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My First USB DAC Sounds Dull, Please Help

Greatings from Tanzania,

I finally jumped into the PC audio arena with the purchase of a Mhdt Paradisea+. However the PC/DAC combo came out very disappointing! The sound was dull and contrived. Even my wife gave it a thumb down.

This is my first try on a system with a tube stage, but don't think it should sound so lucking of high frequency signals. I switched between foobar and Windows MP11, tried a different laptop, and even connected the DAC direct to the Amp (by-passed the preamp), but to no avail.

The rest of my system is comprised of Martin Logan SL3, Bag-End Aragon 8008 BB, Aragon Aurum preamp, and Kimber cables.

I am I doing something wrong. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I remain a believer of PC audio.
planckscale
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
DAC's vary a lot in their sound and quality. Dont believe everything you read on the forums.

One thing that is probably a big limiter here is the USB interface, which I believe is based on one of the TI PCM270X chips. These have given USB audio a bad name, but it's just the chip at fault. This is wrong chip to use for high-end audio.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,243 posts
 
I own this dac and it is not dull in the high frequencies I can guarantee that. Something else is wrong. Maybe the tube is bad?
peter_s
1,088 posts
 
I agree with Ejlif - this is a nice sounding DAC. Not the uptmost in high frequency extension, but not by any means dull and uninivolving.

Is there a transport you could use to plug into the DAC and test whether it is the USB part of the circuit or the DAC itself?
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