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Author Topic: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.  (Read 55399 times)

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Hands

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #410 on: September 15, 2015, 05:10:42 PM »
You will probably subjectively hear a bigger change with a better amp than better DAC unless, again, your existing DAC is THAT bad. I wouldn't necessarily say amps magnify bad DACs, they can just be more revealing of them.

If you can, stick with the DAC on the Micro iDSD for now. Maybe try bit-perfect or minimum phase filter mode if you're worried about brightness. Use that money towards a really nice tube amp for the HD800, then upgrade to a multi-bit Gungnir down the road when funds allow. That will probably give you the best possible sound for the time being vs. being stuck with an expensive DAC and a crappy amp, which will probably sound worse than Micro iDSD + better amp. Now, PC DAC out? That might be a different story.
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Anaxilus

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #411 on: September 15, 2015, 05:16:16 PM »
Quote from: Thenewdude007 on September 15, 2015, 05:04:15 PM
That's what I always thought, but in the HD800 case, it is supposed to be the most revealing headphone ever made. So any imperfections through the DAC are magnified. Going straight the the top rated multibit Gungnir should improve the sound significantly?

I been using the DAC from my PC & from my iFi Micro iDSD. I guess both are bright/digital sounding and they aren't doing the HD800 any favors.


It will be harder, possibly impossible, to hear differences in some DACs if your amp doesn't let those differences get to the HD800. You should think of it like the flow of water through a hose. If there is a blockage at a certain point along its length, anything after will get reduced flowrate/performance.

You have to figure out how much you can or want to spend and see where the weakest part of your current chain is.
 
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dreamwhisper

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #412 on: September 15, 2015, 06:00:40 PM »
what is the Schiit Gumby?
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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #413 on: September 15, 2015, 06:10:45 PM »
Quote from: dreamwhisper on September 15, 2015, 06:00:40 PM
what is the Schiit Gumby?

GUngnir MultiBit ... Y
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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #414 on: September 15, 2015, 08:26:17 PM »
My advice is if you can't stand on top of the summit fi now, get the bifrost/Valhalla 2 stack for the hd800. Good dac + real good amp. Make yourself a hifiberry digi+ source and enjoy the hd800.  The gumby is better source but I think you will need a really good amp to get the best out of it. 


For the hd800 I would suggest the black widow if you were going for the gumby.  The mojo2 is great but its better for orthos. the black widow almost gets you the tuby goodless of some of the end game setups.  If only there was a hybrid version  :)p8

Just a thought
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likearake

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #415 on: September 15, 2015, 11:45:36 PM »
There is also the Vali which is a big step up from no amp. Sounds pretty great with the HD800.

If you find the iDSD bright I would beware in upgrading dac only. The dac in that thing is warm/mushy (own one myself for portable use and don't enjoy plugging it into my main rig), so I can't imagine getting a Gumby will make things sound any less bright...
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atomicbob

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #416 on: September 16, 2015, 02:35:09 AM »
Quote from: dreamwhisper on September 15, 2015, 06:00:40 PM
what is the Schiit Gumby?
Gungnir multibit - one of the best damn DACs on the planet.
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BassDigger

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #417 on: September 16, 2015, 04:14:54 AM »
I can certainly understand the advice that says "get the amp first" or "spend your money on the amp, sort out the dac later".
The amp does make more difference. But even though you've already settled on your cans, how can you decide which amp is the best when the signal that you're feeding it is compromised, by a sub-standard source? You'd always have to be second-guessing the effects of the dac!

My point is that there is generally much less difference, less variety of characteristics, between good dacs, than there is amplifiers; a good dac simply lets through more of the music, shows the difference between different recordings etc... So, choosing a dac is (currently) easier. It's the choice of amp that takes time, precisely because it has more influence on the final SQ.

Yes, in the short term, a cheap dac with a good amp should give you a better sound. But, how can you choose the right amp? Your choice of expensive, final purchase, amp might well be skewed by the characteristic of your cheap dac.

My preferred solution is to get a good dac first, and combine it with a cheaper, but popular and known quantity amp. Then you can make an informed decision (with the help of others) on which direction you want to go, with your ultimate amp. And have confidence that the sound isn't going to change, once you get a proper dac and feed the amp with a more truthful musical signal.

The 'phones are THE most influential. The DAC is the foundation (along with a good source). The amp is the link between the two.

Just my thoughts.
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paras1te

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #418 on: September 17, 2015, 06:43:20 AM »
Quote from: Marvey on June 14, 2015, 11:03:47 PM
Yeah, a lot of those big names (Wadia too) went toward that direction. Warm, syrupy, even thick, slow, muddy.
Another was the $12K tubed Jadis JS1 (from mid 1990s, still sold/serviced as Jadis is active; uses Philips Bitstream DACs).
You can kinda be in the same sound characteristic, today, with MODERN non-oversampling DACs (most based on certain classic Philips multibit DACs like TDA1541, 1545 or 1543).
In the early days of separate DAC/transport, many "high-end" reviewers often criticized the separation (due to S/PDIF limits). In fact, the high-$ Krell separates were noted as inferior to similar-priced Krell all-in-one CDPs (KPS-20i).
Ahhh .... the all-in-ones... Naim**, Krell, Spectral, SF, etc. (equally noteworthy were all the Magnavox mods)
Disc playback may, today, be old-fashioned, impractical/inconvenient ... and in the context of this thread, out-of-topic.
That said, some of the best Red Book (16/44.1) playback I still hear is outta better CDPs.

** Naim's house sound is flat-earth but PRaTty. They achieved this using at-the-time commercially-avail DACs of various architectures: multibit/R2R (TDA1541A; PCM1702/1704) or TDA1305 (shudder!! hybrid Bitstream!!). What Naim didn't change was their power-supply/regulation design strategy, and they mostly stuck to S/PIDF-free all-in-one Red-Book CDPs, with plain-Jane 4x or 8x COTS digital filters (SAA7220 or PMD100/200).[Again: massive investment in PCB layout and PSU topologies, with short traces and massive decoupling]
Not w/o flaws, and I certainly haven't heard everything out there, but the Naim sound is my digital reference.
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Thad E Ginathom

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Re: Purrin's DAC Chart of Awesomeness.
« Reply #419 on: September 17, 2015, 07:17:54 AM »
Quote from: BassDigger on September 16, 2015, 04:14:54 AM
.
I can certainly understand the advice that says "get the amp first" or "spend your money on the amp, sort out the dac later".
The amp does make more difference. But even though you've already settled on your cans, how can you decide which amp is the best when the signal that you're feeding it is compromised, by a sub-standard source? You'd always have to be second-guessing the effects of the dac!...

... ... ...


The perpetual chicken and egg. Lately, I have been fancying buying a new DAC. It has also been pointed out to me that my existing amplifier might make it not worthwhile to spend money on the DAC. But, sometimes we leap-frog with upgrades. Also, being but human, we don't always make entirely rational and logical decisions. Sometimes we do things in the wrong order for a right reason: The DAC I wanted was available, and being far away from US/European markets, it was a maybe-one-off chance to buy it (which I didn't, because it didn't work out).

In the end, as my upgrade fever dies away for this time, I tell myself: "your system doesn't hurt: enjoy." Fine. Until next time!  :)p15

Quote (selected)
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The 'phones are THE most influential. The DAC is the foundation (along with a good source). The amp is the link between the two.

Yes... an amplifier can only ampify its input, whatever that is.

I used to think of the digital DAC being analogous to the analogue TT cartridge: but it is poor analogy, as cartridges differ a great deal.
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