Bought a REGA DAC. Didnt notice as much of a difference as I was hoping! :(

Sell it on.

You should make all the money back as it was already second-hand.

Hi,

I put my Sony ES cd through a dacmagic and noticed no discernable difference, I did notice a big improvement with the tv and an even bigger one with the laptop.

 I have heard the rega with spotify and streamed flac files and it works fine with those, I consider it a very good dac but as you don't need one for that and have a decent cd player I would move it on as suggested earlier, you could always try and get a better cd player by moving both on and see what you can get instead.

Good Luck.

I auditioned one and had a very long play with it (no jokes please) over a long weekend.

Same thoughts as yours really, bit underwhelmed.

I was using admitedly an av amp - Sony da5400es, Airport Express/ Sony Vaio/ Spotify and Blu Ray player - Sony - like yourself trying out all the different options.

I concluded that their was a difference but not so much so that it would want me to part the best part of £500 (new at the time).

I guess it will come down to how much second hand you paid but you do have a  pretty good amp and set up already so I would cut your losses and sell it on it it were me.

How much did you pay for it ? 

IMO. The Rega DAC would not be out of place in a £10k system, so if you have upgrade plans in the future, it might be worth holding onto, as you will then start appreciating its talents.

If you are sticking with what you have for some time, and can sell it on for little loss while getting something at half the cost, then that is an option.

After very recently demoing the Rega Dac, I did notice a difference (using the Arcam as transport) but when the dealer plugged in a standard CDP (Naim 5i) the improvement outshone the Dac.

I honestly believe you have found that 'sweet spot' with your current set-up and any individual additions will only be small at best. 

Unfortunately, I think that you have just found out the expensive way that sources, particularly digital, have no great affect on sound quality. It is also possible that the only difference heard between your DAC and other sources was a level change due to a higher output voltage from the Rega.

Speakers will give by  far the greatest change in sound presentation and then much further behind would be an amplifier. Room acoustics also have a large effect that is usually overlooked.

I have tried many DACs, including different flavours of DIY build and none had any meaningful affect as far as I was concerned.

If you need a DAC for connectivity, then a DACmagic Plus would be as good, but then not that much cheaper. why not just buy an optical switch and cheap DAC?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lindy-TosLink-Digital-Optical-Switch/dp/B00517UMNW

For future upgrades, have a look at your room acoustics first and then speakers, the amp might need upgrading too, to be able to properly power the upgraded speakersl, so it all gets rather expensive very quickly.

Better 'bang for your buck' can be had elsewhere though.

My tuppence worth? Sell the Rega and buy the optical switch and a cheap DAC. It all depends on what you want to achieve, but I'd certainly get rid of the Rega as it offers you little in the way of any benefit.

Double!

Rega DAC was one of my first piece of kit that i've bought, in that time i had only a Yamaha AV RX V 750 and a bluray that i use as a player for my digital content, and had a rubbish sound quality. 

Rega DAC made a big difference in sound quality in my system in that time! 

Half year later i had a NAD 3020i and a SBT throught the Rega DAC. I've never played the SBT directly to the NAD and use the internal DAC of the SBT, and one day I got up and did just that! 

First i thought to my self ( do you really need the Rega DAC?) as the diferences were not so big as i thought it would be! 

But after a long listening, and playing all my favorit tunes the difences got to me! Some details like bass deeph, unplugged instruments like acoustic guitars, pianos. Rega DAC as another sence of timing, as an analog touch into it. 

What i want to say is, listen close to the tunes you like the best, and you know back to front, and if after that your oppinion is that your CDP is as good then, do what you think is the best. 

Just one thing more, i prefer the coax input on Rega DAC instead of the optical, but you can find threads in here that have some debates on this subject.

