DAC Info that may be helpful

CJROSS

Guys I thought this would come in handy for folks thinking about using a DAC and hooking it up to an existing AV set up. How to connect up a DAC for to a DVD-V Transport which is connected to a DD/DTS 5.1 AV amp for better playback of CD : From the DVD player (Im assuming a DVD-V player with 2 digtal outputs - 1 Coaxial & 1 Optical) the outputs should be routed as follows :

The Coaxial Output goes to the DAC (This will send a PCM output for CD playback)
The Optical (Toslink is the Interface Connection type ie little square connector) to the 3802 (This will stream Bitstream DD/DTS for AV playback)

These 2 digital connections are all you require to do, the type of connection Ie RCA Coaxial is generally felt to be superior to Toslink Optical for streaming PCM and conversely Bitstream is likely to be effected by cable type. So where possible PCM in coaxial. For listening to CD you simply run a set of IC from the DAC to the CD line input (thereby bypassing the AV Amp DACs) the main thing we are trying to do with the DAC is to bypass an AV Amps onboard DACs so we can listen to the stereo DACs processing rather than the AV amps DACs.

As for the output modes above ie PCM or Bitstream your DVD-V player may autodetect what type of discs your using  and set the output that way, if you have an older player or one that does not do this you will have to swtich the mode manually to get the best performance from each format (CD or DVD) check your players manual. The simplest way to think of the signal types is that the DACis a stereo 2 Channel PCM signal and DVD-V is MC 5.1 Bitstream

One note of caution be sure to never send a DTS signal from a DVD-V through your DAC – a PCM DAC handling a DTS signal sends a very high frequency signal towards the Amp that will generally fry the tweeters on your speakers. One way to safe gurad against this is to switch off the DAC when your watching DTS DVD-Vs, a simple and safe way of protecting your speakers IMO. But you would have to be quite daft to be watching a DTS DVD-V then switch to the CD Line input on the AV Amp with the DAC switched on in the first place, so switch it off when not listening to CDs.

HTHs

deff

ReTro and CJROSS,

I been to richersound and found the Cambridge Audio S700 (Digital to Analogue converter).

Is this the same as the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic II.

I have the pioneer 545 DVD player and a seperate sub £200 Sony CDP I have had for a while.

I need an upgrade but cannot afford  for sometime to due to baby and house DIY so was hoping that the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic II might just do the trick

Which will benefit my old cdp or the 545?

CJROSS

http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=738

I assume they are both the same thing dude, due to the Isolation platform etc.

HTHs

ReTrO

If it has mutliple inputs you should be able to use it with both your DVD and CD.  Provided you have different digital output options on them.

dts_boy

i have just bought the tag dac20 and am VERY happy with it!
1 question - i have co-ax out of the dvd into the dac and then analogue out into cd line input on my amp. the dd/dts is passed throught the dac via the digital out on the dac and seems to work fine on dd films, it plays nothing through the cd input. haven't tried with dts films yet, will it work the same, will t damage my speakers or should i just use the optical out of my dvd - amp and stop trying to cut corners (and not have to buy another lead )?

ReTrO

For the best sound quality you are best off bypassing the DAC with your DD/DTS optical feed.

mick23

i have nad 540cd player cost £230 (coax only) if i added c/a dac from r/s£99 is this going to improve cd playback, dac has hdcd capability (540 has not)  does the amp/av being used have to have (some kind of hdcd decoding ability)  i have some hdcd cds this would seem a fairly cheap way of possible (upgrade) rather than purchase a dearer cd player,   dac has optical and bnc out , i have only coax is there a way round this, thanks all

michaelab

Does the TAG DAC 20 have digital pass through?  My DVD player (Philips DVDR 890 player/recorder) only has a single coax digital out so if I hooked it up to a DAC I'd want to make sure that the dts/dd signal gets to my AV amp for watching movies.  What about other DACs - do most of them have digital pass through?

On a different note, isn't the problem with DVD players playing CDs that the laser isn't aligned/focussed properly for reading CDs?  If that's the case isn't the transport the root of the problem, not the DAC (notwithstanding that the DAC in a DVD player is probably nothing like as good as a separate DAC)?

If I could slot a TAG DAC 20 into my system and then use my DVD player for good quality CD playback then I could take my CD player (Marantz CD50SE) out and use it somewhere else.  I had been thinking about getting a separate CD player.

Michael.

ReTrO

To a certain extent your right about the transports.  The only problem now is that there are very few CD only transports left that are good, like the one in the Arcam CD72T.  A lot of CD players supposedly use DVD mechs though.

If you can't get a good start then what chance do the DAC's have.

Nic Rhodes

The transport is supremely important here. Many are okay into great DACs but when you hear a great transport you then really know what is what. Unfortunately the greatest limiting step is the SPDIF that everyone uses between the two. Jitter and that.....and this is what holds back many Transport / DAC combinations and is probably the reason why many have gone the integrated route.

Some DACs do have a digital pass through, mainly to help MD players etc.

You can get some switching SPDIF boxes that might help with more than one connection.