Are there any alternatives DAC fr O2 rigs??

[forbigger]

Folks, just got an O2 and when paired to kgss and neko d100 i ended up with a sound sig darker than well for lack of a better word, dark.....

After switching around with sources i have, i settled with stello da100. Its much better and suit my taste more or less. I also liked dacmagic my friend had.

Are there any alternatives dac that would complement this rig well? Say price ranges between 1-2k ? And those that supposedly bettered than stello?

Any advice as always is much appreciated

[boomana]

Had you much experience with the O2s prior to getting your rig? I'm willing to bet that a source change isn't going to change it much for you if you don't like the way they sound now.

[forbigger]

zilch.....my first encounter with o2 actually. like my post above, i use stello da100 now and it sounded much much better (or warmer) than the neko. thus brings me to my question if there's any other alternatives dac thats supposedly better than the stello? As much I like stello, like it or not it's still a mid tier DAC thus I see a room of improvement there? (or are there any?)

[boomana]

If you want a new dac because you want a new dac, that's one thing. If you want a dac to change what you don't like about the O2s, you'd be better off getting different headphones. I've always appreciated the O2s, but never liked them enough to own them until I heard them with the BHSE. Most people think the O2s are dark. If you don't like that, it's not going to change much with just a source switch.

[forbigger]

well, in that case its back to the holy grail question.....to bhse or not to bhse

now this makes me wonder is it like day and night difference bet kgss vs bhse ??

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm wondering why you're getting "dark" out of your O2/KGSS. Is there a lot of variance between O2's?

[forbigger]

Not sure too. Bought the o2 used frm conus user. Its the black variant. Now that i changed the dac, it sounded much more to my liking already. The sound of what o2 are supposedly to sound albeit that i've never heard it from bhse. My question is more like if i could improve the sound further by having a better dac

[Torpedo]

Are they black for being the 007-BL or because they're the mkII version? Were the later, maybe you'd need to try the port blocking and pad spring mods on them.

[spritzer]

For my ears the KGSS is more then good enough to drive the SR-007 so I see nothing wrong with trying out different DAC's to find the sound you are looking for.

[forbigger]

Are they black for being the 007-BL or because they're the mkII version? Were the later, maybe you'd need to try the port blocking and pad spring mods on them.

Its kind of scary for me to mod such an expensive headohone (expensive for my taste)......prefer to take other route. Unless very experienced user is doing it for me.

For my ears the KGSS is more then good enough to drive the SR-007 so I see nothing wrong with trying out different DAC's to find the sound you are looking for.

Precisely. So, any suggestion of good dac? The ones thats on the warm/tilted towards bright to compensate the darkness?

[Torpedo]

Its kind of scary for me to mod such an expensive headohone (expensive for my taste)......prefer to take other route. Unless very experienced user is doing it for me.

I'm sure Spritzer can drive you through out the process of modding it. I never owned so didn't modify the mkII myself, but tried to learn about the mod "just in case". It doesn't seem difficult nor dangerous for the phones, and I'm quite sure the mod will make your mkII sound different, probably closer to what you're looking for. You have very little to lose anyway, it's cheaper than a new DAC

[spritzer]

Its kind of scary for me to mod such an expensive headohone (expensive for my taste)......prefer to take other route. Unless very experienced user is doing it for me.

If you are used to minor repairs the the mod should be no problem. It involves simply adding some blocking material to the port (I use blutac) and altering the spring inside the headphones to make it sit flatter to the headphone body and to make it a bit wider.

Precisely. So, any suggestion of good dac? The ones thats on the warm/tilted towards bright to compensate the darkness?

Warm and extended, noting springs to mind but some of the old Parasound dac's would be a so0lid choice and I quite like the Adcom GDA-700 once I had replaced the aging caps.

[mrarroyo]

As far as a DAC I am very partial to the Monarchy Audio NM24 DAC, you can find it on sale at Audiogon for $1,080 (regular price is $1,580) plus S&H. However, audio is extremely dependent on the end user so ideally you should listen to the gear before jumping in on people's recommendation. Good luck.

Edited May 30, 2010 by mrarroyo
Added information on cost.

[HeadphoneAddict]

I think my PS Audio PWD is better with my O2/WES than my Digital Link iii which sounded like a DA100 clone to me. You can find them new for $2150 if you look. (Ron Buffington at Liquid HiFi)

[Dusty Chalk]

Now that i changed the dac, it sounded much more to my liking already.

Okay, I wasn't expecting this (I do know that DAC's can play a great part in the overall synergy of a system, but think they're more for fine-tuning a system, than making a big difference), so discount anything I said.

[Asr]

Not sure too. Bought the o2 used frm conus user. Its the black variant.

You didn't say if you have the MKII or the MKI. With the sound you're describing, it seems like you have the MKII. The MKI is more balanced-sounding.

[skullguise]

I usually hate to use equipment as tone controls, but synergy can mean doing just that.

My T1W/Lambda Pro combo is normally pretty detailed, erring towards brightness at times. When I used my Buffalo32 DAC, it accentuated that aspect of the sound, making some recordings virtually unlistenable. But when I paired my Parasound 1600 with it, things snapped into a very nice place tonally.

If you think the darkness of your O2 system is more in the mids and lower treble, I'd second the Parasound recommendation. But if you think it's too soft in the highs/upper highs, you may want to go for something more on the analytical side like the Buffalo32 DAC.

[forbigger]

You didn't say if you have the MKII or the MKI. With the sound you're describing, it seems like you have the MKII. The MKI is more balanced-sounding.

yup, mk2.....

I usually hate to use equipment as tone controls, but synergy can mean doing just that.

If you think the darkness of your O2 system is more in the mids and lower treble, I'd second the Parasound recommendation. But if you think it's too soft in the highs/upper highs, you may want to go for something more on the analytical side like the Buffalo32 DAC.

spot on....actually combination of both. too soft and dark. its like listening to an underpowered system. Need to crank the volume up to get the details and impact on the high. no complaint on bass dept though.

anyway, thanks for the recommendation. i will settle with the stello first whilst keep looking for another dac once i unload the neko (great dac but with this new headphone, it have no use for me). If i find one, will post it here for advice