Cambridge audio dac magic xs usb dacheadphone amp hands on. I installed no software, and magically it fed itself with 96 ksps audio via usb from itunes on my mac. Customdeveloped by cambridge audio in london, this overachieving dac touts hitech engineering from top to bottom, including a highquality wolfson dac. Press and hold the source button whilst bringing the unit out of standby. Theres a hidden benefit too, and that is better sound quality generally. The d100 is roughly 10 inches wide, 7 inches deep, and 2 inches high, and weights about 5 pounds. October 22, 2018 the schedule for the 2019 calendar year, which is still being firmed up, has been added to our website and can be found for here october 18, 2018. The dacmagic 100 is similar in concept to the original dacmagic, but.
The better your problem and question is described, the easier it is for other cambridge audio dacmagic 100 owners to provide you with a good answer. I will say that the updated yulong d100 mkii is a worthwhile improvement over the original model that it replaces. There is a noticeable difference between the sound of an average dvdbluray player and that of the same device with its audio running through a dac the dacmagic 100 is not cheap. Dacmagic xs using dacmagic xs with windows class 1 or. Pioneer dv09 used as cd transport cambridge audio azur 650bd bluray player cambridge audio dac magic plus. Cambridge audio new dacmagic 100 steve hoffman music. Richer sounds began selling their cambridge audio dacmagic 100 yesterday, thursday 1st march 2012. A wolfson wm8742 24bit dac is teamed up with cambridge audios wealth of digital engineering knowledge to create a sound thats vibrant, detailed and remarkably free from jitter. I had waited for the dacmagic 100 to be released, even though the xlr outputs and head. Dac magic plus not working after windows 10 clean install.
Apr 27, 2012 that 24bit192khz capability will work over usb with macs out of the box. It is barely been a secret in hi fi groups that cambridge audio was due to replace its value dacmagic dtoa converter that is remarkable. A dac or digitalanalog converter did exactly what it sounds like. With three different digital connectivity options and the ability to concurrently connect four devices, dacmagic 100 is as versatile as it is capable of immediately improving your aural. Using it in pure dac mode to drive my other amplifiers, i have not noticed any coloration or had any issues with any of my files. Dac naim dacv1 the naim dacv1 is the salisbury companys latest effort to create computer sound accessible to everyone. Cambridge audio dacmagic 100 2 channel hifi wigwam. Apr 17, 2014 cambridge includes a 6 cable with the dac magic xs that houses a usb type a connector on one end, to plug into your computer, and micro usb on the other to attach to the dac. Clear defining highs, with liquid smooth mids, and seamless, crisp bass. Despite its small footprint, weve made sure to include a highperformance headphone amp with a crosstalk of over 120db and an ouput power of 300mv. Cambridge includes a 6 cable with the dac magic xs that houses a usb type a connector on one end, to plug into your computer, and micro usb on the other to attach to the dac.
Thanks to a wolfson 24bit dac, a 24bit96khz driverless usb audio 1. I have had the dacmagic plus three days for testing. The dacmagic 100 employs the latest generation wolfson wm8742 24bit dac digitaltoanalog converter for exceptional sound quality. Cambridge audio new dacmagic 100 steve hoffman music forums. Cambridge audio dacmagic 100 24192 dac shop music direct. The magic here is in the design, in the combination of parts and implementation. Cambridge audio dacmagic 100 black dac richer sounds. At first i thought this may be a limitation of itunes, but playing the same song through vlc makes no difference the dac still only sees it as 44. Im currently running arch, and am planning to keep using arch for a good while. The dacmagic 100 works by taking a direct digital audio signal from your device to bypass its soundcard or dac. Cambridge audio azur dacmagic da converter measurements. The dac is built on a different converter to the plus.
