Rega DAC V Audiolab M-Dac

[kenworthy100]

Has anyone had an opportunity to compare the above dacs and if so what were your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance

[MCRU]

Has anyone had an opportunity to compare the above dacs and if so what were your thoughts?

Many thanks in advance

The M-DAC IMO is the best DAC going for under 3k, bit biased as I make a psu for it and it makes it sound even better, for £600 it sounds much better than the Rega of which I had heard plenty of times in people's systems. The good thing about the M-DAC is all the different settings which allow you to tweak the sound to suit your tastes, the Rega is good but not as good as the M-DAC, I have in the past 3-4 weeks heard:-

Squeezebox touch with arcam r-dac
Beresford Bushmaster DAC
Teac DAC
Micromega MyDac
M-DAC

I have been listening to them all with and without linear PSU's through my music server and the touch, the M-DAC was easily the best, I did have a Rega abpout 3 months ago and still remember the sound, quite punchy and did punch above it's weight for sure.

The Bushmaster with my linear PSU beats the R-DAC quite easily, in fact the Bushmaster was awarded 5 stars recently in Hi-Fi Choice, sorry it's not answering your question directly but thought you may want to know.

If you have £600 to spend on a DAC then the M-Dac is excellent, the bushmaster with my linear psu (developed in conjunction with my designer friend Nick Gorham ans Stanley Beresford himself) will beat the Rega IMO.

[Tim]

You need to try them both out as I don't agree with David, I really disliked the M-DAC, in fact it set my teeth on edge and I couldn't listen to it for long compared to the Rega. A lot may depend on your system though and the music you prefer. As I also have the Brio-R paired with the Rega DAC, this no doubt helps with synergy as they were designed in unison - but personally I wouldn't have an M-DAC if you gave me one free, it would go on eBay ;)

I like a warm, organic and valve like sound, which is what I get from the Rega in my system. If you like a modern, 'deeeetailed' and dynamic sound then you will possibly prefer the M-DAC.

IMO the Rega DAC is the best out there for under a grand. Mind you I have not heard the M-DAC with a Linear PSU which no doubt would improve the SQ, but does increase the price significantly.

There's only one way to do this really, you need to try them with your own system, in your listening room and playing your music :)

If you do try the Rega, try to get a thoroughly run in one as for me it came into its own after 100+ hours of use.

[DSJR]

Some people still like an explicit treble, which is fine while they're young enough to be impressed by such things :lol: All that bothers me now about the M DAC is that the designer jumped ship and is now doing aftermarket mods to the software in efforts to further "improve it" it seems - threads with hundreds of posts on PF.....

The Rega in such company will sound safe and perhaps boring by comparison, but rest assured that all of them will be as near as damn it the same, will have a long and useful service life with good chance of service in ten or more years time and, if you leapfrog the add-on market up to a grand or so, you'll find it has much of the power, scale and refinement of the very best CD players out there, the likes of the Audiolab DAC possibly sounding "HiFi" and "over-done" in comparison..

Sorry chaps, give me warmth and naural timbres over "HiFi" tinkles any day :lol:

[Theadmans]

The M-DAC IMO is the best DAC going for under 3k, bit biased as I make a psu for it and it makes it sound even better, for £600 it sounds much better than the Rega of which I had heard plenty of times in people's systems. The good thing about the M-DAC is all the different settings which allow you to tweak the sound to suit your tastes, the Rega is good but not as good as the M-DAC, I have in the past 3-4 weeks heard:-

Squeezebox touch with arcam r-dac
Beresford Bushmaster DAC
Teac DAC
Micromega MyDac
M-DAC

I have been listening to them all with and without linear PSU's through my music server and the touch, the M-DAC was easily the best, I did have a Rega abpout 3 months ago and still remember the sound, quite punchy and did punch above it's weight for sure.

The Bushmaster with my linear PSU beats the R-DAC quite easily, in fact the Bushmaster was awarded 5 stars recently in Hi-Fi Choice, sorry it's not answering your question directly but thought you may want to know.

If you have £600 to spend on a DAC then the M-Dac is excellent, the bushmaster with my linear psu (developed in conjunction with my designer friend Nick Gorham ans Stanley Beresford himself) will beat the Rega IMO.


...sorry a bit off topic I know but what do you think of the Teac? I'd love either the M-DAC or Rega but finances won't run to either at the moment. However, the Teac at £150 from Richer Sounds is a possibility. Also do you know if the Teac USB connection works with the Triode Enhanced Plug-in on the Squeezebox Touch?

[kenworthy100]

Everyone thank you very much for your views, it is really useful.

[Gazjam]

Depends on what flavour of sound you like.
The Rega and Mdac sound quite different.

I personally wouldn't put one over the other, but they do shine more in their prospective target groups.

IMO Mdac is more hifi, Rega sounds more like real people playing real instruments and is more musical.
Some prefer one over the other.

Listen and see what you prefer, the Rega is £100 GBP cheaper.

[Tim]

Gary has it spot on the M-DAC sounds like Hi-Fi, the Rega sounds like music ;)
(IMHO of course)
So whatever takes your fancy really, the only way to tell is have a listen.

[Gromit]

So whatever takes your fancy really, the only way to tell is have a listen.

Exactly. :)

I'm in the throes of looking at dacs up to around £350 (new or used) and the Rega is certainly on the radar. Just missed out on one on the Bay of E sadly (and it was fairly local too). Without wishing to hijack the thread, I do read good press regarding the MF M1? I've never really been a fan of their amps but the digital stuff has been excellent, that I've had chance to listen to.

[ppat2]

Hi folks,

Check out the other AOS thread on the same topic found here. It has 5 pages of feedback from several Rega and Audiolab users:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17475

[DSJR]

Assuming that all audio gear distorts the signal if even in a tiny way, do bear in mind Rega's roots as a specialist manufacturer of vinyl playback gear. If there's going to be any compromise, no matter how tiny, it's going to be in terms of warmth/musicality or not, rather than clinical precision/definition or not, if you see what I mean.