Best REGArds ;) 

Rega is a very nice DAC and it should be used in a proper hi-fi setup to be able to reveal its quality. Digital sources make a lot of difference since this is where your music chain starts. If by inserting Rega DAC one doesn't hear any difference, then there are two reasons for this (1) either the source it replaced was of good quality, or (2) the rest of the system doesn't allow the DAC to show itself in full. It is hard to imagine that adding a DAC to a system consisting of components costing less than Rega (both the Yamaha amp and Q Acoustic are at least one step below Rega) will give any noticable improvements in the sound quality. Get a better amp (Rega Brio-R for example) and some matching speakers, and Rega DAC will be an adequate addition to this set-up.

All i will say try listening to the rega dac in fairly good system.... then & only then you can make up your mind.. Always trust your ears. If it does not sound good to your ears or not much difference in sound to what you expect then look elsewere.

You'll get more value for money out of speakers AND a dac gets better with data fed from a mac or correctly setup pc. IME

Sounds like you've reached the point where you go from hifi to REAL hifi. So you need to take a step in all areas until you notice something good.

Or it could just be you need the gym or your brain/hearing are not up to high end hifi, I know loads of people that aren't.

Not heard an S500 amp, but I can imagine like the Pioneer A400 it bought it's friends (Not so trade secret). Mind you, in the scheme of things, amps can be average and not affect things so much if in balance.

Unless you get a really good DAC - Arcams one sounds nice but at 2k and the whole lampizator looks interesting, but imho with a very mediocre system, it's never going to shine or put you on the road audiophille nirvana.

So what to do..? Almost all the HiFi Shops in the UK I've been to offer rubbish advice to sell their own very british flavoured wares. Travel afar to a good / different one some day. The non budget PMC floorstanders + arcam usuually gives you an idea if this is what you want. Sounds like you are a little lost. Also Linn are doing demo days and So do PMC (I think).

Sell your gear and buy MUCH better stuff. Yep, probably all of it. Read some good hifi sites some ideas here - http://www.statmyweb.com/site/enjoythemusic.com and audition some of the stuff you've never heard of. Or spend big money?

What to do in your case... Sell the Rega, stop wasting money. Change the speakers, but what for ..? Focal might be similar or Usher but it's big money. Keep the speakers and you need to flog the amp and get a real ballsy one, see my sig for preferences. Chinese seems the best bang for buck for sure. Then there is the CDP. I've got a fantastic PCM1794 based machine, don't use it. Switched to computer system. Use a £27 dac with it or a modified behringer (see lampizator site). But you can try the hifimediy usb - decoupled - seperate power - digi out to your rega before you sell just to see, for £40 with a laptop its worth just to see. BTW, I've tried mega chord stuff, other high end sound mediocre btw.

In fact, I've heard great speakers and great amp with  average DAC sound amazing. Likewise, Amazing DAC with great amp and bookshelf speakers also make the hair stand up on my neck.

So it's a tricky one. Get tot the Bristol show - early, I might be able to make it if finances ever allow and hear yourself a load of stuff. Most of which will be average, but will give you a good idea.

Good luck. Hope I've at least sparked some thoughts.

IME the difference between DACs/£££ and other analogue components/££ is quite noticeable. A £3k DAC does indeed sound better than a £500 one, but you can get a much more significant upgrade from spending the same increase on an amp or speakers. Then again, if you've spent £10k+ on your system, then you'd probably want more than a DACmagic+ 

Therefore, adding a budget DAC to a budget CDP is never going to make much difference, and is probably the least beneficial upgrade / ££ you could make. Expensive DACs make more sense when using computer audio, and then only when the rest of the system is optimised.

Agree sort of. Although JRiver over foobar If only it wouldnt crash so much.

Of course cheap DAC+CD is pointless.

And Budget dacs dont sound that great (soundstage mostly it seems), but comparing a £25 dac to a mainstream £500 one, well it's pretty close so best get a cheap one and start saving. Depends if you call £500 cheap. Mind you, people say nice things about Aune.

It's the whole - until you get 'real' hifi components you are always wasting your money argument.

No DAC should 'sound' at all. It should just get on with doing its job. Audibly transparent DACs can be had for less than £100 and being audibly transparent are as 'hifi' as it's possible to get.