Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 - Digital to Analogue Converter with Toslink, S/PDIF, and USB Inputs Featuring 24-bit Wolfson DAC - Silver

Product Information

They very limit the stage, close it in a small area, are grainy, unpleasantly sharpen the top of the range and play quite dark. The DacMagic has a rhythmic and poppy sound, but a little hard on the edges compared to the smooth Alchemist. I found that the DacMagic really improved everything about the output from my computer and I happen to now own two of them. USB installation worked fine the first time I used the DacMagic 100 - but after installing the USB 2.

Yes 1 No 1 x Type B for PC/MAC No No No No No No No No No No No No 106 x 46 x 130 No No No No No No No No No 1 2 Audio Outputs, Coaxial Digital Inputs, Optical Digital Inputs, USB Input 24. MUSES8920 turned out to be a completely wrong idea for DacMagic 100, because despite some advantages, it forces to make too many compromises. I can say briefly that Jantzen Audio CrossCap does not go well with the DacMagic 100 and it’s better to use the cheaper Nichicon MUSE ES. The sound through the Peachtree is seeming more dynamic than the Rotel/Peachtree combo using the coax. The high registers have come out on first plan, the midrange was near behind them, and the lower registers remained far behind, although it gained in differentiation compared to Fujicon capacitors.Of course adding such a large capacity at the output of the LM350 regulator would be a mistake, if I was designing a universal power supply, to power everything, because it certainly has a negative effect on the ability to respond to load changes by the LM350. Creating my own design turned out to be not so simple and made me realize that the commonly accepted principles when creating stabilized power supplies, are not really useful when it comes to powering audio devices. In total, they are an interesting alternative to the mentioned Nichicon FG and Panasonic FC/FM capacitors.

Again, it could not quite match the vivid clarity with the 2L record of Britten's Simple Symphony, nevertheless, the cohesiveness proved not easy to criticise. Build quality is fine, using the same metals as the larger DAC and available in the same choice of silver or black. It has as many “ins and outs” as most people will want and covers the same ground in terms of high definition capability. Therefore, to avoid writing too much, I will focus only on the most important aspects and impressions after connecting the finished power supply to the DAC.

Its asynchronous USB input is completely 24-bit/192kHz-capable, Cambridge supplying a USB Audio Class 2. I'd previously been acquainted with the Wolfson WM8740, which I liked; the DM100's 8742 is along the same sound lines, I think. However, this does not change the fact that replacing the factory set RCA sockets has brought audible changes. I use one on my desktop system via USB > Rega IO > Rega Kyte It’s a modest setup but works great in that setup. Giant-killer though it was - it even boasted balanced outputs - its USB input signal was limited to 16-bit/48kHz.

It’s a solid very functional piece that does what it says it does, no obvious issues that I’ve noticed. In FineGold capacitor you can find a little bit of MUSE ES character, so the changes can be perceived as a step forward, but this is not MUSE ES.

The character of DacMagic can be described as rock, with a hard, compact and uniform bottom, underlined midrange and correct top, unfortunately, freedom is clearly lacking in all of this.

The DacMagic 100 is very flexible and compatible with virtually all digital file formats including the highest quality ones such as 24-bit studio masters saved on your computer.And, you'll have to figure out how to route the digital signal from your device(s) to the Cambridge DAC- and you can't just connect your iPhone directly to the Cambridge DAC. It must be admitted that Cambridge Audio has contributed to the task in this matter and decoupling capacitors can be found in many places on the device.