Moving from CD to Dac

Posted by: Damien on 24 June 2010

Hi all,
It has been a long time since i posted on here but wanted to ask some guys that might have gone through what i am at the moment.

Currently i have a Nait 2 (CB), CD3.5 / Hicap (CB) and enjoy it very much. However i borrowed an airport express and have been streaming from my iMac using the analogue out from the AE into my Nait. I have also been using my iPhone as a remote. Now the sound quality is not great and no where near the CD/hicap, however there is great ease with it. I re-ripped all my music to Apple Lossless which has made a difference.

Since then i have been looking at DAC's which seems to be a mine field.

I have the opportunity to get a used Lavry DA10 which for the moment would be connected to the AE via optical or hardwired from the iMac via optical (this option is more difficult) so likely to be via the AE. I have heard the Lavry demoed in another system and really liked it, and i will get to demo it in mine before purchasing.

The other cheaper option would be to get a Caiman as the dac. Whilst yes it is cheaper i do keep hearing excellent reviews on it. I would connect it in the same way as the Lavry.

I am trying to achieve as good sound as my CDP and would hope to get better. Will the Caiman and the Lavry do this?

Is the Lavry that much better than the Caiman. I have not heard a Caiman, i know they do a money back guarantee if i am not happy but would like to hear other comments.

If i can get better than the CDP i will sell on and put money towards a macBook and Hiface.

Cheers
D

Posted on: 24 June 2010 by james n

The Lavry is a great introduction and if you can get it for a good price then it's a no brainer. I've not personally heard the Beresford - it gets good reviews but it's not in the same league as the Lavry. Connecting via the AE is perhaps not the best option - it'll sound better straight from the optical output of the Mac. It should comfortably outperform the CD3.5.

If you like this route, then put your money to a Mac Mini which can sit in the rack and run headless - you can control it remotely from your iMac for maintenance and use the excellent Apple Remote app (for iPhone / iTouch) to control it.

James

Posted on: 24 June 2010 by Damien

Thanks James, i have often thought about a Mac Mini but also will be looking to upgrade to a macbook next year some time. How do you control the mini from my imac? Would this mean that i will not need an extra keyboard or display for the mac mini?
Cheers
D

Posted on: 24 June 2010 by Joe Bibb

Damien,

Make sure you hear the unit against your CD3.5. I agree with James that a Lavry DA10 should easily out-perform a CD3.5. But my friend John (J.N.) on here got a used one and it was defective. The replacement is superb and he's very happy with it.

So if it's not coming from a dealer, make sure you hear it.

Joe

Posted on: 24 June 2010 by Damien

Thank Joe, it is not from a dealer but a friend who now uses a Weiss Dac2. He also said that there can be good ones and bad ones out there. I have heard it in his systems and it sounded lovely, i will have the opportunity to hear it in my system before too.
D