On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 14:04:46 +1000, Tat Chan
wrote:


Alrighty. A 4 - 5 year old 8000DAC has appeared on the Oz Ebay site. I
believe it would be the "MkIII" designation as it would have been the
last model produced before the 8000DAX. The 8000DAC in question has a
"20-bit" DAC.

My current CD player is a Rotel 965 Bitstream player that apparently has
a lower than usual SNR for CD players due to the ultrasonic hash
produced by the Bitstream implementation (and apparently it is meant to
sound "airy").

All Audiolab DACs are Bitstream. The designation '20-bit' indicates
the linearity, not the presence of a multibit converter.

I like the idea of a DAC as I can also connect my DVD player (a 2 year
old entry level Philips) and use it for other digital sources (digital
TV, DAB in Oz when it finally arrives, audio from a PC, etc) that do not
have "well implemented" analogue output stages.

It is an excellent DAC, and a good choice if you do need multiple
digital inputs.

I know that I shouldn't be spending money on electronics before
upgrading my speakers and listening conditions, but electronics are
easier to dispose of than speakers if I don't like them (and have a
higher WAF as well, I mean who ever complains about new electronics
components, it isn't like I'm putting a pair of ESL-63s in the lounge room)

Now that *would* be an improvement! Of course, spousal replacement can
be *very* expensive..................

And before anyone says "a 2 box solution will have higher jitter levels
than a 1 box player", I will say that the Audiolab DAC is known for its
jitter attenuation properties.

Indeed it is - although that only minimises the problem, it does not
remove it!

So, the questions are ...

- How much would a late model 8000DAC be worth (ie the most I should bid
on)?

Hard to say for sure, but I wouldn't go above A$700 . Always bear in
mind that you wouldn't want to pay more than half the price of a
Benchmark DAC-1, which is demonstrably superior.

- Would adding the Audiolab DAC bring an improvement to CD sound
playback (compared to my Rotel CD player)?

Unlikely, but the multiple source argument still applies.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering