Look, this is silly! You can have product X and Y that on their own are terrific products. You can proceed to hook X and Y together and have bad results. X with Z may sound great or even Y with Z may be a good combo...it's hit or miss folks. Buy a well made one box solution and skip the potential mismatch and subsequent cable and PC anziety. Of course some people love the technical side more than the music itself...for them there is no hope:O)
Which matters more, DAC or transport?
In my search to better the digital playback of my system I've been lead to look at several DACs to couple with my arcam cd36, and have also considered buying a whole new player like a McIntosh mcd 201 or maybe even a lower end esoteric. My question is: will I get better results using a good DAC (for $2000 to $3000) with my mid-fi transport or with a new player that has a better transport mechanism built in, coupled with what's probably a slightly less sophisticated onboard DAC? Also, what do people think of the Bel Canto DAC3? It's one I've considered. Thanks.
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I second the comments by Kijanki, Shadorne, and Dave_b. The two-box approach adds a great deal of complexity, criticality, and opportunity for error and compromise in the design of each component, in the component matchup which is selected by the user, as well as in the cabling and the power distribution. There is no one right answer to the question of which component is more important because, as some of the others indicated, how important the jitter and noise performance of the transport is depends on the approach to jitter rejection (if any) which is provided in the design of the dac, and on how well that approach is implemented. Seconding Dave's comments, my feeling is that a one-box solution should be seriously considered unless there is a specific reason to do otherwise (such as needing usb connectivity). FWIW, I'll add that I've been very pleased with my Bryston BCD-1. Regards, -- Al |
FYI, as an aside note, I have recently had the opportunity to evaluate a pair of Morrow Audio MA4 balanced IC's between my Sony XA5400ES and Krell 400xi. These cables demand to be heard by any music lover...they are musical conduits of the highest order. I am jaded as far as cales go, having owned and demo'd a good portion of what's available on the market. What they do is offer the most natural tonality within the most complete harmonic envelope I have ever experienced. You may think your system has no distortion or grunge or stridency, but when you put the Morrows in you will remove every last bit of artifice and what's left is sheer beauty:O) |
having owned and demo'd a good portion of what's available on the market. What they do is offer the most natural tonality within the most complete harmonic envelope I have ever experienced. You may think your system has no stridency, but when you put the Morrows in you will remove every last bit of... Oh Groovy Baby |
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