Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M Review & Comments

This would have been a very good bit of machinery for use with some serious active speakers or power amps.

The lack of a volume control rather kills that. Pity.

EDIT;

Cheers Muljao.
 
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This would have been a very good bit of machinery for use with some serious active speakers or power amps.

The lack of a volume control rather kills that. Pity.
It has volume control but no remote afaik
 
As above the lack of remote volume control is quite an oversight,also to a lesser extent remote source selection given the preamp inclusion,imho.
Wont bother everyone to the same extent,but I'm middle aged and lazy.
Sounds like it's a decent box of tricks for many though.
 
The model it is replacing, Dacmagic Plus, can be either variable or fixed volume with a button long press I believe.

Has this been implemented here?
 
The model it is replacing, Dacmagic Plus, can be either variable or fixed volume with a button long press I believe.

Has this been implemented here?

Yes, same system.
 
It has volume control but no remote afaik

Aha. My bad... I meant remote control of the volume control.

One of these and a pair of Dynaudios, say, LYD 7s would be a supremely effective hifi.

But a remote volume control is necessary for almost everyone.
 
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sort of like the look of it, think the topping a90/d90 will be a better bet to run with my AE1 actives for my desktop, admittedly more money, but Topping seem to be knocking out of the ballpark these days & as it's just computer monitors won't miss the remote.
 
sort of like the look of it, think the topping a90/d90 will be a better bet to run with my AE1 actives for my desktop, admittedly more money, but Topping seem to be knocking out of the ballpark these days & as it's just computer monitors won't miss the remote.

I’d try one of these first


Might be all you need if it has the inputs you want.
 
yes like the look of that,(just DAC/pre though) saw Ed gave it a good review too, but i'm all xlr here, price on that E30 is great though, but think the AE1 active's are deserving of a little more love. I also have the Shure 1540's to run off the setup, I'm using the excellent Chord Mojo atm, but again think the Shure's will enjoy the Topping combo, no change from £900 though...
 
Aha. Didn’t realise you needed a good headphone amp too.
 
Aha. My bad... I meant remote control of the volume control.

One of these and a pair of Dynaudios, say, LYD 7s would be a supremely effective hifi.

But a remote volume control is necessary for almost everyone.
Ya I think it would be better with a remote. Lots of less expensive units have it I could see it being overlooked because of the ommsion
 
I have one of these attached to my PC, very happy with it. I have positioned it within reach so I can see the LED info and control volume. It switches instantaneously between formats (FLAC, DSD etc) which is very impressive. Roon users should take note it has Roon Tested status (not Roon Ready as it says on the box).
 
Hi,
Currently have an Auralic Aries Mini and at some point would like to upgrade the dac. Would this be an effective upgrade or should I look at selling the mini and upgrading that? Whatever, I do I would like to have an optical input for the tv.

Currently feeding into mf A1000 and PMC TWENTY.23

Any thoughts appreciated

Cheers

Phil
 
"The bass extension of the 200M is an area where it shows a clean pair of heels to the exceptionally talented budget DACs like the iFi Zen DAC and Topping E30. Not only does it go a little lower, there is more detail and clarity to that low level information too."

Was this concluded under double blind a/b test conditions? And I'd be very interested to see what measurements you took to confirm your subjective opinion here.

We are well past a point in electircal engineering where we can measure what we hear. I think it's just fine to hear a difference but VERY important to use science to confirm this because it is a kind and thoughtful thing to do - you know, saving good people from spending twice as much for zero gain (no pun)

That's the honourable thing yes ? In an industry full of utter corporate skulduggery.
 
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For those interested: SoundStageNetwork.com | SoundStage.com - Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M Digital-to-Analog Converter Measurements

After buying a Focal Clear MG, and being blown away by its sound, I was look for a good integrated desktop DAC/amp solution. Preferably with minimal output impedance. This turned out to be harder than expected. There are many Chinese brands like Fiio, Topping, SMSL, Gustard, Aune, you name it, dominating this market. Some excellent value for money, quite a few with poor designs and quality issues, but the main thing is that an integrated solution with low output impedance is very hard to find.

I almost settled on buying something like K5/K9 Pro or Gustard H16 (to be combined with an Arcam rDAC I haven't used for years), but yesterday I found out about this new DacMagic 200M. I've owned a few CA devices in the past and I currently use my Focals with a DacMagic XS that I used at work on a daily basis years ago (with AKG K550). Being a USB-powered solution it may not not be the best, but it has only 0.5 Ohm output impedance and sounds very neutral with my Focals. The 200M has a rarely low impedance of 1 Ohm, so altogether it seems like a great match. And although it might not be as good looking as some of the Aune casings I've come across, in general I prefer the CA (build) quality and looks to some of these Chinese devices that seem to be designed mainly for pretty THD/SINAD graphs.

Funny coincidence that the reviewer used a Focal Clear MG too :)
 
After buying a Focal Clear MG, and being blown away by its sound, I was look for a good integrated desktop DAC/amp solution. Preferably with minimal output impedance. This turned out to be harder than expected. There are many Chinese brands like Fiio, Topping, SMSL, Gustard, Aune, you name it, dominating this market. Some excellent value for money, quite a few with poor designs and quality issues, but the main thing is that an integrated solution with low output impedance is very hard to find.
I found this thread via google and was interested in your comments, even though posted a couple of years ago. I bought some Focal Clear MG and decided to get amplification to support them and a Node 2i used as streamer. The much heralded Topping E30ii dac was dreadful with cutouts and popping noises plus poor usability in terms of remote and menu system. The Topping L30ii amp was better. But I’ve moved to the Dacmagic and so far so good, though it could do with a remote. I don’t really want to spend more.
 
Don’t know if there any owners still around but I’m sending this back. When switching between HR and CD, and vice versa, it sometimes just stops sending a signal. The player is still playing just no sound and I need to power cycle. It doesn’t happen all the time but enough to be a deal breaker.
 
Try a seperate power supply with this dac. You will have a completely different dac. Much better!
 

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