Cambridge sound : veiled?

[nbaptista]

Hi all,
First I´m a new menber so I want to say hello to all!
I have a CA Dac Magic and a CA 340 cd player as a transport.So far,after tryed a few transports,the CA was the best!But now the Cambridge sound seems a bit veiled to me,like the B&W speakers sound.Perhaps I am missing something,like the sound having to much bass and a light treble,I don´t know!Someone knowing Canmbridge may help me?Maybe I am wrong,I suspect

[JohnMichael]

Hi all,
First I´m a new menber so I want to say hello to all!
I have a CA Dac Magic and a CA 340 cd player as a transport.So far,after tryed a few transports,the CA was the best!But now the Cambridge sound seems a bit veiled to me,like the B&W speakers sound.Perhaps I am missing something,like the sound having to much bass and a light treble,I don´t know!Someone knowing Canmbridge may help me?Maybe I am wrong,I suspect

We can probably be of more help if we know about your system and room. Has your system sounded lacking in highs before or is this new? The more you can tell us the better.

[nbaptista]

We can probably be of more help if we know about your system and room. Has your system sounded lacking in highs before or is this new? The more you can tell us the better.

No,not at all!My system : Densen B 110,Epos M 15 speakers and my room is small

[Mr Peabody]

Welcome to the forum. I have not yet heard that DAC but others have reported it as not so great, not nearly as good as a 640 stand alone machine, for instance. But maybe it's alright considering it's budget price.

[frenchmon]

Through I have never heard Densen products, I've heard they are a respectable product. And I know for sure your speakers are first rate. What cabling are you using? I've used DAC MAGIC and never experienced your pitfalls. B&W speakers sound has never sounded veiled but rather lively in the tweeter, and I have never heard anyone dicribing them as being veiled. My experience with DAC Magic used with a Rotel 1055 CDP was that it was a little colored to give it a little sweetness, this resulted in the sound from the DAC being not as detailed but a little rounded or roll off in the highs but nothing to disappoint in sound quality. This little coloration and roll off maybe what you are talking about. Try the 340 without the DAC Magic and see if the veil is still there.

[Mr Peabody]

Frenchie, I didn't know you had the DAC Magic. Was this before the MF? Did you keep it or send it back?

[frenchmon]

Frenchie, I didn't know you had the DAC Magic. Was this before the MF? Did you keep it or send it back?

I had it for about a month before I got the Musical Fidelity. I use it with the Rotel CDP. It sounded about the same as the Rotels internal DAC only with a little sweetness. It was not worth the $400 bucks seeing it was on the same sound level with the Rotel. The Rotel had just a tad more detail without the DAC Magic and with the DAC Magic it had a tad more sweetness with a little less detail. It did wonders for my laptop, but for my Rotel CDP if could not justify the cost.

[poppachubby]

Try the 340 without the DAC Magic and see if the veil is still there.

Yep, I concur. Welcome to AR BTW!!

[frenchmon]

Personally, I think DAC's in this category and class...$500 or less are better served with laptops and CDP's from a big box store or just plain old CDPS with bad internal DAC's. I have a Sony CDP from BESTBUY that cost $99. It would love to have a DAC Magic.

[nbaptista]

. Try the 340 without the DAC Magic and see if the veil is still there.

I did it last week and it is much worst!

[frenchmon]

In that case, seeing you don't like the Dac Magic with its slight coloration, and seeing you have the CA 340, I would send it back...and try a Musical Fidelity V-DAC, or a HRT - Music Streamer II Plus at $349 or seeing your Densen is no slouch, you may want to try a PS Audio - Digital Link III Audio DAC for a little more cash.

[nbaptista]

In that case, seeing you don't like the Dac Magic with its slight coloration, and seeing you have the CA 340, I would send it back....

Well,I´m comparing the Cambridge to a Naim CD 5,so it seems a bit veiled.The transport is new,so should improve the next days.The sound seems not anymore veiled,I think the sound is thin!Not veiled,thin or lean!

[bobsticks]

Well,I´m comparing the Cambridge to a Naim CD 5,so it seems a bit veiled.The transport is new,so should improve the next days.The sound seems not anymore veiled,I think the sound is thin!Not veiled,thin or lean!

Make sure any comparisons that you do are at equal volume levels...real world, as in use an SPL meter.
I have a Cambridge unit and its output is noticably lower than other units which can lead to the assumption that it is "lean". Make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

[Mr Peabody]

It's not going to be apples to apples because the DAC Magic will simply not hold up against something of the Naim quality.

[frenchmon]

Well,I´m comparing the Cambridge to a Naim CD 5,so it seems a bit veiled.The transport is new,so should improve the next days.The sound seems not anymore veiled,I think the sound is thin!Not veiled,thin or lean!

But of course its thin....the cambridge CDP and Magic is no way in the same class as the Naim 5...

[nbaptista]

But of course its thin....the cambridge CDP and Magic is no way in the same class as the Naim 5...

I guess not...it is a unfair comparison...the Naim cd 5 cost 4* more!But remenber,I bought the CD 5 in 2002 and the Dac/transport is a 2010 model.Some say the technology moves on...

[Mr Peabody]

You have to keep in mind the difference in the original level of gear. An excellent $4k CDP will remain an excellent player and if technology improves it's still going to take a higher end unit to best it. In general, a cutting edge technology entry level will still not best out an older higher end player. There is so much more to a good CDP than a hot rod DAC or upsampling.

[Mr Peabody]

But of course its thin....the cambridge CDP and Magic is no way in the same class as the Naim 5...

Is there an echo in here? Like minds I guess but too bad, that makes you as crazy as me.

[bobsticks]

I agree with you characters about the Naim, it's legendary. That not withstanding, one will never get an accurate comparison if true volume levels aren't accurately matched. Why do you think we suffer through the "Volume Wars"...?

[Mr Peabody]

I didn't disagree with level matching, just didn't comment and found the difference in weight class to probably be a larger factor. To be fair and accurate you need the levels matched though. It would even help more to have some one assist with switching to totally see if you notice the difference.