Wierd, sounds seems to have changed!

Mr. Moon, Sir - have you tried unplugging and cleaning the cables (i/c & speaker). I usually do this with pretty good results.

How long have you had the DAC?

Thanks Mr PP,

have unplugged all cabling,  and checked and reconnected....

Have had the DaC for over 10 days now I guess. 6 hours a day ..min...

I suppose I could have a cold coming on but feel fine..

Really annoying... ever happened to you?

Not exactly - the sound does, however, change with the time of day. Generally sounds better in the evenings as I'm winding down.

Could be, though, the DAC hasn't fully run-in. That's the only logical explanation. Sorry.

Thanks anyway

Just an afterthought - what about your other sources, do they sound the same as the DAC?

Moon, I'm sorry things seem to be on the wane (sorry!).

I agree with PP, as the things that I've found to have an effect are:

- Mood. Don't underestimate the effect that this can have.
- Time of day, due to the quality of mains.
- Possible break in period of Dac.
- Bee in bonnet. This is where you drive yourself so crazy analyzing, that you stop listening/enjoying.
- Quality of recording. If listening to a lot of poor recordings, it can skew your perception.
- Room. A door left open behind the speakers, or curtains that are open/shut.

Sometimes, if you don't listen for a week (but leave the system playing quietly), when you come back, the sound has miraculously returned.

Let us know how things go.

Cno

Well I have given it another listen, and well, things sound muddled, congested even on some fast electronic music. 

At the moment, my car Stereo system sounds better......

I think I know the reason though and it could be down to the increased bass response from adding the DAC. Things sound good on slow acoustic type music, but add any amount of bass and tempo and  think I have a bass hump. The BX2's actually go quite low and I think my room acoustics  might not be doing any favours. Cluttering up the midrange ( sin of all sins.) I've tried the bungs and things improve but not enough.

Time for a think.... me thinks

You may be onto something....boomy bass can make the sound muddy, and as your Dac hits its stride, bass may have increased.

- Can you move the speakers further away from walls and corners.
- Do you use small amounts of blu-tak between speaker and stand.
- Do you have suspended wooden floors.
- Are the stands well spiked into the floor and totally stable/level.
- Are your components plugged directly into the wall socket.
- Are the tweeters at ear height when seated.

If you get the bass right, things may well come round.

I recommend popping out for a couple in your local beer garden then go home and have a good listen.

bloody Mary in hand 

speakers have little movement , I have wood on concrete with a rug, not enough sockets in wall to plug directly in .

I had the exact same experience as you but with the Arcam Rdac.

At first it sounded great and then after a while the sound became worse and stayed that way. I sold it.

Cypher, I think it is a bass issue in my room, not the DAC Which I think is great value for money. Goin to give it a week and see where I am. 

Bass, grr. 

I would say you are probably right, which means the solution lies in speaker positioning/isolation and acoustic measures.

When you say your speakers "have little movement", do you mean stability-wise or positionally- wise?

The speakers are very stable, I meant there is little flexibility in positioning unfortunaty. Just going to listen to the radio for a few days then get back to it with a fresh outlook.

Thanks for the help