Quote:
Originally Posted by meltemi
DAC-50 is a no brainer, seemingly compatible with your CX-260.
I still own a DP-80L / DC-81L combo (since 1989). The DC-81 and the DC-81L can only do 16bit (no 24bit) and only 44k and 48k (no higher sample rates).
From 2001 I continued to use the transport, but the the DAC was replaced by professional dCS Upsampler and DAC.
The dCS units sonically outperformed all Accuphase DACs up to DC-800 / DP-700 and are, (with slight sonic differences) just on par with DC-901.
No.
Depends on the clock quality of the source.
I'd suggest Mutec MC3+ USB for reclocking USB (and converting to SPDIF).
But DSD would be downsampled to PCM.
DC-50 is derived from the DAC built into DP-430.
And: an Accuphase is an Accuphase is an Accuphase.
A jump up in sound quality. The DC-50 is technically and sonically up to date.
Separate and dedicated Accuphase DACs are more laborious, but the prices are considerably higher.
And older models are unfortunately technically (and often sonically, depending on what you compare them with) not up to date any more.
Basically the sound of every new Accuphase model is better than the one of its predecessor.
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I appreciate your response. I have not heard any Accuphase before blindly buying this immaculate CX-260 with the AD-10 and DAC-10 option boards. I don't think i'll ever afford the upwards of $10k Accuphase offerings so i'll be a decade or more behind in the used market. I'd imagine you're coming from the experience of jumping up in new units nearly every release. A DC-81 or DC-91 or DC-61 would be a very new and different experience for me. I also wonder how much of their sound is now veiled by out of spec capacitors?
The Audio Note dac i mentioned is only 16/48 and still popular and jumped up in price. I'm inclined to believe you when you say Accuphase DACs improve with every new one because the little DAC-10 holds its own against the AN 0.1x and the Ares II. It still has a slight digital glare which is why i now lean toward r2r dacs. There just isn't much info about the DAC-50. One guy through web search speaks of its sibilance and harshness. 2 major things i don't want to hear associated with a DAC. Then there's that resale money. I'll likely be eating the cost and i typically like to buy what i can make my own money back in resale, ie McIntosh.
Are the DAC-50 available on ebay legitimate?
I probably wouldn't consider older DACs i wouldn't have been able to afford back then if i wasn't so impressed with modern R2R dacs. I take it you're not a fan of the popular non over sampling r2r dacs that can play all resolutions including dsd?
Thanks again for your opinion and perspective