HowardInRct
Established Member
Hello.
I'd be grateful for some help on these questions please....
Option 1 is to buy a new DAC; something like the SMSL SU-9n looks interesting. I would then use a Denon 1940 universal player as a Transport to play the CDs via coaxial S/PDIF.
Option 2 is to buy a 2nd-hand Audiolab 8200 CDQ, which is a CD player with built-in DAC/pre-amp and XLR output.
People say that the sound quality of a DAC is dependent on: chipset, analogue output stage and power supply.
Although the new DAC gets good reviews, I wonder if the SQ of the preamp was actually tested. For example, Paul Rigby here says don't bother with the pre-amp (for an albeit different DAC):
"Firstly, let’s look at the E30 as a pre amp. To test this, I connected it to a pair of YU4 powered speakers from Kanto and played Bob Marley’s Jamming via an Astel&Kern AK120. Output was rather unbalanced, bass heavy with rather bloomy bass at that. Mids were claustrophobic, treble was rolled off while the soundstage was restricted and stuffed full of cotton wool. In pre-amp mode? No. Don’t go there."
So my questions are:
* Will the SQ of the new DAC sound better, as it is using the latest DAC technology (but potentially a not very good "pre-amp"), or will the 8200 sound better because it was a high-end player and I assume has a better pre-amp/output stage; even though the 8200 was designed 10 years ago?
* How can you tell by looking at the specs of both? If I can, I like to avoid buying both.
(I'm aware I'd get a warranty with the new DAC, and that the 8200 is quite long-in-the-tooth but have heard that, once the PSU caps. have been replaced, it's reliable. It's really all about advances in technology SQ vs older high-end SQ at the moment).
Thank you
I'd be grateful for some help on these questions please....
- I'm building a dedicated 2-channel system and have £400 to spend on source components.
- I only want to listen to CDs.
- Speakers are Tannoy Gold 5 active speakers.
- I definitely want to use a balanced DAC, with a pre-amplifier/variable output, to connect to the speakers using the XLR connections.
Option 1 is to buy a new DAC; something like the SMSL SU-9n looks interesting. I would then use a Denon 1940 universal player as a Transport to play the CDs via coaxial S/PDIF.
Option 2 is to buy a 2nd-hand Audiolab 8200 CDQ, which is a CD player with built-in DAC/pre-amp and XLR output.
People say that the sound quality of a DAC is dependent on: chipset, analogue output stage and power supply.
Although the new DAC gets good reviews, I wonder if the SQ of the preamp was actually tested. For example, Paul Rigby here says don't bother with the pre-amp (for an albeit different DAC):
"Firstly, let’s look at the E30 as a pre amp. To test this, I connected it to a pair of YU4 powered speakers from Kanto and played Bob Marley’s Jamming via an Astel&Kern AK120. Output was rather unbalanced, bass heavy with rather bloomy bass at that. Mids were claustrophobic, treble was rolled off while the soundstage was restricted and stuffed full of cotton wool. In pre-amp mode? No. Don’t go there."
So my questions are:
* Will the SQ of the new DAC sound better, as it is using the latest DAC technology (but potentially a not very good "pre-amp"), or will the 8200 sound better because it was a high-end player and I assume has a better pre-amp/output stage; even though the 8200 was designed 10 years ago?
* How can you tell by looking at the specs of both? If I can, I like to avoid buying both.
(I'm aware I'd get a warranty with the new DAC, and that the 8200 is quite long-in-the-tooth but have heard that, once the PSU caps. have been replaced, it's reliable. It's really all about advances in technology SQ vs older high-end SQ at the moment).
Thank you