Music Hall DAC 25.3 USB Digital Audio Converter Review

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(More customer reviews)There is a lot of controversy about what a DAC needs to be and how much it should cost. Some would say you are insane for spending 600 bucks on a DAC and some would say you need to spend an order of magnitude more. In my research I found that I might get a DAC that sounds as good as the MH for less money, but this unit has functionality the others don't. My review:
Sound- It sounds great. A good DAC should faithfully reproduce music and eliminate jitter and other artifacts you hear from digital sources. It's a simple task. This does just that, but with an added bonus. The tube output stage tends to warm up the sound just a little bit, and gives a little more life to compressed audio files. This is subject to taste however. Some people prefer a more clinical sound. Me: I prefer the warmth.
Features:
- It has a built in headphone amp. Nice feature. It sounds good, but I'm no expert on headphone amps.
- It will up-convert your stream to 192kbps or down-convert to 96kbps. I tend to leave it in auto mode. I don't think it adds anything to up-convert.
- The unit will switch itself into standby mode when it loses a signal.
Inputs: It has a lot more inputs that similarly priced DACs. USB, optical, coaxial, and XLR. I use the optical and USB inputs, and the unit intelligently switches between the two when one signal is lost and another is present. This is a nice feature, and necessary because there is NO REMOTE.
Build: It is built very well. A quality piece of gear. Buttons and dials operate smoothly with just the right amount of resistance. I have a complaint about the form, however. It is a little long and skinny. Not longer than many 19" deep components, but longer than the other music hall gear it is designed to go with. This makes placement a little challenging. I do love the simple aesthetics of the unit. One note: the picture on just about every site that sells this thing is silver, but I don't think a silver unit was ever made. I can't find one anywhere. They are all black.
How I use it: I have a music hall a15.2 integrated amp, an HSU VTF-1 sub, and Def Tec studio monitor 350 speakers. My source is either a laptop, connected via USB, or an apple TV connected via optical acting as a digital transport. It's a great 2.1 channel system for a small room. I listen to a lot of MP3s :( , but am in the process of re-ripping all my music from CD in a lossless format. The lossless files sound amazing!
Bottom line, if you want an audiophile grade DAC and like a little tube sound, input versatility, and might use the headphone amp, this is the DAC for you. And it won't break the bank. If you're considering buying a CD player, DON'T! Rip all your CDs using apple lossless, FLAC, etc. and hook up a PC to this DAC and you have a set up that will out perform most high end CD players and will be much, much more convenient.
PS- Pandora (with the upgraded audio) really sounds great when run through this DAC via USB from a PC!
PSS- Yes, this will sound better than the DAC in your computer, PS3, apple TV, etc.
PPPS- I don't always give an item 5 stars, but I could think of very few things to improve on this product!

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Cambridge Audio DacMagic Digital-to-Analog Converter with USB, Silver Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently purchased a Logitech Squeezebox to stream my music collection to my HIFI and have been pretty happy with it. The sound quality from the Squeezebox's DAC did however not impress me, compared to my old rather cheepish Denon CD player, it was dull, lacked attack and was generally uninspiring. So when I discovered that Cambridge Audio had made this little (and cheap) gem I immediately bought it.
So how good is it ? - In my opinion its the cheapest thing I have ever bought that made so clear a difference; the music is now warm, organic, detailed and full of attack. It is sturdy build and has a very cool and professional look. The device itself has a ton of nice features (such as being able to remember different settings based on input channels) yet is still very easy to use. It comes with three different high quality filters: "linear", "minimum" and "steep" which can alter the audio experience to your personal taste. Of these I have found the "minimum" filter to provide the best audiophile experience.
To sum up, if you have a Squeezebox or a similar device, but feel that its analog output is somewhat lacking, then get this brilliant little device.

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DACport USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier Review

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(More customer reviews)Stupendously wonderful product. Do your ears a favour and buy this now. Running this from a 13" MacBook Pro, via Fidelia player, all settings maxed out with best quality flac into B&W P5s and the space, aeriness and separation just blow your socks off. If like me you constantly strive for " the best sound ", buy this little beauty! Love your work Centrance!

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Peachtree Audio iDecco Gloss Black Stereo Integrated Amplifier With Built-In DAC and iPod Dock Review

