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Showing 1 of 95 conversations about:
SMSL VMV D1 DAC
triggerme
11
Jul 8, 2021
Any recommendations for a better DAC at this price range? Looking to get one grail and be done with it.
Ortho_Sympa
144
Jul 8, 2021
triggermeThe difference between dacs is minimal at best. There's almost no difference between a 250$ dac and a 1000$ dac. put your money on higher end headphones/speakers instead
tony_e
0
Aug 5, 2021
Ortho_SympaMaybe you just need a better stereo?
I have a bunch of DACs and ADDAs... my latest purchase is an RME ADI-2 Pro.
I won't bother with the litany of the rest of the equipment since I have five audio systems up and running, but trust me, when the system gets good, you can hear the DACs. Not quite as realistic as my turntable, but darn close.
My wife noted that we don't listen to the stereo, we listen to the music.
(Edited)
Ortho_Sympa
144
Aug 5, 2021
tony_eI mean my D90 feeds both my kef ls50 and focal clears which are far from flagship tier but still pretty good for the vast majority of audiophiles.
In the sub 1000$ market, what you gain by switching dacs is mostly a change in flavour (Akm vs ESS vs burrbrown chips). The detail retrieval stays mostly the same which is the point of my comment. You will need to spend serval thousand $ to get a significant upgrade over something like a 460$ SMSL Su-9.
Dacs should be the last thing to upgrade in your chain. Upgrading Speakers/headphones will give you a lot more for your money. Don't buy a 1000$+ amp and dac if you're using sub 500 headphones like the HD6xx even if they scale well. A pair of 990$ focal clear running with a schiit modi/magni stack will outperform the HD6xx no matter what system you use.
tony_e
0
Aug 5, 2021
Ortho_SympaHmm.. wanna play that audiophile game... oh well.
"Good enough for the vast majority of audiophiles".. now that's a caveat that was not present when you made the absolute comment to begin with. And, BTW, most audiophiles I know have better speakers in their main rigs than you have. Likely those are used in their secondary, office and/or home theater set ups.
And, before I recite, let me note that the professional world is where the true action is. The audiophile world for DACs is really not worth it once you are willing to start spending over 1000 bucks. Heck, might as well go the full AD/DAC route ( I have, twice ).
OK, so why can I hear the sound differences?
Magnepan 1.7s being driven by DIY mono Pass Aleph 5s with a Conrad Johnson preamp (with the latest teflon cap upgrade)... RME ADI 2 Pro for recording and playing back files in my home LAN (110TB). Linn LP12 with Lingo and Grado Master 2 for Absolute Sound reference. For fun I have an Android Tablet with bit perfect driving a Nuforce HDP for Tidal HiFi.
For kicks I also got a pair of ADS L810s (original owner) driven by a Conrad Johnson MF2100, or a Job amp. I also got a DIY First Watt F5 and an Audio Research D70 Mkii if I want to play. To play this set up I just need to move the preamp cables to another amp... and what it misses on midrange and treble clarity it makes up for an incredible, tight deep bass. Mind you, those 40 year old L810s still sound fantastic.
That's my main stereo. There is no coffee table in our living room, for obvious sonic reasons.
I also have two other stereos... two built around Acoustic Energy AE1 and Nuforce DDA100/120. Awesome little amps for a killer office sound.
My bedroom uses Quad 12LS Actives... a Parasound Z stack, an Android Tablet and one of Nuforce DACS.. just as does my phone and other tablet ( all Samsung ).
I won't even go into the home theater 7.0 or headphones.
Every system in my house has a computer ( and/or Android tablet) attached to it... and a DAC ( I have an M-Audio ADDAC that got replaced by the RME ). Trust me, you can hear the difference, specially when you start to listen to HiRez files.
Then you got the closet!
BTW- I got a spare set of Magnepan 12s. Low Hours... wanna buy them?
(Edited)
Ortho_Sympa
144
Aug 5, 2021
tony_eBruh... Do you really think I was flexing with focal clears and ls50, both of which are sub 1000$? I was only making the point that my gear is decent enough to hear the change in sources.
The goal of this discussion section is to help each other make the right purchase decision, not for dick measurement contest. OP asked if this was the grail of dacs. and my answer is that a 460$ dac will sound just as good as this one for half the price and I will leave it at that.
tony_e
0
Aug 6, 2021
Ortho_SympaMy Maggies are taller than yours, and me, and my wife for that matter.
You brought up your hardware... so you forced me to describe my own frame of reference to show you why I can hear the difference with my equipment. So, for me, spending $2K on the RME was completely worthwhile.
In the Linn Sondek word, the SOURCE is the most important. So, you should always put your money into the source and lessen it as you go down the chain. In this respect, the speakers are the least important. As a long term owner of a Linn LP12, I can vouch for that. Don't waste money on "high resolution" speakers and amplifiers unless your source is as good as you can make it.
The Maggie 12s are for sale if you want them.
(Edited)
Mat86
15
Sep 16, 2021
tony_eand you're a fringe case of audiophile, so his point stands
tony_e
0
Sep 16, 2021
Mat86Hmm... I'm actually an audiophile... and not an expensive one at that. You ought to meet audiophiles... many of them own $3K cartridges in their turntables and $20K amplifiers.
YOU might be surprised.
Have you ever read theabsolutesound, stereophile, 6moons, etc?
Have you walked into a High End audio shop?
(Edited)
Mat86
15
Oct 18, 2021
tony_ethanks for illustrating my point.
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