DAC recommendations- Mcintosh C28 and MC2505

jgopinath

New Member
Hi folks,
So i'm putting together a system which will comprise of the following-
Mcintosh C28 preamp
Mcintosh MC2505 Amp
Pioneer PL-7 turntable (this was our old TT from india from back in the 80's, my dad just brought it from india)
Martin Logan Ascents


I listen to a very wide variety of music, from Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, Police, Sinatra, Adele, Ella Fitz, Coldplay, 311, Armin Van bureen, etc, etc.

I have xfinity 150mbps to the home, so fairly big bandwidth
Apple extreme router, with 3 express routers acting as extenders.

I'd like to be able to add an external DAC to the preamp to access music from the following sources-
Spotify from my iPhone, preferably wirelessly, either BT or wifi
DI.fm from my iPhone, either BT or wifi
Spotify or DI.FM from ipad/microsoft surface via USB
music that is on my pc, that won't be at the same location of the Mcintosh's, considering putting it on a NAS so its easier to access...


I've been researching quite a few of them (Schitt, JoLida Tube DAC wireless, Arcam, Wadia, etc) and really don't know which is the best one for me.

I'm open to used (preloved) equipment as well, so would love to get some recommendations.



Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Jakeg
 
Last edited:
Hi folks,
So i'm putting together a system which will comprise of the following-
Mcintosh C28 preamp
Mcintosh MC2505 Amp
Pioneer PL-7 turntable (this was our old TT from india from back in the 80's, my dad just brought it from india)
Martin Logan Ascents


I listen to a very wide variety of music, from Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, Police, Sinatra, Adele, Ella Fitz, Coldplay, 311, Armin Van bureen, etc, etc.

I have xfinity 150mbps to the home, so fairly big bandwidth
Apple extreme router, with 3 express routers acting as extenders.

I'd like to be able to add an external DAC to the preamp to access music from the following sources-
Spotify from my iPhone, preferably wirelessly, either BT or wifi
DI.fm from my iPhone, either BT or wifi
Spotify or DI.FM from ipad/microsoft surface via USB
music that is on my pc, that won't be at the same location of the Mcintosh's, considering putting it on a NAS so its easier to access...


I've been researching quite a few of them (Schitt, JoLida Tube DAC wireless, Arcam, Wadia, etc) and really don't know which is the best one for me.

I'm open to used (preloved) equipment as well, so would love to get some recommendations.



Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Jakeg

This http://www.teac.com/product/ud-503/ should cover your D/A needs for a number of years.
 
Pretty nice, although the headphone amp section on this TEAC wouldn't be used :-(
What about audio-gd? I keep reading great things about their equipment.
Also hearing great things about a modified Maverick D2.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Jake


Audio-GD are good too. But from their lineup I would take models with multibit DACs (though it means no native DSD support).
 
+1 on the TEAC, happy ud-503 owner here. I don't use the headphone output either....but i do use the DSD decoder...i would recommend whatever you decide have DSD support.
 
Take a look at the new Auralic Altair. Combines DAC, Streamer and storage all in one package.

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/auralic/1.html

For less the Aries Mini does many of the same things.

Bad idea. Storage should definitely be separate. Life span of modern disks is 3 years. You need to find solution that allows replacement of disks without much effort. Also they should be on-line 24 hours a day - disks do not like often on/off cycles.
 
Maybe you should pass that insight on to Aurrender, Linn, Bryston, Lumin, Auralic and the rest. I am sure they would be glad to hear they are doing it all wrong. So just you opinion and a large segment of that market feel differently.
 
+1 on the TEAC, happy ud-503 owner here. I don't use the headphone output either....but i do use the DSD decoder...i would recommend whatever you decide have DSD support.

Definitely looking into this one, i'm seeing a few reports of the clock not 'holding'? Will research this one further for sure, thanks!!


I'd love it, if i had $6k to burn! :)

Take a look at the new Auralic Altair. Combines DAC, Streamer and storage all in one package.

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/auralic/1.html

For less the Aries Mini does many of the same things.

The Altair looks like it would be awesome. Its coming out this month, i think? Its also pushing my budget a bit, i'd like to stay at $1,000 or under if possible.
 
You can start with the Aries Mini then and if you decide you want to buy a better DAC than the one built in at a later date just use the digital outputs like I do and it still operates as a streamer and storage unit. Also you can put any 2.5" or SS hard drive in it and transfer your music files from you computer to it using wifi. It takes all of 10 minutes to install the HD or change it out. For $549 the Mini also comes with a year free of Tidal hi-fi. So the unit really only cost $310. Another $100 bucks gets you a 1/2 TB SSD or 1 TB standard HD. I've had mine about six months. For a DAC only under 1k I would look at the Nuprime DAC-9. Same chipset as the Teac.
 
