Hello all - I'm curious about anyone's experience with these two Dartzeel integrateds. I currently have the LHC-208 mk I. I bought it on a lark because I got a good price and I've always been curious about the Dart sound. For the past two years I've run the Ypsilon integrated and had no complaints, far from it. It's a wonderful unit.
But I am suprised by how much I like the LHC-208. It's not "better" than the Ypsilon. They are very different but equal to my ears, and I think my speakers come to life a little bit more with the Dart's extra power. And with the onboard DAC the LHC-208 is a real value proposition for me. Digital listening is secondary to vinyl for me and the Dart's DAC is surprisingly good in comparison with my resident DAC, the Weiss DAC501. I'd be more than happy to live with the Dart's internal DAC.
A friend of a friend is currently selling the MK II edition of the LHC-208 and because I've read that it is a significant upgrade on the MK I, I reached out to him about it. He told me he's selling his LHC-208 because he got the CTH-8550 mk II, and he was honest with me in saying that to his ears the 8550 is a significant step up sonically from the LHC-208. Of course, being a card-carrying insane audiophile, this threw me into quite a quandary.
From what I can tell there are a decent amount of users here of both Dart integrateds so anyone who can chime in on the comparison between the two, I'd love the feedback. The LHC-208 makes a lot more sense for me because I am much more into the idea of having an onboard DAC with an integrated than an onboard phono stage. I use a Mola Mola Lupe phono now (which I think is excellent - my thoughts on that here - https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/experience-with-mola-mola-lupe.38393/) and generally run three tonearms at once. The Lupe makes that incredibly convenient and what's more it sounds fantastic, the best phono pre I've owned and I've had a lot of them at all pricepoints. As ballyhooed as the CTH-8550 is, I just don't believe the phono stage will be at that level. I'm sure it will be good in the way that the DAC in the LHC-208 is good. But the truth is, the Weiss DAC501 is clearly better than the LHC-208 DAC. I just don't care much about that when it comes to digital. I do care in terms of vinyl, and unfortunately, given the pricetag on the CTH-8550 (even used) I'd have to sell the Lupe and use the onboard Dart phono stage to make it work.
I'll leave it at that. Please share any thoughts on the LHC-208 vs. the CTH-8550, especially any vinyl aficionados out there who have experience with the 8550's phono stage. The LHC-208 makes a lot more sense for me given my particular needs and also financially. But I'm sure you know how it is - when you're thinking about a piece of gear and someone with experience tells you "well if you step up to this it's WAY better"... well it's hard to get that out of your head. And in this case I couldn't help but take the guy seriously, because he was basically talking his way out of selling me an amp.
But I am suprised by how much I like the LHC-208. It's not "better" than the Ypsilon. They are very different but equal to my ears, and I think my speakers come to life a little bit more with the Dart's extra power. And with the onboard DAC the LHC-208 is a real value proposition for me. Digital listening is secondary to vinyl for me and the Dart's DAC is surprisingly good in comparison with my resident DAC, the Weiss DAC501. I'd be more than happy to live with the Dart's internal DAC.
A friend of a friend is currently selling the MK II edition of the LHC-208 and because I've read that it is a significant upgrade on the MK I, I reached out to him about it. He told me he's selling his LHC-208 because he got the CTH-8550 mk II, and he was honest with me in saying that to his ears the 8550 is a significant step up sonically from the LHC-208. Of course, being a card-carrying insane audiophile, this threw me into quite a quandary.
From what I can tell there are a decent amount of users here of both Dart integrateds so anyone who can chime in on the comparison between the two, I'd love the feedback. The LHC-208 makes a lot more sense for me because I am much more into the idea of having an onboard DAC with an integrated than an onboard phono stage. I use a Mola Mola Lupe phono now (which I think is excellent - my thoughts on that here - https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/experience-with-mola-mola-lupe.38393/) and generally run three tonearms at once. The Lupe makes that incredibly convenient and what's more it sounds fantastic, the best phono pre I've owned and I've had a lot of them at all pricepoints. As ballyhooed as the CTH-8550 is, I just don't believe the phono stage will be at that level. I'm sure it will be good in the way that the DAC in the LHC-208 is good. But the truth is, the Weiss DAC501 is clearly better than the LHC-208 DAC. I just don't care much about that when it comes to digital. I do care in terms of vinyl, and unfortunately, given the pricetag on the CTH-8550 (even used) I'd have to sell the Lupe and use the onboard Dart phono stage to make it work.
I'll leave it at that. Please share any thoughts on the LHC-208 vs. the CTH-8550, especially any vinyl aficionados out there who have experience with the 8550's phono stage. The LHC-208 makes a lot more sense for me given my particular needs and also financially. But I'm sure you know how it is - when you're thinking about a piece of gear and someone with experience tells you "well if you step up to this it's WAY better"... well it's hard to get that out of your head. And in this case I couldn't help but take the guy seriously, because he was basically talking his way out of selling me an amp.