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(More customer reviews)Here's a brief journey to the Idecco:
I purchased a Wadia Itransport in December , I was waffling between buying a fairly high end DAC (Cambridge DacMagic ?) used with my current tube receiver Yamaha R-8 from the mid 80's (85 watts /channel) or an all-in-one Digital amplifier with a high quality built in DAC. I purchased the Onkyo A-5VL digital amp as it seemed like it fell from heaven and was everything I wished for....... WELL, be careful what you wish for ! Initially I thought everything was perfect , but after extended listening my ears actually hurt and developed fatigue and the sound was registering as very shrill and harsh. For short bursts you just think that it's 'bright' and the highs being hidden by the Ipods internal DAC have finally been found.
OK, so I'm mid 40's and have had my ears blasted by concerts, walkman headphone abuse and overall city life destruction, BUT I know what I NEED to hear to be happy and let me say that I found it , the Peachtree Idecco !!!! I was able to demo a model at a high end audio store in town when it first came out (mid Jan. 2010) and was amazed at how much clearer , warmer and musical it sounded. Younger guys may feel that the Onkyo is perfectly fine, but at a thousand bucks for an Idecco Vs. 800-900 for the Wadia/Onkyo set up (or similar solid state digital amp) , it's just a no brainer! An all in one unit that has USB , Optical, Digital Coax, Pre amp out and line out connections!!
The guys at my local audiophile shop in San Francisco said that the Itransport is already obsolete!! It basically became a 400 dollar pass through box for the digital signal, and now other companies are working with Apple to get those rights too, but most are trying to integrate that digital signal into a sound delivery package as well!.Geez, that was fast . From state-of-the-art to gone in 60 days. So, I was able to return the Wadia and Onkyo and upgrade to the Idecco.
"Busy Executive's" review hits all the high notes about specs and so forth. Don't let the 30wpc into 8 ohms fool you. This cranks my 15 x 30 living room and could certainly go more...... no power qualms at all! Just get (or own) efficient speakers.My Ipod actually has 2000 converted Vinyl LP's using a Tascam CD recorder and played through the Idecco the music sounds as close to spinning the records on my Thorens platter as I can possibly hope for.
Bliss, finally.......... the best music station I could hope for , MY OWN . hahaha
Hit shuffle on the Pod and let 20,000 songs play on.... ;-)
Keep rockin' dudes* another big plus of the Idecco , ONE remote that works the Ipod and controls the Amps main functions!!*

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Musical Fidelity V-DAC Upsampling Digital to Analog Audio Converter Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had the Musical Fidelity V-DAC for just over a week now and put it through it's paces with a variety of rock, pop, jazz and classical music. The V-DAC definitely sounds quite a bit better than my Oppo DVD-980H's analog outputs or the Oppo connected via coaxial digital to my Onkyo TX-SR705. The difference is immediate: much deeper bass, wider and deeper "sound stage", instruments are clearly differentiated whereas before they sounded mixed up, much better tonal differences with voices, stringed instruments, even electronic music. I didn't find the Onkyo or Oppo thin sounding at all (quite the opposite), but the V-DAC sounds significantly richer and more "solid". For the money, I really couldn't be happier - it's a great little device. I also compared the V-DAC to the DAC built into my Marantz SR5300 A/V receiver and again, the V-DAC comes out on top.
** WARNING ** Don't try the following yourself unless you're comfortable experimenting with and modifying electronic components! **
One "tweak" I couldn't resist was to replace the wall mart power supply it comes with with a larger regulated power supply. The one I got came from Amazon at a very low price and I recommend it too: Pyramid PS3 3-Amp 13.8-Volt Power Supply. Changing the power supply does improve sound quality further - most noticeable as deeper and tighter bass, more "solid" images, and stronger dynamics. All of these attributes were already strong points even with the stock power supply. The V-DAC does run cooler too using the bigger power supply, so hopefully that will extend its life.
Even without the above "tweak", the V-DAC sounds just great, and should provide a noticeable improvement for folks who do not already own a high-end DAC or A/V receiver. I hope you have as much fun with the V-DAC.

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Peachtree Audio Nova Cherry Integrated Stereo Amplifier with Built-in DAC Review

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(More customer reviews)This very happy with this amplifier. Great sound at a reasonable price. I'd buy it again without hesitation.

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Peachtree Audio Decco 2 High Gloss Black Integrated Amplifier with Built-in DAC Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm not a audiophile, I just love to listen to music and I love the convenience of iTunes/Spotify, impossible for me to go back to physcial music support like CD's, I just need to be able to explore music from my studio.
However I was always dissatisfied with the sound of MP3's, there was always that obvious lack of dynamic, frequencies didn't separate properly, something always sounded mushy. As said I didn't want to get back to physical audio supports, so I looked into a solution to enhance the quality of internet audio and came across various DACs.
I finally opted for the Decco2 because it was designed for my profile, specifically it came with the promise to make ANY audio sound better including internet audio.
After 2 weeks of using the device I have to say I am very satisfied, the Decco definitely removes the 'dusty layer' from MP3's, the sound becomes clearer, more defined, instruments and details are more discernable. More so the music restitution is overall MORE PRECISE, even in regards to timing/pace, the music sounds more agile and lively. As the company says the device adresses jitter issues so it's likely that this 're-clocking' of the audio data is responsible for the impression of greater precision in timing/rhythm. Voices sound amazing and lifelike, you really get the emotion that the singer is trying to get over, a different bonding experience with music alltogether.
It's only after trying the Decco that you realize how bad your computer's sound card really is, MP3 compression for sure brings a trade-off in quality, but then your computer's mediocre standard soundcard definitely rushes to the the task to kill your audio completely, so the Decco or similar DACs already offer the possibility to bring your system back to more decent levels.
To conclude, is this (relatively pricey) device worth its money, even for a non-audiophile, just an overall 'music lover' pulling tunes from the net?
Yes, definitely, listening to music is just THAT MORE fun with the Decco and given it's extensive connectivity and functionality (you can use it as a high-quality preamp/amp/headphone amp for all your audio/video devices) I think it will procure me many years of listening enjoyment and the investment is more than worth that.

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