Justice to the DC1

Posted by: The Meerkat on 23 September 2012

I want to upgrade my current £20 coaxial interconnect that currently sits between my UnitiServe and the Supernait. The first obvious option would be the DC1. The UnitiServe and the Supernait are excellent units, which is why I bought them. However, something tells me that the DC1 is more justified to compliment Naim high end units. Has anyone got any thoughts on that?

 

I do of course, appreciate the fact, that the only way to decide, is by listening to the DC1. I have recently had demo of other cables which sounded ok. You have no idea how much trouble I am having, trying to get a dealer to send me a DC1 to demo!

 

David

Posted on: 23 September 2012 by Massimo Bertola

David,

 

This might be because the DC1 is not perhaps such a major upgrade as a HiLine (or, IMO, a Powerline).

I have had the DC1 when I had DVD5/AV2. It is a good and reliable coax, but perhaps digital cables are not so variably different in quality as analogue interconnects. Try to have one to demo, if you are curious, but don't get anxious about it.

If you can't find a DC1, I suggest you try the Swiss Stereovox.

 

Best,

Max

Posted on: 23 September 2012 by Jan-Erik Nordoen

Ah, the poor DC1. Had it only been called the Signature Starlight, the Digital Hyperlink, the Naim Superlightning... but alas, we have the Digital Cable 1.

 

How to do it justice ?  I'll leave that up to Martin Colloms of HiFiCritic who found the DC1 more than adequate for Audionote's  £ 192000 CD player, after discarding lesser alternatives (not named).

 

So, I feel a whole lot better about using one to connect my UnitiServe and nDAC. In fact, the DC1 unites these two pieces in a way that escaped the other two cables I tried. Perhaps there are superior cables, but after living with the DC1, I feel no need to try anything else.

 

It's more than a digital cable, it's the dark crystal, the direct connection, the dream caster, but it's not dirt cheap.

 

Jan

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on: 24 September 2012 by Massimo Bertola

£192000? Has Audio Note finally released an entry level unit?

Good news! I hope this will not spoil their reputation, though - well, if the sound I heard in the Audio Note room at the TopAudio hasn't, nothing will.

Posted on: 24 September 2012 by keilic

I thought DC1 wasn't as good as a US$120 cable (highly reputed one though).  At first it seemed that way when I switched.  But after a while I thought something wasn't right.  When DC1 was put back things were better again.  Not a cable that I would lose sleep over or test repeatedly - but yes a worthy component in my experience.

Posted on: 24 September 2012 by Jan-Erik Nordoen
Originally Posted by The Meerkat:
However, something tells me that the DC1 is more justified to compliment Naim high end units. Has anyone got any thoughts on that?

You can't go wrong by improving your source, within reason. Adding the DC1 between your nServe and SuperNait DAC will be a musically audible improvement that easily justifies the cost of the cable.  

 

I move my UnitiServe between two systems. In the second one, the Serve feeds an Audiolab M-DAC, through a DC1 cable, and the difference is clearly audible at this level too.

 

The cable will not be wasted on the SuperNait DAC. If you do go for one, get the version with the correct connectors for your setup : BNC >> BNC or BNC >> RCA. You can use an adaptor, but it will rob you of some of the performance.

 

Jan