DAC Advice

[bumpy]

Topping D30. It costs £90 from Amazon. It's the best DAC I have owned - the only DAC I've heard in my system that might better it was a $5k Lampizator Level 4.

I think, kind Sir, you may have over sold it.

[jandl100]

I think, kind Sir, you may have over sold it.

I don't.
I'm just speaking from my own experience.
For me the Topping D30 really is that good.
Mind you, it's on my 'resting' shelf at the moment as I am enjoying my Wadia DAC/amp all-in-1 for the nonce as the whole bundle makes great synergy with my Podium speakers.

[Name]

Fair do's - the Beresford SEG is an excellent DAC and would be on my list if I were in Michael's shoes. I've not heard the latest upgrades and that may well change things beyond my own experience.
All the DACs sound different anyway - try a few at home on trial and see what if any ticks your personal boxes.

Well I like the Micromega as it gives a more analogue sound, which their kit was renowned for back in the day. But maybe that isn't such an issue
with the upgrade in technology in the time since. I imagine the early versions could have sounded a tad brittle. My first CD player in the 80's was a
NAD and then I moved on to a Micromega Stage, which I later augmented with the DAC. Utterly transformed the sound.

[bumpy]

I don't.
I'm just speaking from my own experience.

I think you may need to get out more

[jandl100]

I think you may need to get out more

Perhaps you do.
Do you have SW1X cornflakes for breakfast? You seem to have everything else from them.

[CageyH]

The Caiman SEG with Dorado has moved things to the next level as far as sound quality is concerned. I doubt that any of the other DACs suggested come anywhere close to it, let alone surpass it.

I intend to get a Dorado for my SEG soon, as to be honest I am very slightly underwhelmed by my SEG at the moment.
I am in the minority for sure, as the internet is full of glowing reviews of the SEG. I do love the flexibility and number of inputs of the SEG though. Mr Beresford has excellent customer service and he offers a 30 day trial.

If I were in the OPs shoes, I would be tempted to try a cheap Chinese DAC as well. If you are running limited sources, it may well be enough.

Are you just running the CD transport through the DAC, or will you be streaming etc.?

[Bigman80]

I intend to get a Dorado for my SEG soon, as to be honest I am very slightly underwhelmed by my SEG at the moment.
I am in the minority for sure, as the internet is full of glowing reviews of the SEG. I do love the flexibility and number of inputs of the SEG though. Mr Beresford has excellent customer service and he offers a 30 day trial.

If I were in the OPs shoes, I would be tempted to try a cheap Chinese DAC as well. If you are running limited sources, it may well be enough.

Are you just running the CD transport through the DAC, or will you be streaming etc.?

You're not alone there, Kevin. I recent got a Caimen II here and to be honest, I just didn't get where all the plaudits for it had come from. The XiangSheng DAC01 I had here was, in my opinion, ahead by a length. However, Mr Firebottle has informed me that his new "clock" (whatever that is) has pushed the Caiman to a new level.

Now, I will say this, the first time I heard it, the wrong voltage was used via a linear PSU and It was awful but not it's fault at all. I do think that the first impression may have clouded my further feelings on it. We didn't realise it was the wrong voltage at first btw.

We then tried it with the supplied PSU and it was far better. Trouble is it was up against a Bel Canto DAC which really took me by surprise. It was excellent and by far the best DAC I have heard. That's not to say I've heard many.

I'd give the Caimen SEG and fancy supply thing another shot because I'm sure it's got to be better than I thought. I'd like to give one a really serious listen before deciding what I thought of it. I'd also not listen to any vinyl before hand because any DAC would struggle to beat that.

[Name]

I intend to get a Dorado for my SEG soon, as to be honest I am very slightly underwhelmed by my SEG at the moment.
I am in the minority for sure, as the internet is full of glowing reviews of the SEG. I do love the flexibility and number of inputs of the SEG though. Mr Beresford has excellent customer service and he offers a 30 day trial.

If I were in the OPs shoes, I would be tempted to try a cheap Chinese DAC as well. If you are running limited sources, it may well be enough.

Are you just running the CD transport through the DAC, or will you be streaming etc.?

I'll mainly run the CD transport and maybe a DVD player. Not streaming or Flac files etc. I'm a bit of a traditionalist in my music collection. I like a physical presence.

[JohnG]

Hi Micheal
As a alternative thought process, how about looking into a good quality linear power supply.
This should have the makings to improve things and also can be used on any further devices that are to be trialed if required.

[Name]

Thanks for your input everyone. Does anyone have any experience of Young Dacs?

Any thoughts?