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Musical Fidelity V-DAC Upsampling Digital to Analog Audio Converter |  | Brand: Musical Fidelity
Category: CE
Buy New: $299.00
as of 7/31/2010 18:31 CDT details
New (3) from $299.00
Rating:  23 reviews
Color: Black
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 10.7 x 10.1 x 2.4
MPN: VDAC
Model: V-DAC
EAN: 5060183460195
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | The V-DAC has inputs for Coax, Optical and USB | | • | Lower noise | | • | Ruler flat frequency response | | • | Excellent stereo separation | | • | Ultra low distortion |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The V-DAC is a sensational state-of-the-art DAC. By any measurement its performance is way beyond so-called state-of-the-art competition.
In fact overall the technical performance of the V-DAC is probably about the best in the world regardless of price. There is no trickery here. It's simply that we use state-of-the-art digital components (these are very expensive) and implement them with state-of-the-art circuitry and layout. The secret is simple; there's no ridiculous packaging, and absolutely no wastage on anything. The V-DAC is rather like an F1 racing car. It is completely funcitonal with no excess flab or wastage anywhere.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
Sounding piece for computer users via USB! July 31, 2010
koikaze
I've always been wanting a DAC so I can use it with my laptop that I use as a HTPC. I have over 70,000 songs (about 400gbs) and using a computer is the best way so I can load all my songs into a single playlist and hit the random/shuffle button and just sit back and enjoy.
Prior to this DAC, I've been using my Playstation 3 via optical cable into my Rotel RSP 1068. But the load times were just too long and there was no way for me to play all 70,000 of these songs at once. Not until 3 days ago I started using the 3.5mm headphone jack from my laptop connected into the Rotel RSP 1068. The sound was very muddy and harsh compared to my PS3, but I stuck with it for functionality over quality.
Then after reading much reviews for this MF V-DAC, I was convinced to try it. I was anticipating that the sound would change dramatically. When I got this V-DAC hooked up and all ready to go, I listened for about 45 mins. The harshness was still there, the muddy sound was still there compared to the 3.5mm jack. The bass quality is a lot deeper and just a little cleaner than it was when I was using the 3.5mm headphone jack. I'm listening to this V-DAC on B&W 705 which is known that the bass on these speakers can use a little help from a subwoofer. This V-DAC, known for its improved bass definitely helps compensate for these speakers. The depth and soundstage is noticeably wider. Then about an hour later, it did get a little bit clearer on the mids and the highs that were the most muddy and harsh parts of all. But this little change did nothing for me cause I had to really listen for it, which would make this V-DAC not as good as they say. I could even tell the PRAT and the dynamics were a bit slow hitting for me compared with the PS3 (well really the Rotel RSP 1068 since if I'm running optical cable, then I'm using the DAC from my Rotel, right?) =)
Then all that changed when I searched and did some changes to my computer and found this: ASIO4ALL !
Oh man what a difference! NIGHT AND DAY, BABY! The bass is as deep as usual but now its VERY CLEAN. The highs and mids is now running without any of the harshness or muddiness at all! Without the changes I felt fatigue listening to the V-DAC about 30 minutes into it, now I've been listening to it for 4 hours+ and I'm still very excited! Compared with my PS3 the sound is now more open and the dynamics and soundstage is more open as well! And it definitely doesn't sound as forward compared to listening with the 3.5mm headphone jack. The PRAT is so much faster hitting, I can't tell the difference between my Rotel and this V-DAC (It's that good!), but compared to the 3.5mm jack its definitely a lot faster. So if anyone is using this as a USB DAC, then you gotta have ASIO4ALL. I'm using winamp and have not noticed the popping sound that another reviewer have mentioned, I think because I turned off the fading in/out and all that nonsense features. For anyone who have this problem I think using the ASIO4ALL driver alone will definitely rid all these problems since you'll be using a different output on winamp, definitely worth a try and best of all ITS FREE. You can look into this driver more at:
[...] (This is the main ASIO driver that you need)
[...] (This is the plugin necessary for winamp to run ASIO as output and on how to setup. There is other tutorials out there just search on Google!)
As for my settings on ASIO4ALL, I'm using the resampling mode 44.1k=>48k. I definitely notice the harshness when its at 44.1k but at 48k the overall sound is a lot more smoother and no harshness at all. I even tested this on my PS3 its really better at 48k sampling than at 44.1k. Although for it to resample, it uses a LOT OF CPU power. My best guess is that its almost reconverting your MP3 files to put out these kind of results. Even when my sources are from MP3 files (128kbps-320kbps) with this setup even 128kbps files sounds as good! The improvements are UNBELIEVABLE due to the drivers and MF V-DAC!
