RCA ?

[n_maher]

Are there any improvements if I use XLRs to RCA to my amp compare to RCA to RCA ?

Depends on how each output stage is accomplished. Maybe yes, maybe no.

[Cankin]

so that depends on if the balanced output is "real" ?

[n_maher]

Something like that yeah.

[Azazel]

This is my first post here, so... HELLO!

I had a CA DacMagic on loan for some weeks, one month or so ago (just released). To me it is THE choice for a under-$500 DAC, thanks to its performance and to being really balanced (it has two stereo DACs operating in differential mode, so from the XLR outs you DO get a balanced signal).

It is not a "chip assembly" (spdif receptor+upsampling+dac off the shelf) but a custom made solution, with three "try yours" filters (second or third position, I cannot remember now, was a bit smoother and I felt better using it).

However... if you are on the US side of the sea, price will not be so interesting and you do have many local options. For us continental europeans here, with the actual low sterling rates, it is a steal (around euro 200, was around $200 not so long ago).

It must be said also that any opinions must be kept in perspective. It is a good DAC, but it is a $300-400 unit and it does not sound any better than, say, my G08 Cd player (when fed its digital signal) specially on bass/rythm concerns.

But for $1k players, and specially for those looking to have balanced

signals (even from USB), I find it very appealing!

Regards

Josep

[Cankin]

......

It must be said also that any opinions must be kept in perspective. It is a good DAC, but it is a $300-400 unit and it does not sound any better than, say, my G08 Cd player (when fed its digital signal) specially on bass/rythm concerns.

........

Regards

Josep

This is so true, I don't know why people over HF have such extraordinary high expectation about DacMagic, you got what you paid for. When I told them it sounds like a $400 DAC they said "no, I'm looking for $2k+ sound quality, something like 840c from DacMagic........"

[Icarium]

Have you seen this thread on head-fi?

Designing an alternative to the Zero DAC/amp -- Now it has a name: The Audio-gd Compass - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

I read the first couple of pages and it's pretty amazing what people want for 200-250 dollars let alone 500 dollars.

[lostonetr]

I think the type of "$### component that competes with $#000 level gear" comments are really getting to people.

[Jeepster]

Guys on HF are using a V-Dac as a source for 1000 plus dollar amps and saying its better than dacs costing 2,3 and 4 times what the V-Dac does. What the Fuck? Apparantly they were able to squeeze a 1000 dollar sound out of the dac because of the 20 dollars on parts they saved by having a small chassis and no internal wiring.

[giantsteps]

Greetings,

I'm new here and at the risk of asking a stupid question which I believe I may already know the answer to I will ask it anyway.

I own an Cambridge Audio Azur 740C CD Player which as you probably alreay know features optical and s/pdif digital inputs which allows you to input other digital signals which in turn allows the 740C to upsample incoming digital audio signals.

My question is as follows:

I recently purchased a new Sony Vaio PC, the VPCL117FX/B, and I was considering purchasing the Cambridge Audio DacMagic unit in order to take the toslink optical digital audio signal that comes out of my PC and go into the DacMagic so that I could benefit from the upsampling that the DacMagic unit would provide me with. This would allow me to upsample any and all audio playback from my PC such as MP3 & 16-bit + 24-bit wave files through the DacMagic and then to my A/V receiver.

I understand how the DacMagic works and what I can expect from it but would I not be able to acheive the same if not better results if I simply took the optical digital signal from my PC and went into the digital optical input on the back of my Azur 740C CD player and used that unit to perform the upsampling?

Again, I think I already know the answer but I've been reading the posts here and you folks seem like you know your stuff so I'll let the experts weigh in.

Thnk you.

Paul

[Dusty Chalk]

It depends on the receiver you have -- a lot of them redigitize the signal, so I'd go even further -- take the digital out from your PC and plug it straight into your receiver.

Upsampling may or may not have benefits -- I think the general thinking is a well-designed output stage contributes more "better" to the final sound of a DAC than any upsampling may or may not contribute.

Of course, the engineers amongst us will say, "just try it for yourself and determine for yourself".

[morphsci]

Since the Dac-Magic is essentially the same Dac as in the 740C I cannot see any reason to buy and use it over your CDP. I do not know if the output stage is different but I would be surprised if the Dac Magic had a better output stage than the 740c.

[giantsteps]

It depends on the receiver you have -- a lot of them redigitize the signal, so I'd go even further -- take the digital out from your PC and plug it straight into your receiver.

Upsampling may or may not have benefits -- I think the general thinking is a well-designed output stage contributes more "better" to the final sound of a DAC than any upsampling may or may not contribute.

Of course, the engineers amongst us will say, "just try it for yourself and determine for yourself".

I own the Cambridge Audio Azur 640R A/V receiver and I am currently running an toslink optical cable out of my PC into the Cambridge Audio Azur 640R Receiver. I do not know if the 640R is redigitizing the input signal from my PC, but I don't think that it is.

I do not believe that the Azur 640R receiver upsamples incoming digital signals which is why I was thinking about getting the DacMagic unit.

Thanks for your input.

Paul

[giantsteps]

Since the Dac-Magic is essentially the same Dac as in the 740C I cannot see any reason to buy and use it over your CDP. I do not know if the output stage is different but I would be surprised if the Dac Magic had a better output stage than the 740c.

I agree and I am going to try taking the digital out from my PC and inputting it into my Azur 740C's digital input and use the 740C as an dedicated DAC for the digital signal coming from my PC.

Thanks for your input.

Paul