Wanted....dac for transport

[Papa Dee]

Managed to pick up a mint Denon DVD 3910 which I intend using as a transport.Ive always admired their
heavyweight construction and smooth/solid mechanism.Now I’m after a dac...nothing that will break the bank...secondhand works. I was thinking along the lines of a Musical Fidelity M1 Dac.....Toppings D30 or Schitt Modi 2... Has anybody been able to compare any of these ?...Thanks Dee

[Lawrence001]

What about a musical fidelity vdac for £50 plus postage?

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[Papa Dee]

Hi Lawrence ,thanks for the offer,very reasonable price by the way.But I think I’ll hold out for one of the dacs I shortlisted.If I don’t have any joy I’ll get back to you if that’s ok....regards Dee


What about a musical fidelity vdac for £50 plus postage?

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[StanleyB]

If you are after a more analogue sound from the Denon, with no digital artefacts, then I would suggest that you try the Caiman SEG. If you are indeed in London, you can pick one up from me and bring it back if it doesn't make a substantial improvement over the Denon.

[Gazjam]

Cant ask fairer than that.
Chances are it will...

[Papa Dee]

Hi Stan,thanks for the offer which I’ll take you up on.Have been using a musical fidelity E60 as a transport with a DAC in the Box and fancied a change.The Denon 3910 came along at £50 in mint condition and I’ve been using it both as a stand-alone and with the DITB......will PM you to discuss.Thanks Dee

[Papa Dee]

Morning Gaz...much has been made of the Denons musical capability but to be honest, to date I’ve been underwhelmed...although it was always my intention to use it as a transport .We shall see.....

[Papa Dee]

I had been underwhelmed by the Denon and then when I tried to play some CD-R’s it failed to read them.
I’d just brought a brand new double Cd of Dee Dee Warwick and it failed to read these.I scrambled to find my invoice to confirm I’d paid by PayPal...yes!..all clear.Then I saw it under a stack of CDs..a lens cleaner
disc. I whacked it in and voila ..problem solved.It was now reading anything and everything I threw at it,
and as for the music.Weighty,detailed but not cold....very pleased......still fancy trying it with a dac ..So if anybody can help it would be much appreciated..


Morning Gaz...much has been made of the Denons musical capability but to be honest, to date I’ve been underwhelmed...although it was always my intention to use it as a transport .We shall see.....

[Spectral Morn]

Morning Gaz...much has been made of the Denons musical capability but to be honest, to date I’ve been underwhelmed...although it was always my intention to use it as a transport .We shall see.....

I have yet to hear any DVD player outperform a dedicated CD player, transport so I am not that surprised you are feeling underwhelmed. Being frank unless you have deep pockets I would suggest an all in one player and not pursue the separates route. Others mileage will vary of course.

[Stratmangler]

I would suggest an all in one player and not pursue the separates route. Others mileage will vary of course.

The DVD 3910 is an all in one player ...

[twotone]

I have yet to hear any DVD player outperform a dedicated CD player, transport so I am not that surprised you are feeling underwhelmed. Being frank unless you have deep pockets I would suggest an all in one player and not pursue the separates route. Others mileage will vary of course.

I recently bought an Arcam DVD 27A (£2k when new in 2003) for CD playing and it was a very very good analogue sounding player via RCA into my amp but it wasn't any better in my system playing it from the digital out through a Caiman SEG so I moved it on and I'm now looking at a streamer/ripper solution hooked up to the SEG.

[Papa Dee]

Hi Tony,that’s just the sort of trial I’d like to undertake..the Denon is,in my opinion,quite musical..not the last word as such but definitely capable of reproducing a decent analogue sound.I still want to experiment with a dac or two for my own personal experience.


I recently bought an Arcam DVD 27A (£2k when new in 2003) for CD playing and it was a very very good analogue sounding player via RCA into my amp but it wasn't any better in my system playing it from the digital out through a Caiman SEG so I moved it on and I'm now looking at a streamer/ripper solution hooked up to the SEG.

