TheSloth Posted April 29, 2006 Report Posted April 29, 2006 HeadRoom runied my life with their new Max Modules. I can hear everything wrong with my source that I was blissfully unaware of. I think I'm going to go back to the Desktop Module so I can enjoy my music again! I'm using the stock Desktop DAC (fed by APX). It's good for what it is, but the class A/B OPA134's as the output stage really limits its sonic potential. Though, the Desktop and Home DAC boards are the same board, so if someone was very handy with surface mount opamps and transistors, it wouldn't be difficult to turn it into a Home DAC. Does anyone have any relatively low cost external recommendations to spice up my life in the source department? Doesn't really belong here, but it would help me to have something to post on the actual topic of this thread...! Slightly modified to fit the new board location.
TheSloth Posted April 30, 2006 Author Report Posted April 30, 2006 what do you consider relatively low cost? $500...
TheSloth Posted April 30, 2006 Author Report Posted April 30, 2006 used Ack Dack 2.0s have come up in that price range, that is what i would get. I'd also need a toslink -> coax converter if I got one of those...
TheSloth Posted April 30, 2006 Author Report Posted April 30, 2006 Thanks for making a new thread for this. The problem is that the Desktop DAC is a great performer for its price, especially when it's powered by a DPS. I'm not sure that anyone is currently making a $500 DAC that will beat it in a convincing way. The Ack DAC is a nice choice because it's a completely different design philosophy, but the cheapest on audiogon is $570, and I'd need a toslink converter as well.
Dusty Chalk Posted April 30, 2006 Report Posted April 30, 2006 You can get a new MSB Link DAC III for US$359, I think -- used should be even less. The nice thing about that setup is, you can upgrade piecemeal. You can get a P1000 power supply later...then an upsampling upgrade...then the half nelson (or full nelson)...etc.
TheSloth Posted April 30, 2006 Author Report Posted April 30, 2006 Why not just get the Max DAC for your amp? Well I am considering it, but it would have to be yet another one-off for HeadRoom. The Desktop Portable is not designed to house anything above the Desktop DAC. There is actually room in the case for a Max DAC, and I suppose heat wouldn't be a problem as there's a nice hole in the top of the amp. But then the amp might no longer run correctly off the battery pack or the 'brick' supply, completely grounding it. I suppose I should talk to Mike, but I still like the idea of an external solution that can be changed with time.
TheSloth Posted May 1, 2006 Author Report Posted May 1, 2006 Bump. While I wait for a reply from Mike at HeadRoom, what about all those Chinese DAC's that are being raved about so much 'over there'?
Grand Enigma Posted May 1, 2006 Report Posted May 1, 2006 The Nixon Tubedac+ or whatever it is called was a very nice little dac while I had it... did a great job at taking the often SS edge off stuff.
TheSloth Posted May 1, 2006 Author Report Posted May 1, 2006 The Nixon Tubedac+ or whatever it is called was a very nice little dac while I had it... did a great job at taking the often SS edge off stuff. Thanks. That seems to be $475 new. Might be a nice way to get a bit of tubeyness. What about simple non-os DAC's like the Dialogue II?
TheSloth Posted May 1, 2006 Author Report Posted May 1, 2006 Or, what about something to add to the current DAC like a Monarchy DIP 48/96?
tkam Posted May 1, 2006 Report Posted May 1, 2006 Something like the older version of the ack dack would be great. Theres a couple on audiogon right now... http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1150639771 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1150640378
TheSloth Posted May 1, 2006 Author Report Posted May 1, 2006 Something like the older version of the ack dack would be great. Theres a couple on audiogon right now... http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1150639771 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlconv&1150640378 I was looking at those. Are there significant sonic differences between the 1.2e model and the 2.0?
