My $50 DAC

[AlleyKat]

I just received an NOS Entech Number Cruncher 203.2 Digital-to-Analog Converter, purchased as a "Buy It Now" item off the bay at $34.99 + shipping. For a grand total of just over $50, I finally have the chance to experiment in an area that I hope will allow me to enjoy my digital music collection

Once I have the unit set up and burned in, I will add a posting to this thread as to its actual performance. In the interim, I had to post a quotation from the owners manual.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Your Number Cruncher requires a "burn-in" period during which it's recommended that the unit be played continuously (approximately 24-48 hours initially. Total break-in time is approximately one month of fairly regular usage.) Since this is not often feasible, you can expect the tonal qualities of your Number Cruncher DAC to change slightly as the unit "settles in" during its first 24 hours of use. As with any high performance component, speakers or cables, the time it takes to acclimate your Number Cruncher to the ebb and flow of the electron tide will be well worth it."

Will advise as to the status of the tidal flow...... :scratch2:
(Attached picture is a stock photo)

 

[RichPA]

Cool, Bill, looking forward to your listening results :thmbsp:

 

[AlleyKat]

Initial Impressions
Upon returning from purchasing a toslink cable and interconnects (which together exceed the cost of the DAC). I set up the DAC following the manual's instructions.

Although it is currently "burning-in" (I'm not certain as to whether I need to leave the pre-amp on :scratch2: ), I could not resist switching back and forth between the DAC and the analog outputs of my DVD/CD player to hear if there was any immediate difference in sound.

The improvement, even with less than 5 minutes of burning-in time, is striking The bottom end is much tighter, more musical. The mids and highs are dramaticallly improved. Gone is that CD harshness, that in your face quality of CD highs that has always bothered me. The mids are warmer, with astounding detail. It isn't as though there is any exaggeration or addition to the sound,the unit actually seems to clear the way for you to hear the music, with detail that was missing from that provided by the inboard DAC of the DVD/CD player.

I can't wait for it to attain "Burn-in". So far, it's already the biggest bargain for improvement in digital sound quality that I've experienced. :tresbon:

 

[Clmrt]

What are you using as a source?

 

[AlleyKat]

A Panasonic DVD/Video CD/CD Player, Model No. DVD-CV51.

 

[newinut]

keep this dac

I wished i still had mine it was the best peace of cheap audio gear i ever in vested in, great jitter reduction circuitry :tresbon:

 

[Urizen]

Looking forward to a 30 day evaluation. Happy listening!

 

[uofmtiger]

I wish I had seen this thread before ordering the Behringer SRC2496 this past weekend. The price on this DAC is incredible. :thmbsp:

 

[riverrat]

Do you think I'd see significant improvements using this unit with my CD player- a Sony SCD222 ES?

 

[Clmrt]

Or a 1991 209ES???

Methinks yes.

 

[AlleyKat]

Well, 24 hours have passed and the DAC is HUMMIN' There is a soundstage and articulation present in my system for CD's that just was never there before! One thing I have noticed is that, after burn-in, the DAC does seem to add gain to the circuit. The music is lush and warm, something I would have never thought possible to achieve with such a low cost minor change to my overall system.

Until I visited RichPA during the summer and had a chance to hear CD's on his awesome system :thmbsp: , I didn't think it possible for CD's to manifest the warmth of analog sources. Rich showed me that they can and prompted me, an unrepentent vinylholic, to attempt to improve my home digital listening quality.

While I am not saying that I can approach the listening experience I had in State College, this little $50 DAC has made an INCREDIBLE improvement in my system It's as though it were a completely different system when listening to CD's with it in the loop.

I can hardly wait for the DAC to reach it's maximum performance potential!

:jawdrop:

 

[RichPA]

Glad you're enjoying the DAC so much, Bill. But you've gotta come back to State College, things have improved since you were here

 

[riverrat]

Do you think I'd see significant improvements using this unit with my CD player- a Sony SCD222 ES?

Well its a moot point now, I just ordered one for the aforementioned price of $50 shipped...

 

[uofmtiger]

Well its a moot point now, I just ordered one for the aforementioned price of $50 shipped...

I ordered one, too. I can always find a place for it.. at least that is what I am telling myself.

 

[riverrat]

This will be my first DAC.

I've never really explored the fancy cable thing- currently running THESE for interconnects.

Should I get a coaxial or TOSlink cable to link the DAC to my CD player? What is a good budget TOSlink or coax cable?

Here's where the Number Cruncher will go in the chain:

Sony SCD222 ES (CDP) >> Number Cruncher 203.2 (DAC) >> Sansui AU-D11 II (Integrated amp) >> Totem Sttaff speakers.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Does your Sony produce both coax and Toslink? If not, you're confined to whatever it will output, question settled.

If you have a choice, most people will recommend Coax. I would too, but not for the same reasons -- the plastic in an optical cable is prone to minute cracks which slowly ruin the signal over time. You should treat the coax well, but it's a little more durable.

 

[newinut]

cable type

i had relly good luck using a tributeries budget delta cable with my entech.its an optical cable , seem as good as a coax to my ears :thmbsp:

 

[AlleyKat]

Stayed up far too late last night listening to CD's with the new DAC! Every CD I put on reveals tonal qualities that just were not there before the DAC. Derek & Riverrat, I am sure that you will both be happy with your results. Please post your impressions to this thread so I can follow your progress and how the DAC performs in your systems. With the assistance of Tom (trianglezerius) I came across this review: http://www.proaudioreview.com/august99/Entech-web.shtml

 

[Acoustic]

A couple of questions about this DAC. Does it help the sound of all CDP's or only the ones that have lower bit rate DAC's built in? My CDP has a 192kHz/24 bit DAC now, would I notice a difference? I was wondering since the Number Cruncher is 20 bit circa 1999 ish.

Thanks.

 

[riverrat]

Does your Sony produce both coax and Toslink? If not, you're confined to whatever it will output, question settled.

If you have a choice, most people will recommend Coax. I would too, but not for the same reasons -- the plastic in an optical cable is prone to minute cracks which slowly ruin the signal over time. You should treat the coax well, but it's a little more durable.

The Sony SCD222 ES has both coax and "optical" digital outs. I presume the "optical" is the same as TOSlink, is this correct?

I did a quick search on "coax vs toslink" and found some responses indicating that the preference for coax stems from the use of clear plastic to transmit the signal (as you refer to) and that the use of a glass toslink cable can solve those problems.

I was looking at a glass toslink cable on eBay HERE

Derek & Riverrat, I am sure that you will both be happy with your results. Please post your impressions to this thread so I can follow your progress and how the DAC performs in your systems. With the assistance of Tom (trianglezerius) I came across this review: http://www.proaudioreview.com/august99/Entech-web.shtml

Yes it will be interesting to find out if I can detect differences in reproduction quality. I did quite a bit of research a few years back before choosing the Sony 222 CDP- its at the bottom of their more upscale "ES" line of CD changers, reputed to be a pretty decent unit and may have a slightly more modern DAC than the Number Cruncher.

It sounds very good with an SACD, but I've never been overly impressed with the redbook CD playback.

I go back and forth about whether to try a modern external DAC, a newer single play CDP (e.g. Lite Audio CD-15) or an older, less expensive DAC. I think DAC technology has rapidly improved, so buying a DAC from almost 10 years ago is a bit of a gamble.

But at $50, the Number Cruncher seemed like an inexpensive gamble as my first foray into this arena. I hope to obtain improvements on the scale you did- we will see!