[Spectral Morn]

The DVD 3910 is an all in one player ...

Its a DVD player first, everything else is secondary to playing movies and digital surround sound. It is not a dedicated CD player. I have played with one back in the day and it bigger brothers, excellent DVD players, poor CD players, and that includes their use as transports.

[Papa Dee]

Have been using the Denon all weekend and it is a very musical player especially when I pair it with the Audio Alchemy Ditb.For £50 I cant think of a better transport that plays nearly every cd format including
Sacd...and is no slouch when it comes to playing DVDs either.Ive narrowed my choice of dacs down to the
Topping D30 or the Caiman seg.....Anybody got a Topping they want to move on...?

[walpurgis]

The Audio Alchemy 'Digital Decoding Engine' DAC is a good step up from the DITB. There's one on ebay at the moment.

[struth]

Think my aa is a decoding engine. It certainly sounded good last time I used it

[Papa Dee]

The Audio Alchemy 'Digital Decoding Engine' DAC is a good step up from the DITB. There's one on ebay at the moment.

Any idea how the Digital Decoding Engine compares against either the Caiman Seg or Toppings D30...I do like the Audio Alchemy products....I have a Vac in the box plus 2 spare Ditb that all work perfectly but unfortunately need power supplies.

[walpurgis]

Any idea how the Digital Decoding Engine compares against either the Caiman Seg or Toppings D30...I do like the Audio Alchemy products....I have a Vac in the box plus 2 spare Ditb that all work perfectly but unfortunately need power supplies.

Not done the comparison. It is definitely better than the DITB though.

What's to lose? Buy it, try it and keep it if you like it (you probably will) or sell it on for the same money. Or even a bit more. Personally I think the asking price is cheap.

[struth]

different products tbh and very much a different sound. my decoding engine if anything is slightly brighter than the usual, but not to its detriment

[Papa Dee]

Hi Geoff..sage words indeed...I made an offer to the seller on Ebay ..they agreed...I paid ...and one Digital Decoding Engine
should be winging its way to me.Hopefully it will arrive for the weekend and I can audition it properly.Will post how I get on ... Thanks..Dee

[walpurgis]

Hi Geoff..sage words indeed...I made an offer to the seller on Ebay ..they agreed...I paid ...and one Digital Decoding Engine
should be winging its way to me.Hopefully it will arrive for the weekend and I can audition it properly.Will post how I get on ... Thanks..Dee

Ah. Nice one. I'm sure you'll like it. :thumbsup:

[Papa Dee]

Hi Geoff...the Digital decoding engine is a big improvement on the DITB...Been using it all weekend and it does sound good...very anologue...lots more detail ..much more defined bass .. better soundstaging.Your right I do like it and it will be staying with me for the time being.I would still like to make comparisons with the two dacs on my shortlist but the bars been raised and for £90 delivered the DDE is ticking all the boxes

[StanleyB]

Hi Geoff...the Digital decoding engine is a big improvement on the DITB...Been using it all weekend and it does sound good...very anologue...lots more detail ..much more defined bass .. better soundstaging.Your right I do like it and it will be staying with me for the time being.
That's great news. At least it saved you a lot on the cost of SEG.

[walpurgis]

Hi Geoff...the Digital decoding engine is a big improvement on the DITB...Been using it all weekend and it does sound good...very anologue...lots more detail ..much more defined bass .. better soundstaging.Your right I do like it and it will be staying with me for the time being.I would still like to make comparisons with the two dacs on my shortlist but the bars been raised and for £90 delivered the DDE is ticking all the boxes

Yup. The DDE is a decent sounding DAC. You'll probably get near enough your outlay back selling the DITB. So good news all round.

[walpurgis]

Now all you need is a Theta TLC or Monarchy Audio DIP jitter buster to put the icing on the cake :).