elnero Posted May 1, 2006 Report Posted May 1, 2006 Thanks. That seems to be $475 new. Might be a nice way to get a bit of tubeyness. What about simple non-os DAC's like the Dialogue II? I think the Dialogue II is a pretty decent DAC for it's price, it has a smooth, full sound that is just on the warm side of things, it has decent detail retrieval and the build quality is decent for the price. On the flip side, although I've not noticed it with the RS-1's it can exhibit a bit of noise which I noticed with the E500's this past weekend. One of my gripes with my system right now is a slightly bloated bass that lacks a bit of definition that I've had in the past, sorta like when HD6x0's are underpowered. I've been trying to track it down and I think it's a combination of things, the transport, IC's and the DAC. The Dialogue II uses a single TDA1543 with a passive I/V stage so I'm suspecting that it might be lacking a bit of "juice" in the output stage. For the most part I really like the sound from the Dialogue II though so with my initial foray into upgrading it I decided I wanted to try to not stray too far from that signature but try to find something that would address my concerns. I looked at different options and in the end I've decided to give a Storm Digital D02 a try. It looks to use a higher quality of parts, chassis if far superior, it also uses a rather innovative battery/AC scheme which should address noise issues. The DAC itself is still TDA1543 based with a passive I/V but instead of using a single DAC chip it uses 8 in parallel for increased output and linearity. The hope here is that I get better resolution, less noise and a more dynamic sound while still maintaining a smooth, non-fatiguing slightly warm sound. My D02 should be here this week or maybe early next so I'll post some impressions when I get some time with it.
Guest sacd lover Posted May 2, 2006 Report Posted May 2, 2006 I was looking at those. Are there significant sonic differences between the 1.2e model and the 2.0? The dack 1.2 doesnt have the bass power and dynamics .... nor the the high frequency extension of the dack 2.0. The dack 1.2 has a wonderful midrange that I think is superior to the mids of the v2.0. But in the end I preferred the more complete sound of the dack v2.0 overall.
TheSloth Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Posted May 2, 2006 Thanks for the clarification about the Ack DAC. I just heard back from Mike - the Max DAC won't fit into my convertible, but the Home DAC will ($349 upgrade). So it's now a choice between changing the DAC to a Home DAC (which is simply a change of the output stage from class A/B 134's to class A 627's (quite a big sonic difference though), or getting something external for not that much more. I think an Ack DAC 2.0 would be very interesting if I could find one closer to $500, but otherwise it's a bit too expensive. The Nixon Tube DAC seems to be the most interesting contender for a new DAC <$500.
TheSloth Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Posted May 2, 2006 the scott nixon is very warm. it's a good choice if you want that sound, but i found it to be too much with my PPX3 Slam. Hmm. The Max Modules are very neutral now, but the others are slightly on the warm side. It looks like the $399 Home DAC is the best option (got the price wrong earlier), except that I'd still have 1 source, whereas with an external solution I'd have a choice.
TheSloth Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Posted May 2, 2006 Well, this is going to be the most modded HeadRoom amp ever, because they are going to shoehorn in a Max DAC for me. I think it's a worthwhile upgrade for $500, considering the other options in that price range.
tkam Posted May 2, 2006 Report Posted May 2, 2006 Nice thats quite cool of HeadRoom . I really doubt you could do any better for $500.
tiberian Posted May 2, 2006 Report Posted May 2, 2006 the max dac is just a home dac with that upsampling chip right?
TheSloth Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Posted May 3, 2006 It pays to promote your favorite makers... Now now... though, even Tyll is calling me a 'fanboy' these days so I suppose there's no point pretending any more: HeadRoom Rules, as do Pretzels (oh, and bunnies (those are really spreading all over Head-Fi now, nice one Dusty!)) I have to remember to not use the battery pack while the DAC is powered up otherwise the DC/DC converter will melt, but other than that it should run smoothly.
TheSloth Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Posted May 3, 2006 the max dac is just a home dac with that upsampling chip right? It's also got that fancy black/gold circuit board with better solder and all that sort of junk. I also believe that it has a better/more stable ground plane and a few other small tweaky things like that (better components here and there).
Grand Enigma Posted May 5, 2006 Report Posted May 5, 2006 I have to remember to not use the battery pack while the DAC is powered up otherwise the DC/DC converter will melt, but other than that it should run smoothly. I would have to say otherwise... if you want it to sound a bit warmer and more fluid you might want to consider running it off the battery pack
acs236 Posted May 11, 2006 Report Posted May 11, 2006 Sloth, have you written a review of the Desktop on any of the boards? I'm considering a purchase.
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