2. digital
  3. 1319808520

Rega DAC vs Havana DAC

After reading many impressions/reviews of Rega and Havana DACs, the two seem to have lots of in common. People say they are "analog sounding, they sound earthy and organic, tonally dense, overall "rightness", musicality, good rhythm, not over-detailed".
The main differences I could spot after reading others' impressions (unfortunately I haven't listened to either of the DACs) are that Havana provides more delicate, subtle sound (which as some people claim, might not be aggresive enough for rock music) and Havana has a wide and very deep soundstage (which I consider a big advantage - not sure about the soundstage of Rega DAC..)

Anybody compared Rega to Havana? What are the main sonic differences between the two DACs?

I am considering buying one of them and it is difficult for me to decide which one to choose as I don't have a chance to audition them beforehand. (I'm interested mainly in their sonic abilities. I will use coax input only).

Any help appreciated!
artmindes

Showing 5 responses by artmindes

artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Tubegroover, thank you for your response.

True that unless I listen to both DACs I will not know for sure which one suit my preferences better.

Regarding the over-detailed issue, I meant the "over emphasized" details. It looks like Havana has this 'good' kind of detail:)

Generally I am looking for a DAC for my headphone rig. It's an interesting thing, but it appears that most people on headphones perceive the soundstage of Havana as deep and wide. However recently I've had a chance to meet a person on head-fi forum, who listens to Havana on speakers. He said Havana soundstage appeared flat to him and also Havana provided grayish sound. I got worried after reading about these two issues. Maybe it was his speakers, maybe something else...
What is your perception regarding Havana soundstage and grayish sound? Are you on speakers only? And have you upgraded your Havana in any way?

Thank you!
artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Kbarkamian, appreciate your answer.

I like everything what I read about Rega, but this one little issue with soundstaging bothers me.
Deep and wide soundstage is important to me as I listen mostly through my headphones and headphones' inherent weakness is less dimensional sound. I would like to compensate this through the right choice of the source component (DAC/transport).
Otherwise everything about Rega sounds so good to me. Ehhh, tough decision to make!
artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Rob, thank you for your impressions.
Thanks to my recent read, i realized that soundstage may be perceived differently on speakers vs headphones. I suppose the two can't be extremely different and some relation must exist, meaning good soundstage on speakers should also mean good one on headphones however it looks it's not always the case. Maybe this is synergy thing...and there are different speakers and different headphones.
artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Tubegroover, after reading your and many others people's impressions of Havana, i start to believe there is some magic in its sound. This is very tempting to me to try it out myself. Although sonically both Havana and Rega seems to fit my taste. One thing with Havana that bothers me just a little bit l, is that it cannot play HD files, although if it sounds good i dont really mind that much. Well, i could consider the more expensive successor of Havana, which is Stockholm DAC. However almost no reviews/impressions are available yet. I only heard it sounds more detailed, and i am afraid it may mean more ditigal or it may not have the same magic as Havana...
artmindes OP
12 posts
 
Very helpful tips! Thank you Guys.
More to discover