barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Hey all, Wondering what people’s experience has been over the years of upgrades. Which has provided the biggest positive impact in your setup . . . DAC upgrades or Amplifier upgrades? . . . and which has provided the biggest bang for buck when upgrading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warweary Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I'd have to say that going from a Cambridge audio avr 650 to the harman kardon hk990 amplifier was very significant, more so than any of the dac changes i've done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunno77 Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Amps in my experience 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 22, 2019 Volunteer Share Posted February 22, 2019 Amps by a long way 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Amps 100% 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Right, so far it seems like saving for a decent amp upgrade rather than ‘tinkering’ with different DAC’s is a better way to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volunteer sir sanders zingmore Posted February 22, 2019 Volunteer Share Posted February 22, 2019 What is your current setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 What is your current setup?BlueSound Node 2i > Musical Fidelity M1 DAC > Musical Fidelity M3Si > Harbeth SHL5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Nothing wrong with the M1 Dac. For the price it's a good buy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Nothing wrong with the M1 Dac. For the price it's a good buy. Agreed, has been a great addition to the system. Have just added a Aurealis D3 cable between the Node 2i and M1 . . . Even better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two fold Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Musical Fidelity M6Si, you would be very happy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eman Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Amp. It's the main chunk. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Musical Fidelity M6Si, you would be very happy!Have been thinking about doing the “up the line” upgrade . . . Just wondering if that would just give more of the same sound, as don’t really need a lot more power.Having said that, if an M6Si popped up in the classifieds, I’d be all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 Amps, 10x the improvement compared to DACs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Amps, 10x the improvement compared to DACs.Seems to be the consensus so far. Next upgrade is looking like being an amp. It just won’t be anytime soon unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 (edited) 1 minute ago, barn door said: Seems to be the consensus so far. Next upgrade is looking like being an amp. It just won’t be anytime soon unfortunately. Note that DACs have improved a lot in the last decade, and there is benefit to upgrading a DAC at the same time, but there is no need to spend thousands on a DAC to get better sound. There are some bargains at or below $500 (specifically from Topping.) Edited February 22, 2019 by Ittaku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 I should also say if you're upgrading your amp, tell us what your speakers are and you can get a forum consensus about what requirements your amp should meet to best drive those speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Note that DACs have improved a lot in the last decade, and there is benefit to upgrading a DAC at the same time, but there is no need to spend thousands on a DAC to get better sound. There are some bargains at or below $500 (specifically from Topping.)I’ve recently picked up an Musical Fidelity M1 DAC, and really happy with it. It’s will definitely do the job with the current set up. Best part about the M1 is the fact that it shows the input rate . . . It’s a chalk and cheese difference between 44.1kHz and 96kHz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardiiiii Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Usually you'd think the 'bang for your buck' factor would be relative to what you're upgrading from. When it came to DACS I went from a Modi Multibit to Audio GD Ref 5 to Audio GD Ref 7 to a Holo Spring DAC. The changes were noticeable but gradual, a little bit of more in every area. When I got the Lenenhans, my old hybrid integrated was struggling to properly drive them (60W into 8 Ohms), I had to turn up the volume for them to sound half decent, and even then it was a little harsh. My integrated could be used as a pre-amp, it used 2 ECC88 tubes I'f I'm not mistaken. And I picked up a DIY Holton power amp (150W into 8 Ohms) for very cheap and wow, the difference was night and day. Literally night and day. So moral of the story is I'd go with amp as well. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aengel Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Surely the DAC is more important provided your Amp is linked to your speaker set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 Surely the DAC is more important provided your Amp is linked to your speaker set up.Hey @Aengel , just checking what you meant by “linked to your speaker set up”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 It’s surprises me that the consensus on this thread is that playing around with different amps will make a bigger difference than play around with DACs. Yet some will spend absolutely mega dollars on DACs, and some changes there DACs more than they change there underwear without giving it much thought, but not so with amplifier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barn door Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 and some changes there DACs more than they change there underwear Aren’t they the same thing? [emoji23] 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two fold Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 6 hours ago, barn door said: Have been thinking about doing the “up the line” upgrade . . . Just wondering if that would just give more of the same sound, as don’t really need a lot more power. Having said that, if an M6Si popped up in the classifieds, I’d be all over it. Yes I had very similar set up and didn't think I needed more volume but more power is obvious improvement. It is hard to get this info at Harbeth com 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Macfarlane Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 From my experience getting an amp that will properly drive your loudspeakers will make a bigger difference than a dac change. By properly drive I mean an amp that is cruising along at most volume levels. Good current drive from the amp is more important than ultimate wattage with most speakers. Once the amp side of things is sorted it is easier to compare dacs. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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