DAC Pairing with Crack

[ryan00davis]

I am looking for a good DAC to match up with the new Crack I recently ordered. Right now, i have the headstage DAC cable and I can add a minijack to RCA adapter to use, but I would like to upgrade to something that supports at least 24/96.

As of now, I'm leaning toward the HRT Music Streamer II, does anybody have any experience pairing this was the Crack? Would upgrading to the II+ (more than double the cost) show it's benefit with the crack, or does the crack not have the resolution to show the benefits of such a DAC?
My home system uses the icon HDP for amp and DAC and paired with ultrasone pro 2900, which im pretty happy with, so I would like something at least in the ballpark of that setup in terms of sound quality.

If it matters, I am going to be using this with the DT770 600ohm cans.
Thanks, -Ryan

[Jim R.]

Hi Ryan,

Regarding the resolution of the Crack being good enough to discern differences between dacs -- absolutely!  The question is can you, the cans, and sources also tell?  I don't know your current setup at all, so have no idea where it performs, but I'm guessing pretty high up the scale.  Crack can certainly handle it.

If you want to go a bit further up the chain and keep things convenient, you may want to check out the Halide Designs DAC HD -- very impressive for such a small package -- from usb cable to captive interconnects -- there's just nothing to worry about, and after some break-in, it just plays music very well.  I had both the dac hd and usb Bridge here for evaluation and I sent the Bridge back and kept the DAC HD.  I also have the original MS II+ and think the DAC HD is noticably nicer to listen to (though the new II+ with the oval case has supposedly better op amps and is said to be even better than the original II+.  I've not heard the new ones so can't comment, but I'll soon be putting my II+ up for sale as I just don't use it much anymore.  Too many dacs, not enough systems :-).

HTH,

Jim

[ryan00davis]

Thanks for the response. I think the DAC HD is a bit above what I would like to budget for this project, but it's nice to confirm that, at least to some ears, the crack benefits from such higher end equipment around it. I'm completely new to the kit amps world and the tube amps world, so i really had/have no idea what to expect from a relatively modestly priced amp like the crack.

I hadn't read that the two different casings of the music streamer ii+ had different internals. That's good to know because someone on CL is selling the older (triangle shaped) one for not a whole lot less than a new one, so it would probably be worth the extra bit to just get the newer one (if i go that route).

[ryan00davis]

oh, and as far as the rest of the setup (since you did comment on it).
The DT770/600, for those who dont know, is frequently compared with the HD600. the consensus is that they sound nothing alike (HD600 is much more warm, rolled off highs while the DT770 is more bass heavy and bright), but there are people who prefer each, so i would say they are in the same ballpark for overall resolution. I would love to try a set of HD600s, but this current setup is for work, so I really needed something closed.
I just got the DT770/600s, and haven't listened to them amped yet, but so far I like them. If anything, I wouldn't mind a DAC/amp combination that does roll off the highs a bit, but just amping in general will probably tame the highs.
My source, sadly is xp 64bit, so no wasapi. software wise, I use foobar.
And as far as me, I am fairly new to the audiophile world. Not sure I could tell the difference between a good $350 DAC and a better $550 DAC, but hard to say for sure. always have to have something to upgrade to

[Laudanum]

Ryan, the Beyers match up very nicely with Crack.  I have both the 990's and the 880's ... they do seem to love tubes.   The very reasonable price of the Crack amp is in good part due to the fact that there are no output transformers (OTL - output transformerless) which would add a good bit to the cost. 

[gh0st]

DT770/600 were the first cans I got for my Crack, and I really liked them, they had plenty of bass weight without being stodgy, and sweet, detailed highs without being overly bright. I ultimately decided that the Crack deserved nothing less than T1s, so my 770s will be on the market soon, but I'd recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone with Crack.

As for DACs I had a Matrix Mini-i for a short while, which I never really liked (loose bass, poor resolution, not a neutral sound at all), and now I'm rocking an Audiolab MDAC, which is a very nice piece of kit, and good value, though a bit scarce at present.

[Grainger49]

Ryan,

A good question to you is what is your budget?  Add to that what features do you want, I.E. what inputs and outputs, what kind of decoding etc.

[Dr. Toobz]

I'm currently running the MusicStreamer II into the Crack, which I've found to be an exceptional value. A/B comparisons made between it and my Marantz SA8001 (with CD's) resulted in a draw, with a slight preference for the stronger bass of the Music Streamer. All this for just $149 (actually, I got mine for even less on eBay)! I've been happy enough with the II that I'm not sure that any benefit from going up to the II+ would be worth the doubling of price. The Crack is very resolving and is most certainly up to the task of revealing any difference between sources; I just don't think there would be a huge difference between different models of the HRT.

[hasafraker]

I have a NuForce uDAC-2 http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC2-Digital-Audio-Converter/dp/B003Y5E8RE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1332981585&sr=8-3

I love it, and for my needs it's perfect. I have Sennheiser HD600's and Audio Technica ATH-ANC7b's both sound amazing to me. The AT's are invaluable when I'm studying, but the HD600's are the ones I listen to primarily.

[ryan00davis]

grainger49, i cant believe i left that out. really, I think the only input I need is USB, that being said, for future reference, also having optical spdif would be nice, but it wouldn't be used anytime soon. ideally it has an RCA output, if it has minijack, that could be worked with, but i doubt this would be the case. If it can manage 24/96, that is probably plenty, I have a fewthings encoded in 192, but im not sure if i personally would be able to tell the difference at that level. I have yet to get my Crack, so i cant say how I would like my DAC to color the music (i guess ideally it doesn't color it at all, but we all know how hard that is to judge).

As far as budget, I guess I would like to keep it under $350, but really i want something that is well worth it's value cost, obviously this is a world of diminishing returns, so saying that an extra $200 for the better dac is worth it is purely in the eye of the beholder. Basically, im not convinced the music streamer II+ is worth the extra value of the II even though people do say it sounds better. note that im not convinced i want a music streamer either, just an easy comparison to make.  Since my search on DACs here didn't bring up a whole lot, for the benefit of others who may read, dont hesitate to make more expensive recommendations that others may like (doesn't have to be all about me).

Dr Toobz, any chance you have also heard the II+ and you're saying from experience, or are you saying that your II sounds so good that you cant imagine the II+ is worth the extra money?

[ryan00davis]

in keeping with the DIY theme of the crack, im also considering the AMB gamma 2.

[dwilli852]

Here's a couple more to consider I have both. The Bifrost is my favorite of the two.

Schitt Bifrost
Yulong D100

[Natural Sound]

When looking around you might want to take a peek at the Valab / Taradac offerings. I have one of the basic models that cost me around $200 and it has served me well. The newer models like the teradak chameleon have a separate (and beefier) power supply. Getting the power supply out of the DAC enclosure allowed the designers to leave room for mods like better capacitors, etc. As with anything else as you move up in features you also add cost. Even in stock form these DAC's perform very well IMHO.

[Jim R.]

Tom,

Absolutely -- I had a neighbor who was on a very tight budget and I recommended the valab to him and he's loving it -- I also had it here for a few weeks when he was overseas and for $200 it was really impressive -- actually for a lot more than $200.  I've not heard any of the newer or higher up models but the valab makes nice music.

-- Jim

[Dr. Toobz]

Dr Toobz, any chance you have also heard the II+ and you're saying from experience, or are you saying that your II sounds so good that you cant imagine the II+ is worth the extra money?

No, I haven't heard both. However, when the II itself is all but indistinguishable from a Stereophile Class-A SACD player in A/B comparisons, I'd think the improvement would be very slight at best. Better to keep the extra $200 for something else!