Adcom GDA-700 Digital to Analog Converter My First Impressions

[GMichael]

In all respect to you, Jim Clark, when we were comparing CD audio quality between the Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player & the Pioneer PD-59 CD player, we played the exact same beginning part of the same CD tracks within a 1/2 a minute to a minute of each other, at the exact same settings connected to the receiver both by identical optic cords. Paul PCI heard the same basic differences I did. We did this several times to several tracks. We then did the same process using his his system as well (I'm not sure if the optic cables were identical) at his place & the results were similar. I'm not saying the differences were night & day but there were differences & I don't see any variables in the equation to account for them other then they were played on different equipment.

Hi Ed,

So tell me, how do you like how it sounds? Are you happy with your setup the way it is?

[EdwardGein]

For me personally, the Pioneer PD-59 CD player is a big improvement over my CD sound coming from the Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player. Bare in mind that I mainly listen to rock & blues remastered recordings that were originally recorded in the 60/70's & maybe what I'm saying won't be as applicable to recordings made much later on. Also as I'm kind of a fanatic on these recordings, I might notice or be aware of certain things that a casual listener who wasn't a fanatic might not notice. There was nothing wrong with the CD sound from the Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player & I couldn't quite put a finger on what I wanted to improve till I heard the PD-59. The main difference is the CD sound from the Harmon Kardon was too bright compared to the Pioneer PD-59 which sounds more richer, fuller & natural. I think you can notice the biggest improvements in regards to vocals. The PD-59 seems to even out or smooth out the recordings & their balance & the HK has a rougher edge sound. This is when listening to both through optical cables. Paul PCI heard both & I think he basically agrees with me on this. Our main difference is he thought the Adcom GDA 700 DAC improved the PD-59 & I actually preferred it without the GDA-700. We both were in agreement that the GDA 700 definately improved the HK CD sound. I didn't see Analog cables improving the sound of the PD-59 or the Harmon Kardon, in fact I think Analog cables for the HK make it sound worse. I'm more then happy with the DVD audio & picture though on HK 31 DVD player so I'm now going to use the PD-59 for CD's & the HK strictly for DVDs. I liked the PD-59 so much I was looking for a second one for my bedroom system. Someone I was in contact with had a Pioneer PD-65 for sale, which is suppose to sound even better & because the door does not always open & close electronically & you have to do it mechanically half the time because of some problem, even though it still plays & sounds fine, he sold this to me for $250 which is about 50% off if it didn't have the problem with the door. As he said, its been like that for over a year & doesn't affect anything else, I thought this was a good deal, other then having to spend 10 seconds or so opening & closing the door. On this model though, as opposed to the PD-59, I was told analog cables do make a big difference, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It should arrive in the next 2 weeks or so. If someone is going to look for a "Vintage" CD player, I'd recommend using the reviews here & elsewhere if you can find them. I originally was not planning to look for a CD player & was going to get the Denon 2900 Universal player which got excellent reviews but I was more then put off when several people reviewing this said, and they meant it as a compliment, that the audio sound was almost as good as a CD player, but that because of its nature, DVD/Universal players will never sound as good as CD players. I'm not saying this is gospal but because of this, I thought I would be better off trying out CD players first.

[nightflier]

Something else no one here has brought up: the Adcom DAC is decent, but for $250 used, there's a lot of other choices out there that would provide more depth, detail, and sounstage. I bought several DACs in that price range a while back and did some comparing: Adcom GDA-700, Aragon D2A, Arcam BB50, Parasound 1500, Theta DSPB-II. To my ears the Aragon was the best and so I kept it and sold the rest. Some of these came close, but I have to say that the Adcom wasn't as good. Again, that's just my opinion, and people have different tastes. It could also be how it fared with the rest of my equipment, which is another factor altogether.

In any case, I can say unequivocally that any $250 used outboard DAC (usually that means about $1200 new) will trounce any internal DAC on these $250 players. And if you're willing to spend more, a $1000 used DAC (about $3500 new), will shame any player in its price range as well.

[EdwardGein]

You probably are right. I never really heard of this stuff till someone recommended a Benchmark DAC that is around $1,000 new & as it is recent, its hard to get for a cheaper price used. The Adcom GDA-700 at one time went for $1,000 new & based on what was available in my budget range I bought it based on its pretty good reviews. If I hadn't gotten the PD-59 CD player, I would have kept it, as it definately improved the CD sound on my Harmon Kardon 31 DVD player. In regards to the Pioneer PD-59 though, I prefered the sound by itself then with connected to the Adcom. The analog cables I had on hand were a $50 pair interconnects, perhaps with much better cables, I'd have felt differently. The GDA-600 went for around $150 on Ebay & other DAc's went for as low as $100 or so. The more expensive ones went for $500 or more on Ebay.

[shokhead]

Can anyone list maybe the 3-4 most common Dacs used in say under 1K receivers and players from best to worst and maybe a couple of good ones we would be lucky to find in our stuff. Burr-Brown and Wolfson are the first ones i think of as in under 1K .

[topspeed]

Can anyone list maybe the 3-4 most common Dacs used in say under 1K receivers and players from best to worst and maybe a couple of good ones we would be lucky to find in our stuff. Burr-Brown and Wolfson are the first ones i think of as in under 1K .

Yamaha makes their own and, like most things Yammie, they're pretty darn good.
Sony used to make their own, but apparently are using BB now.
Crystal, Cirrus, NEC, and Analog Devices come to mind.

No ranking is possible as it's all personal choice.