A new Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) has found it's way into he headphone system here at Chez Humphries.

I did some listening at a city dealer between the new Musical Fidelity V-DAC and the CA DacMagic. They are at the lower end of the price scale, with the DacMagic a couple of hundred Aussie bucks the more expensive. In my test / demo I much preferred the sound of the DacMagic unit. It was more extended at both frequency extremes and a bit 'faster' (I hope it wasn't just perceived brightness), The MF V-DAC in comparison had a lovely mid-range but was rolled-off at the top and fairly weak in bass delivery. I was concerned those characteristics would have been, pardon the pun, amplified by the Yamamoto headphone amplifier. So the DacMagic won the day.

The Cambridge Audio DAC has an extensive range of input and output options from balanced to single-ended, to S/PDIF, to Coax and even USB.

With the Wadia iTransport feeding the DacMagic, then into the Yamamoto HA-02 tube headphone amplifier the initial sound through the Grado SR-60s was very tight, revealing and engaging. With only 50 hours on the gear, I will let it run in for another 50 hours before strapping on the Sennheiser 600s for a full review and evaluation. Cables are Digital (Coax) from the Wadia and some Monster Cable RCAs (!) from the DacMagic to the Yamamoto. I have a new pair of silver RCA cables coming from a local manufacturer (Osborn Speakers) which will be used either in main system or slipped straight into the headphone system. And the whole lot sits on granite shelving on an E&T rack.

So far I am very pleased with the synergy and the sound. Highly recommended.