One of the digital input source leds will illuminate to indicate the current usb setting. The wolfson 24bit dac, 24bit96khz driverless usb audio 1. The dacmagic is one of the many dacs equipped with highly popular wolfson wm8740 da chips. The few complaints i had were all minor in scope, yet parasound saw fit to revamp the designfixing all those issues in the process. This makes serenade pro ideal for working with laptops. The cambridge audio uses a single dac chip helping to keep the cost down. Giantkiller though it was it even boasted balanced outputs its usb input signal was limited to 16bit48khz. Jan 11, 2012 everything in the cambridge audio room has some sort of computer audio interface i think the sofa was equipped to handle usb and ethernet. The sample rate leds flash to confirm that apd is disabled. Feb 06, 20 the cambridge audio dac magic 100 has auto power down enabled by default. The da8 has a warmth in the upper bass and lower mids, but it also has a slight glare, silbance, and grain in the treble its still sabre after all which makes it not as tonally coherent and other sabre dacs like the comparatively leaner xsabre or brighter vega. Planning on getting an outboard dac in the spring, if not sooner. Cambridge audio dacmagic 100 dac it is barely been a secret in hi fi groups that cambridge audio was due to replace its value dacmagic dtoa converter that is remarkable. The pcb is designed and technology is based on the sabre da8.
Cambridge explains part of the reason for this cable is to relieve the usb connector on your computer from the pressure applied when adjusting volume on the dac. The amp section has been tweaked a bit to offer a somewhat warmer signature. The newest version now support up to 32bit 384khz dsd but keeping simple design and compact construction. Dacmagic mk2 vs dacmagic 3 digital sources, dacs, and. Iv conversion, filtering, and buffering are then handled by the combo of. The cambridge audio dacmagic plus offers a lot of features and decent sound. I will have 2 cd players running into this, one with a coaxial one with an optical. If i wanted to force the issuework with my macs audio midi setup, for instancei perhaps could, but i didnt want to screw up my settings, since i have got my original mac mini to work with my musical fidelity. Button, volume knob and feet are made from aluminum blocks. The dacmagic plus works by taking a direct digital audio signal from your computer, tv or other device bypassing their builtin digital to analogue converters. Ive been looking at dacs in that price range for awhile now and always liked the look of the bifrost. However i would have to get the usb input module for the bifrost which would drive up the price. The most obvious advantage is that the dacmagic xs will now accept a 24bit192khz music stream, where as in usb 1.
The company has been kind enough to provide me samples of some of their devices, and i recently received a dacmagic 100, their newest dac. Cambridge audio dacmagic 100 silver stereo dac with. Yulong da8 dac usb tidbit super best audio friends. Cambridge audio dacmagic plus vs yulong d100 headphone. The device also features asynchronous usb audio clocking. Oct 30, 20 the most obvious advantage is that the dacmagic xs will now accept a 24bit192khz music stream, where as in usb 1. I was surprised that cambridge audio didnt have a dac in the same price range as the musical fidelitys vdac anymore. Once you have installed the relevant updates, you will need to switch to usb 2. Everything in the cambridge audio room has some sort of computer audio interface i think the sofa was equipped to handle usb and ethernet. This means the unit powers off after 60 minutes, whether in use or not.
Cambridge dacmagic plus v benchmark dac1 gearslutz. Basically, it packages much of the technology that we have seen on the very able and pricey naim dac, adds a little more and then crams it all into a. My other dac adl gt40 sounds better and has more openness and depth at 9624 setting compared to dacmagic 100 at 9624 when i move to 192 on the dac magic the sound is almost equal to my adl gt40 at 9624 seems odd to me too. These dacs were released last year as the latest in a long line of dacs from cambridge audio. Apr 05, 2012 you can also use a dac such as this between a cddvdbluray player and your amplifier, to improve the sound of discs you play. Dac naim dac v1 the naim dac v1 is the salisbury companys latest effort to create computer sound accessible to everyone. Operating in either balanced and single ended mode, it puts out choice of preamplified signal and pure dac signal. Dacmagic xs using dacmagic xs with windows class 1 or class 2. Two 50w toroidal transformers supply clean powers to digital and analogue circuits separately. Work as pure dac when headphone amplifier and preamplifier circuit turned off class a single ended headphone amplifier lcdled display. The cambridge audio dacmagic 100 supports the following digital input sampling frequencies through its usb typeb and coaxial rca digital inputs. The cambridge audio dac magic 100 has auto power down enabled by default. To disable this, turn the unit on and hold down the source button for about 5 seconds.
