Dave the Rave Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Now the upgrade bug has bitten. I have an HK990 amp, Castle Howard S3 front fed through Xindac s2 speaker cables. Play CD through Myrzad MCD 600 or stream digital from Pioneer LX73 AVR's usb/Internet Radio. Also have an Oppo 103 which can play SADC but currently only used for BD purpose. Love the sound of my HK990 when using its internal DAC giving tight, wholesome bass. However, I am starting to find some extra details when playing the CD player and using the Amp as pass through i.e no processing connected through analogue cables. The only thing lacking is the dynamics which i get when invoking the HK990 DSP - (ADC then DAC still through analog cables). I would love to get the CD analog sound enriched with the HK dynamics (beautiful and subtle sub sound). Hence looking out for a used DAC which shows an improvement of the Myrzad and HK 990 DACs. Would connect it to the HK990 which will act just as a pass through power amp. Willing to invest between 1-2k in the used market. Can you folks recommend me few to consider? Cheers D
henry218 Posted February 7, 2015 Posted February 7, 2015 Now the upgrade bug has bitten. I have an HK990 amp, Castle Howard S3 front fed through Xindac s2 speaker cables. Play CD through Myrzad MCD 600 or stream digital from Pioneer LX73 AVR's usb/Internet Radio. Also have an Oppo 103 which can play SADC but currently only used for BD purpose. Love the sound of my HK990 when using its internal DAC giving tight, wholesome bass. However, I am starting to find some extra details when playing the CD player and using the Amp as pass through i.e no processing connected through analogue cables. The only thing lacking is the dynamics which i get when invoking the HK990 DSP - (ADC then DAC still through analog cables). I would love to get the CD analog sound enriched with the HK dynamics (beautiful and subtle sub sound). Hence looking out for a used DAC which shows an improvement of the Myrzad and HK 990 DACs. Would connect it to the HK990 which will act just as a pass through power amp. Willing to invest between 1-2k in the used market. Can you folks recommend me few to consider? Cheers D most dacs at that price will surpassed your HK990, but i have pcm1704 based audiogd dacs and compared to few, i think they are really good on dynamics, clarity and linearity. 2
ferchersan Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 @@devgcl Lots to choose from within that price range. At the lower end of your budget you could be looking at a new NAD M51, at the higher end of your budget, a second hand Chord Hugo. I'm using a HUGO with an Oppo 105 myself. If you are in Sydney today you can hear both DACs at the Sydney Audio Club Meeting along with a few more high end pieces. Details here: http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/77643-sydney-audio-club-meet-up-sunday-8-feb-2015-4-dac-comparison/#entry1281062 Good luck. Cheers, LF
SimplifiedLife Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 I find the Audio-GD stuff definitely has what you are looking for. Saw a Ref 7.1 up for sale in your price range recently
Guest yamaha_man Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 I have a Bel Canto DAC3 if your interested. Cheers.
Dave the Rave Posted February 8, 2015 Author Posted February 8, 2015 Thanks for the info and will read more on the proposed models. I suspect i would need one with preamp as this will declutter having a pre on all the time? Sorry missed the Audio club meeting.... Been away
SimplifiedLife Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 And here is a Reference 7 ... alas, no volume control. From what I read there aren't too many DACs with good implementation of volume control in the $1-$2K price bracket. Might have to pay a bit more to declutter http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/77951-audio-gd-reference-7-dac/
New Sensations Posted February 8, 2015 Posted February 8, 2015 Yup. Hard to do better than a used Ref 7 at $1k. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Dave the Rave Posted February 9, 2015 Author Posted February 9, 2015 Phewww that Audio gd sold in a flash. Need to check others.
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