DAC and Amp

wingnuttzz

wingnuttzz

wingnuttzz

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Joined
17 Dec 2007
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652
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Edinburgh
Hi guys

I recently purchased a Cambridge Audio A5 and some Tannoy f1's.

I was looking at getting a DAC as my audio source is my PC, and was looking at the following

Cambridge audio DacMagic 2i (think that is the latest)
Beresford Caiman

Now, from what i gather the Beresford is a better Dac, how-ever its much smaller than my A5 (the dacmagic is the same size as my a5) and i don't think will look like i want it too. i.e like a proper stack.

Would i be better buying the DAC magic, or the Beresford will the idea of buying another amp that will match it better in size?

Thanks
Grant
 
Are aesthetics really more important than what you buy audio equipment for: the audio quality ?

Seems a bit stupid to me buying a lesser product just because it looks nice in a stack :p Although this is just my opinion.

Just an idea which may seem a bit silly but you could measure up some boxes which are the size of the DACs and print the front of them onto the boxes, that way you'll get an idea of how they would look.
 
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Unfortunatly no, and i bought what i've got without listening to them, just going buying reviews

Generally i go for performance, quality etc of aesthetics but if these were to be in your front room say, you want it too look good.
 
Umm, it's not the same size as the A5! It might look the same but it's much smaller, roughly the same size as the 540/640p preamps. Probably about half the size in all dimensions.

That said the Dacmagic is good, I've demo'd one and I'm very tempted, not much wrong with the sound and some reviews I've seen say it's better than the Caiman.

Then again, as it's for a computer I'm now tempted to try out the Chordette Gem - which will likely be very good indeed, but is a bit more again.
 
the Caiman is £200 and that is the max I would ever spend to be honest.

The Magic is the pretty much exactly the same size as my A5, and i think the Caiman is about half the size in every way.

Also another thing, given my set-up, will i actually notice a difference between the 2?
 
wingnuttzz said:
The Magic is the pretty much exactly the same size as my A5, and i think the Caiman is about half the size in every way.
Click to expand...

No, it's not. Go to their website, click on the specifications, compare the dimensions. It might be the same style but it's half the size and almost exactly the same as the caiman.
 
Thanks for the pic, but i think we are bit mixed up on the DacMagic's we are looking at.

I think i'm looking at a slightly older dacmagic than that one, those ones are pushing my £200 budget are they not??

i think i can post this link, if not i will remove it
http://www.gbaudio.co.uk/data/dac2.htm

That has the spec and pics etc of the dac i'm looking at, and its the 2i one i'n looking at at the moment

Size 430w x 315d x 92h

and the size of my A5 is 430w x 300d x 90h

and the size of the Beresford is 245w x 115d x 50h


Mike - why would you avoid the beresford?
 
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wingnuttzz said:
Thanks for the pic, but i think we are bit mixed up on the DacMagic's we are looking at.

I think i'm looking at a slightly older dacmagic than that one, those ones are pushing my £200 budget are they not??

i think i can post this link, if not i will remove it
http://www.gbaudio.co.uk/data/dac2.htm

That has the spec and pics etc of the dac i'm looking at, and its the 2i one i'n looking at at the moment

Size 430w x 315d x 92h

and the size of my A5 is 430w x 300d x 90h

and the size of the Beresford is 245w x 115d x 50h


Mike - why would you avoid the beresford?
Click to expand...

Ah, I would touch the Dacmagic 2i, it's obsolete to all intensive purposes and was never terribly well regarded as I recall. The current Dacmagic is much better regarded.

If you can't stretch to it (it's only £220 or so I recall) then the Beresford would be better than an old dacmagic. The line I hear about the older units is you're better just buying a semi decent soundcard.
 
thats the thing bigredshark, for £140 i could have a xonar essence stx, which are meant to be best the there class for what they are but won't quite match up to a proper DAC.

Ok, lets say i ignore the DacMagic 2i, what would be better between the Beresford and the new DacMagic (like the one you pictured)?
 
wingnuttzz said:
thats the thing bigredshark, for £140 i could have a xonar essence stx, which are meant to be best the there class for what they are but won't quite match up to a proper DAC.

Ok, lets say i ignore the DacMagic 2i, what would be better between the Beresford and the new DacMagic (like the one you pictured)?
Click to expand...

Well I'd avoid any of those consumer cards and go for an m-audio or something myself, which could be even cheaper.

Out of the two, I would probably buy the current Dacmagic, the reviews are maybe slightly better and it suits my preferences better.

At the end of the day they sound different though, the dacmagic is probably more suited to what people classically like (it's got good bass, nice balance - it sounds more musical to my ears) while the Beresford is a leaner more aggressive sound in general (but it's more transparent and instruments are better defined). What you like and how the rest of your system sounds will colour what's best.

All IMO and according to my ears of course.
 
niko said:
any reason?
Click to expand...
wingnuttzz said:
Mike - why would you avoid the beresford?
Click to expand...
I may be being a little cynical, but take a read of this:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/question-about-tc-7510-tcc-vs-beresford-381839/

I know it's not a reflection of the product, more the company, but I'd still rather go for another DAC out of principle. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it was just a rebadged unit however... :rolleyes:

I find the E-mu 0404 USB sounds quite nice, it's not technically a DAC, more of a soundcard, but the AK4396 DAC within is known to be a nice sounding part. Feel free to google it. :)
 
MikeHunt79 said:
I find the E-mu 0404 USB sounds quite nice, it's not technically a DAC, more of a soundcard, but the AK4396 DAC within is known to be a nice sounding part. Feel free to google it. :)
Click to expand...

That's probably solid advice and a good option, given a relatively budget amp you probably won't be getting the benefit of the more exotic standalone DACs anyway.

No harm getting one if you want to future proof for upgrades or have multiple sources with optical out you would connect of course.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
I may be being a little cynical, but take a read of this:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/question-about-tc-7510-tcc-vs-beresford-381839/

I know it's not a reflection of the product, more the company, but I'd still rather go for another DAC out of principle. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it was just a rebadged unit however... :rolleyes:

I find the E-mu 0404 USB sounds quite nice, it's not technically a DAC, more of a soundcard, but the AK4396 DAC within is known to be a nice sounding part. Feel free to google it. :)
Click to expand...

thank you
yes that does look bad ,to be honest i wouldnt get the e-mu for the same reson
creative are just as bad if not worse
 
Yeah Beresford is a total shiller, no questions about that.

It's a shame because the Caiman is a good product.

I guess it's one of those situations "Do you give your money to someone who's a gimp?". But then lots of people give money to Rupert Murdoch...
 
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