I took my headphonesamp round and had a good long listen and was very impressed. Serenade pro has been from the ground up to be portable with a small size of 12cm12cm3cm and it can be directly powered from a usb port. Windows 10 also shows the driver is working and updated properly. Does digital preamp mode affect the digital output on the dacmagic plus. The music easily surpasses my rega cd player in overall sound quality. Whatever your music source, youll enjoy genuine hifi quality sound by using the cambridge audio dacmagic 100. It connects quickly and easily to any usb port and allows you to hear your favourite music and movies with every drop of detail, exactly as the artist intended. Unless its a very cheap cd player, in most cases you will do better sticking with the player vs a transportdac for a couple of reasons. Jun 17, 2011 musical fidelity m1 dac page 2 i cant upgrade os x because my g4based computer is too old, so im stuck with panther or leopard. The cambridge audio dacmagic plus is an inexpensive, lightweight. Yulong audio designs and manufactures highend audio products with special focused on allinone products for home and personal audio since 2009.
Full size case which is matching a8 fully balanced headphone amplifier. Similarly to the da8, the yulong d200 dsd is an integrated dac preampheadphone amp solution, with high quality usb, coaxial and optical inputs. Ask the question you have about the cambridge audio dacmagic 100 here simply to other product owners. However, the incoming sample rate on the dac never goes above 44. Some felt that the original was a bit cold or thin with certain headphones, and yulong has addressed that. Both imported and sold exclusively by grant fidelity. How would the dacmagic compare with something like the beresford caiman and yulong d100. Like its predecessor, the d100, it offers a clean dac, and a reasonable amplifier, but the gems are the balanced outputs and new highrez capabilities. Similarly to the da8, the yulong d200 dsd is an integrated dacpreampheadphone amp solution, with high quality usb, coaxial and optical inputs. Yulong d200 is the latest version and upgrade from d100. It shows that the usb is connected to the dac plus and the dac plus appears in the windows tray.
They shares similar design and with these upgrades. It was kindly sent to me by shenzhen audio for testing. Dec 14, 2012 planning on getting an outboard dac in the spring, if not sooner. I was surprised that cambridge audio didnt have a dac in the same price range as the musical fidelitys v dac anymore. Dacmagic 100 firmware information cambridge audio support. I will have 2 cd players running into this, one with a. Cambridge audio dacmagic 100 zwart coolblue voor 23. The d100 is roughly 10 inches wide, 7 inches deep, and 2. The dacmagic xs usb digital to analogue converter dac headphone amp is an instant upgrade to any computers sound output. The music flows effortlessly, with a great soundstage. In a dedicated cd player, the movements of the digital signals in the player have been carefully laid out and the layout designed by a competent engineer. Basically, it packages much of the technology that we have seen on the very able and pricey naim dac, adds a little more and then crams it all into a quite pleasant small halfwidth box complete.
Cambridge audio makes a lot of cd players, from the 340c to the 840c model, each having a slightly different da design. Yulong sabre da8 dac with preamplifier and class a headphone amplifier. Alas, im hoping its possible to use the drivers that lets this dac work on ubuntu on arch, unless ubuntu runs on distrolimited black magic or something similar. This was the 1st dac i tried, and figured i couldnt get much better than this. Where the original model was a nice dac with a decent headphone output as a sort of bonus feature, zdac v.
Yulong d200 dsd 32bit 384khz dac decoder headphone amp. As ive found out during the comparisons, the da chip alone doesnt tell much about the sonic performance, but the dacmagic is certainly one of the better excellent ones. Dacmagic 100 digital to analogue converter cambridge audio. I was expecting the yulong da8 to be another nasty sounding sabre dac, but i was surprised. The cambridge audio dacmagic 100 digitaltoanalogue converter is illed as a simple systembooster for a variety of sources a neatlooking little unit. Mine is from ebay seller wsz0304 who has been excellent to deal with. Provide a clear and comprehensive description of the problem and your question. Youll also have to switch the dacs usb socket from usb 1 mode to usb 2 mode by holding down the source button whilst switching it on from standby. The strange thing is regarding my dac plus since i clean installed win 10 is that it shows it installed everywhere and is the default sound option. Needless to say, my expectations are high at this price range. This is the same chip as used in the rega dac although the rega uses two of them in a parallel configuration. Aangesloten op een windows pc moet er hiervoor een aparte driver worden geinstalleerd. It is about two digital to analogue converters from cambridge audio the dacmagic plus and the dacmagic 100.
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