wolster Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 My Pro.Dac MK II, arrived safely and well packaged by express post on Thursday from Coem Audio. My first surprise was just how small it was but it also looked well built. To add some background, my intention was to improve the sound of my streaming audio Logitech squeezebox (which already has very good sound IMO, particularly for the price) without outlaying too many dollars. That evening I connected the Pro.Dac into my system and fired up my squeezebox. I warned my wife not to take too much notice of the sound at first as it would need some burning-in. As soon as the first notes emerged from the speakers, however, she immediately declared that the sound was better - more open and better clarity. Hang on, said I. Lets just leave it on very low volume all night (as suggested by Daniel at Coem) and try it tomorrow. By the time the weekend arrived we were playing a lot of music and building new playlists for the squeezebox. I also did some testing by switching between inputs on my CA 640R receiver. Previously I had not detected much difference in using the DAC in the squeezebox and the DACs available in direct stereo mode through the receiver. I have to say that my wife's first impression was spot on. The Pro.Dac has very good clarity and the sound is indeed more open with a wide soundstage. It is, without doubt, a marked improvement on the squeezebox DAC. The Pro.Dac is very musical and has the benefit of greater clarity at lower volumes. How it would compare to more expensive DACs, I have no idea. I can only say that I give it a very big thumbs-up for what it gives to our enjoyment of music for an outlay less than $200. As with most of Coem's customers, I can clearly say that they can forget about the offer of a 30 day refund. This one is a keeper! My only advice to prospective purchasers is to make sure you use decent interconnects, rather than the ones supplied. http://www.coemaudio.com.au/Sources/DACs/180/Cheerswolster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Gadget Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Hmm, only $180. You've got me thinking now. Have you tried it with a CD player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolster Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hmm, only $180. You've got me thinking now. Have you tried it with a CD player? Not yet, Mr G. Heading interstate for a week so wont' get the chance for a while but will try & report back. My cdp is a NAD C542 - not high-end but very musical in it's own right. Cheers wolster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssb102 Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 just out of interest, what are you using for an amp/speakers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolster Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 just out of interest, what are you using for an amp/speakers? Hi SSB I am using a Cambridge Audio 640R, used mainly for music, rated at 120W in direct stereo mode. Speakers are Mirage FRX 7s, 3 way and modified (re-wired, new caps etc). Cheers wolster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolster Posted October 27, 2008 Author Share Posted October 27, 2008 (edited) Hmm, only $180. You've got me thinking now. Have you tried it with a CD player? Finally got a chance to test the DAC with my CD player (NAD C542) over the weekend. The DAC improves the sound in a similar way - fuller, slightly more involving sound. The difference, however, is minor and not nearly as big an improvement as when using the DAC with my squeezebox. The result did not surprise me greatly as the NAD is a very good CD player at it's price point - extremely musical. Cheers wolster Edited October 27, 2008 by wolster spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hi Wolster, when you say 'extremely musical' - WTPhenergan does that mean ? If I could associate a meaning to the word 'musical', then I'm pretty sure 'extremely' wouldn't go with it.... "Extreme" - hmm... 'outer limit'. .... 'outer limit music-like'???.. Could you describe the DAC using any of these "bass, midrange, treble, extended, not, clear, distorted, low, high, flat/linear, uneven/non-linear" ? You could even use comparatives like "best I've ever heard", "not quite as good as the $10k dac I heard recently". Bonus marks for inventivement. thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolster Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 Sorry, Nigel. I am still new to this caper & struggle to put into words just what I am hearing. Just don't have the experience of some of the gurus on this forum. Have often thought that it would be good to listen to different gear with someone well-versed in just what to listen for. I didn't do a lot of comparison listening with the NAD cdp, just enough to know that I preferred the sound through the DAC but not by much. Ever since I bought the NAD (about 2 years ago) I have been impressed by how much better the musical experience (enjoyment) of listening to CDs has been over the multi-disc NAD cd/dvd player that I had before. I guess that is what I meant by 'extremely musical'. Come to think of it, I remember reading that term in a review when I was doing some research on the NAD C542. Hang on a minute. Here it is: "Another reason for the NAD choice is that the C 542 just sounds more musical than most modestly priced units. This musicality is the result of some smart design choices and demonstrates that there's a lot more involved in producing good sound than just slapping in the latest D-to-A converter and calling it a day." The reviewer was Jim Hannon. As far as the Pro.Dac Mk II goes, when compared with the sb3 it provides a similar lift in enjoyment of the music that I experienced when I first bought the NAD C542. The music has more depth and detail and I detect a wider soundstage. It has what I can only describe as a "fuller" sound. Perhaps that is what you might describe as extended. In terms of treble, mid-range and bass, I really don't detect (to my untrained ears) any great difference in what I hear apart from the general differences described above. I think most agree that the sb3 DAC doesn't have any great shortfalls in these areas as it is. I can really enjoy the sound of the sb3 on its own but this modest priced DAC has added to my enjoyment of the music that I listen to. I am sure that you are aware that COEM offer a 30 day return that, should you be interested in the ProDac, would enable you to do much more detailed testing than I can offer with my inexperienced 'inventivement'. Cheers wolster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kye Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Hi Nigel, One thing to keep in mind is that components can both entertain the brain and also move us emotionally. The entertaining of the brain has many many words to describe the various dimensions (soundstaging, dynamics, detail, clarity, etc) but the emotional response is far less easy to pin down. Equipment that is more expensive tends to be better on the brain stuff, but the correlation between price and the emotional communication is a lot less direct, at least in my experience. I'm not putting words in anyones mouth here, but if someone said 'musical' to me then I would think they were indicating an emotional observation rather than an intellectual one. Also please note that I am not suggesting that either one of these is more important than the other, as this is something that it highly personal. Kye. Hi Wolster, when you say 'extremely musical' - WTPhenergan does that mean ? If I could associate a meaning to the word 'musical', then I'm pretty sure 'extremely' wouldn't go with it.... "Extreme" - hmm... 'outer limit'. .... 'outer limit music-like'???.. Could you describe the DAC using any of these "bass, midrange, treble, extended, not, clear, distorted, low, high, flat/linear, uneven/non-linear" ? You could even use comparatives like "best I've ever heard", "not quite as good as the $10k dac I heard recently". Bonus marks for inventivement. thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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