whenever possible can you elaborate on the difference between one PS and two? Did you have the prior Nagra HD DAC? If So I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the difference between the HD & Ref DAC....expecting mine soon so obvious anticipation
Nagra REFERENCE Preamp
- Thread starter Zeotrope
- Start date
Haha, I don't even know. I took a leap of faith after hearing several Vivaldi owners preferring the HD DAC X. I listened the the Classic DAC/Classic PSU & Nagra Streamer extensively vs a dCS Rossini and Clock. So with these two data points in mind, I ordered the Nagra Ref DAC.
So 36 hours on now. An analogy is like a Range Rover vs Porsche Cayenne SUV. The Range Rover is stately, well built, does everything right-the drive is smooth and controlled-you have no issues seems so right. You hop in the Porsche, well built, a lil sportier vs stately. The drive grabs you, you feel everything, visceral, you're smiling as your driving as the experience just pulls you in....
Happy New Year Dave, our dealer got in his Ref Pre and Amps...very curious to hear them soon!
You mention that your sending your ics back toTransparent for calibration, what was your prior DAC? I’m hoping not to have to send mine (same).
Hi, prior was dCS Vivaldi. Was a pretty meaningful calibration diff according to my dealer....
Thanks, that makes sense, fwiw I still have the HD DAC but I’m expecting the reference dac. I also had at the same time a DCS Vivaldi One Apex and even then I preferred the Nagra. You’re in for a treat. Thanks for your reply.
"you're in for treat". You are exactly right. This Nagra Ref DAC is just a joy to listen to. So engaging. After what ten years with dCS, I am astounded by what Nagra has done here. Plus love the smaller footprint, less cabling, less settings.
Only thing I think I will miss is the native SACD playback offered by dCS. I kept my dCS transport, but only redbook output...
So it's been about 10 days with the Nagra Ref DAC. It has changed some, more of everything. I don't know if breakin is complete or not. Also I am still using Transparent Ultra Balanced Interconnects vs my Magnum Opus (back to mfg for calibration). The cable downgrade is a big deal for Transparent users. So I know the cabling right now I am loosing resolution, bass, lots of spatial info, over all enjoyability.
That said. I love this dac - and all of these comments are with the cable downgrade. MUCH more spacious, speakers melt away. The instruments seem to occupy their own space better, little noises are more revealing in live recordings. The music, each and every note, has more energy, more weight, more resolution. It draws you in like I've never experienced before.
I can't wait until my Magnum Opus interconnects come back. Guessing a week or two from now. I've also heard that this DAC sounds better single ended which I have yet to try.
It's been a wonderful week or so listening !
That said. I love this dac - and all of these comments are with the cable downgrade. MUCH more spacious, speakers melt away. The instruments seem to occupy their own space better, little noises are more revealing in live recordings. The music, each and every note, has more energy, more weight, more resolution. It draws you in like I've never experienced before.
I can't wait until my Magnum Opus interconnects come back. Guessing a week or two from now. I've also heard that this DAC sounds better single ended which I have yet to try.
It's been a wonderful week or so listening !
So if I understand you correctly your new Nagra reference dac is outperforming a full DCS Vivaldi apex stack with a considerable margin, even while you are currently using ic’s which are clearly inferior to the ic’s you employed back in the day with the DCS Vivaldi apex stack. That seems to put the performance of the latter in a clear (or to put it bluntly: a negative) perspective or am I wrong to conclude this?
You are more direct, but our conclusions are the same. I can see why other dCS users went to the HD DAC X.
I do believe the Nagra Streamer is part but not all the improvement. As I hear great things off my dCS transport too into the Ref Dac.
Fantastic. Congrats. I like your description of the two and how the Nagra Ref DAC surpasses the DCS Apex Vivaldi. Weight in musical notes and drawing you in is what it is all about for me. (I do genuinely appreciate how little noises being revealed adds to the overall realism...and more important it also usually means you are also hearing more nuance, more technique in the playing, and importantly those meaningful spaces in between the notes become very important. But for me, the weight of the main note is the primary focus...and the very subtle noises that add tremendous additional enjoyment are secondary between the two.) Sounds like Ref DAC is both which is great.
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