Other than that...I'm still waiting for my power supply and some higher quality interconnects and USB cable, so this V-DAC will definitely sound better! And if anyone is curious about my stereo system its:
Rotel RSP-1068
Rotel RMB-1077
B&W 705 Speakers
 Great but no longer the best in this price range June 30, 2010
Nelson (Colorado)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I bought the V-DAC based on the glowing reviews done by Stereophile, amazon and other online reviewers. I was not disappointed. The sound was good and was exactly as people said, fluid, detailed, rich and a bit laid back.
When Stereophile reviewed V-DAC, the $299 was an absolute breakthrough in bring the quality DAC to the people at an affordable price. I know affordable means different things to different folks. For some, a $12,000 DAC is affordable and some $2000. But most people who shop amazon would consider $299 is much more affordable than a $800 or $1200 DAC. After all, Yamaha and Denon have brought us HD-audio capable receivers for less than $300.
Well the V-DAC sounds good but it is limited to 16/44 with its adaptive USB interface. It tries to overcome the jitter prone adaptive USB interface with its oversampling DAC and achieves its goal quite well.
Until recently, few USB DACs are capable of the asynchronous mode. The ones they do, are all high end products costing many times of the price of the V-DAC, until now.
When the HRT Streamer II and M2Tech hiFace came out with the asynchronous USB mode and hi-res music support, the V-DAC is no longer the king in this price bracket. The HRT Streamer II supports 24/96 with the native OS drivers. The hiFace supports 24/192 through its proprietary driver. Both are sold at $150. One can buy both with the price of the V-DAC. I did and love them both.
The HRT Streamer II, at 1/2 cost of the V-DAC, sounds every bit as good as the V-DAC and has a fuller sound than V-DAC. It has a more enthusiastic personality than the V-DAC. The hiFace is not a DAC but can work with DACs accepting the 24/192 input which include many AV receivers from Yamaha, Denon and others. The V-DAC would truncate (re-sample) the 24/192 input to 24/96 with its S/PDIF input.
An absolute must buy for the budget Audiophile & Music lover. June 11, 2010
C. R. Cruze (Spokane, WA)
Don't let it size or looks fool you this DAC gives you amazing sound using state-of-the-art components. If theres one thing the British know its how to design and build hifi products. Ok so i didn't get mine from amazon but none the less, it was the best $247 i have ever spent on upgrading my hifi system. Once Hooked up to a decent music listening system your music will never sound the same again. The First thing i noticed was the amazing channel seperation, awesome sound stage and low or should i say NO noise. Amazingly clear highs, very rich detailed smooth midrange, and deep warm bass that didn't sound boomy. Im telling you if you are constantly upgrading or tweaking your setup and not noticing a differnce you WILL notice this one. This DAC will improve the sound of all your digital music files 10 fold but it really shines when you feed it a Lossless music file. I use my ps3 slim which holds all my WAV Lossless music and i feed it to the V-DAC through the [...] 5 star rated Atlas Fiber optic cable then for the output which is rca only i use the Audioquest King Cobra rca's to my A/V reciever. It also has inputs for digital coax and usb for computer. You really have to hear your music through this thing. Fall back in love with your music or just more in love with it. I do recommend good quality cables any thing less is just an insult to your music and this amazing V-DAC by Music Fidelity.
Great Product! May 8, 2010
C. Hobbs (Dallas, Tx)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is easily the best improvement I have made to my home sound system. I was skeptical of spending so much for something that is already included in most receivers. The added sound clarity and detail is immediately noticeable. Mine is used in conjunction with the optical output coming from an Apple Airport Express that I use to stream music from a computer network to my main sound system. The receiver that I use is a mid range priced Yamaha with 100W per channel that plays through 3-way speakers (acoustic research AR9's). Music compressed at 128kbs sounds better coming from the VDAC than a CD or Lossless digital connection that bypasses it. This product is well worth the investment.
Superb Sound Quality May 2, 2010
David C. Kraus
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Add another 5 rating for the Music Fidelity DAC. Coupled with the Wadia Transport, you'll get sound you never thought possible with a tiny iPod. Compare an original CD with the same recording on your iPod and I doubt you'll be able to discern a difference in quality. The MF DAC isn't fancy but it works like a champ at much less cost than other Digital Analog Converters. Both the Wadia and DAC are available at Amazon. With Amazon's great customer service and liberal return policy there's little risk. But, after listening, I'd bet you keep it all. One important note: make sure you transfer your CDs to iTunes at the highest quality setting, Apple Lossless for example. Lesser quality transfers are a bit like shooting a digital image with your cell phone, then trying to print a 24x36 inch print. The old axiom applies--garbage in, garbage out.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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