Maybe you should pass that insight on to Aurrender, Linn, Bryston, Lumin, Auralic and the rest. I am sure they would be glad to hear they are doing it all wrong. So just you opinion and a large segment of that market feel differently.

Why people buy pre- and power amplifiers, if they can get integrated for less money?

All in one solution seems to be plug and play, which is attractive for some who have zero technical knowledge. Price to pay is to re-rip all music library once again when disk drive dies. Digital music server and streamers are both computers and should be serviced the same way. Music server with several terabytes of files needs the same attention as workgroup file server in the office.
 
Yes you are right and in the OP's case he has at least one backup on his computer and if like most has a external USB HD with a second copy so with the streamer it would be a third. Far tidier and better sounding solution than using BT as well as wifi being more reliable.
 
You can start with the Aries Mini then and if you decide you want to buy a better DAC than the one built in at a later date just use the digital outputs like I do and it still operates as a streamer and storage unit. Also you can put any 2.5" or SS hard drive in it and transfer your music files from you computer to it using wifi. It takes all of 10 minutes to install the HD or change it out. For $549 the Mini also comes with a year free of Tidal hi-fi. So the unit really only cost $310. Another $100 bucks gets you a 1/2 TB SSD or 1 TB standard HD. I've had mine about six months. For a DAC only under 1k I would look at the Nuprime DAC-9. Same chipset as the Teac.

Definitely intriguing regarding the Aries Mini. Seems like the actual quality of sound is a bit lacking, but it's extremely feature rich? (Based on some quick reading of reviews online).

Think this is a good solution to pair up with a robust DAC, as you had mentioned, right?
 
Honestly I would try the built in DAC first and see what you think especially if you add a linear power supply and there are several of them on E-Bay for just over $100 as opposed to the $299 for the one Auralic sells. I think the "lacking sound quality" probably comes from those trying to use the internal DAC and an internal HD all off of the supplied wall wart. I use one of the aftermarket liner power supplies with mine that cost about $110. Read the review from Mike Lavigne on Audiostream. The built in DAC is built around the ESS 9018 chipset so not too shabby. I always intended mine to be used with an external DAC so only listened to the internal one for a couple of cuts to verify it was working. But you could pair it with the Nuprime DAC-9 and be in for around $1300 plus the cost of whatever hard drive you want to use. Mine was used with the Aqua La Voce in one system and with the Nuprime DAC-10 now.
 
Honestly I would try the built in DAC first and see what you think especially if you add a linear power supply and there are several of them on E-Bay for just over $100 as opposed to the $299 for the one Auralic sells. I think the "lacking sound quality" probably comes from those trying to use the internal DAC and an internal HD all off of the supplied wall wart. I use one of the aftermarket liner power supplies with mine that cost about $110. Read the review from Mike Lavigne on Audiostream. The built in DAC is built around the ESS 9018 chipset so not too shabby. I always intended mine to be used with an external DAC so only listened to the internal one for a couple of cuts to verify it was working. But you could pair it with the Nuprime DAC-9 and be in for around $1300 plus the cost of whatever hard drive you want to use. Mine was used with the Aqua La Voce in one system and with the Nuprime DAC-10 now.

Good point in the power supply. This, for now, seems like the way to go.

I could possibly go with a preowned separate DAC to pair the Mini with as well, I'm thinking? Something that has strong components but priced correctly due to depreciation? Maybe a GDA-700, or another comparable one?
 
Sure there is no shortage of used DACs out there for sale provided you don't like the Sabre DAC in the Mini. I've even got a couple of spares I need to get rid of as do many here. Good luck.
 
Sure there is no shortage of used DACs out there for sale provided you don't like the Sabre DAC in the Mini. I've even got a couple of spares I need to get rid of as do many here. Good luck.

Very interesting to see the same DAC in the mini as in the SMSL M8, the ES9018K2M.

Also reading that a better power supply seems to help the Mini a bit.

Curious about what DAC's you have that you want to get rid of, i'll pm you.
 
Buying a DAC is sort of like choosing a phono cartridge. And though two phono cartridges can have the same specs, just like DACS that should sound the same they don't. I prefer over sampling.
 
Even with good equipment, I sometimes have trouble distinguishing one DAC from another.

Anyway, Peachtree has an affordable DAC. So does Oppo. Or, if you want to spend more money, you can find used Bryston BD1 DACs for around $1000.
 
Don't forget to check out the Schiit products and Grant Fidelity for the Yulong products.
 
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