Need advice for upgrading current DAC.

[Tiberius]

Hello, would someone shed some light as to whether an upgrade for me is worth doing. I own a Lavry DA11 2009 version and am still satisfied with it except for stereo depth and height. It is somewhat hard to place instruments at times and I would like to know whether an upgrade to the Benchmark DAC3 is worth doing for me or do I need to spend much more, which I really do not want to do. I only want the barebones Benchmark and there is not much difference in price to the Lavry. I was also looking to buy the Schitt Yggdrasil but now know much more about it from the great review on this website. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[RayDunzl]

I own a Lavry DA11 2009 version and am still satisfied with it except for stereo depth and height.

Without even reading past that, I'd say look to your speakers, placement, room, and possibly amplification.

 

[Tiberius]

Hello. I am very satisfied with my amps and speakers and I have room treatment. My amps are Bryston LP pro for driving my tweeters on my mains, Stax DA 80M mono blocks for driving the woofer on the mains, and a Bryston 4B SST for driving my subwoofers. I have Morrison speakers, 2016 models with Morrison preamp and I am not really seeking an upgrade in those areas. I just wanted to improve my digital source. I moved out of vinyl maybe a bit hurriedly in the 90s. I also want to add that I use horizontal tri amplification with DBX 223 crossovers to run the signal from the Morrison preamp to the amplifiers. The Morrison speakers are driven directly from the amps as they possess no crossovers.

 

[RayDunzl]

If you find depth and height in a DAC signal, let me know.

I have a DAC2.

 

[Tiberius]

If you find depth and height in a DAC signal, let me know.

I have a DAC2.

 

[Tiberius]

I was afraid of that. So I would have to move back to vinyl. Damn. So you don't think that the Benchmark would be much of an upgrade over the Lavry in terms of stereo imaging?

 

[Tiberius]

Also, I have an Altmann Jisco to scramble jitter on the coax input to the Lavry and that helped the Lavry and my ears immensely. I bought the Jisco before it tripled in price.

 

[RayDunzl]

So you don't think that the Benchmark would be much of an upgrade over the Lavry in terms of stereo imaging?

Your electronics would seem to be competent.

The Lavry DAC "looks good".

The speakers are not familiar to me.

I have a pair of small JBL actives and a pair of Martin Logan reQuest, driven by the same DSP and DAC and preamp.

The Martin Logans provide all the stereo/depth/height/image/focus/width I can imagine.

The JBLs, located adjacently, as my economy drivers, are "meh" in those departments.

YMMV.

If you want a new DAC, get a new DAC. Every install is different. Everyone's perceptions are different.

 

[voodooless]

Have you ever measured your speakers in your room? Did you properly verify the settings of your active crossover? I’m pretty sure money would be best spend on some room correction and a measurement mic.

 

[Tiberius]

Have you ever measured your speakers in your room? Did you properly verify the settings of your active crossover? I’m pretty sure money would be best spend on some room correction and a measurement mic.

I have the the crossover settings correctly as per the speaker manufacturer Don Morrison. I have room treatment placed properly, lots of carpeting and furniture to prevent reflection but I have not used a measurement mic. I could probably use more room treatment because the walls are wood panel.

 

[RickSanchez]

Pretty standard recommendations around these parts for room measurements ...

• https://www.roomeqwizard.com/
• https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/umik-1

 

[Tiberius]

Pretty standard recommendations around these parts for room measurements ...

• https://www.roomeqwizard.com/
• https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/umik-1

Ok, that's great. Much appreciated and I will be looking into this.

Thank-you everyone for the suggestions! I really do not need to spend more on equipment as I got off the "audiophile merry-go-round" years ago.
Because I have a little extra cash to spend I thought a DAC would be an improvement but obviously my money will be better spent elsewhere because DAC technology has not improved much in the last ten years or so.

 

[JeffS7444]

Also, I have an Altmann Jisco

Houston, we have a problem.

 

[Tiberius]

Houston, we have a problem.

I am looking into this ( that is listening into this ) right now and you may be right ...... stay tuned.

 

[RayDunzl]

Because I have a little extra cash to spend I thought a DAC would be an improvement but obviously my money will be better spent elsewhere because DAC technology has not improved much in the last ten years or so.

Maybe you can audition one and see.

 

[Beershaun]

Ok, that's great. Much appreciated and I will be looking into this.

DAC technology has not improved much in the last ten years or so.

thats not what people are saying. They are saying that it's not your weak link. The biggest improvement you can make is measuring your room and applying digital signal processing to smooth out your actual in room frequency response. That will make a real difference you can definitely hear for much less money. Software like REW for measuring and Dirac for dsp room correction and speaker equalization are the biggest upgrade you can make to any system before spending money on anything else.

 

[Tiberius]

thats not what people are saying. They are saying that it's not your weak link. The biggest improvement you can make is measuring your room and applying digital signal processing to smooth out your actual in room frequency response. That will make a real difference you can definitely hear for much less money. Software like REW for measuring and Dirac for dsp room correction and speaker equalization are the biggest upgrade you can make to any system before spending money on anything else.

I understood that the DAC is not my weak link and that room acoustics can always be improved. I can only take the room acoustics so far as I do not want to spend a lot of time and money on treatment right now because I have acoustic treatment already. I live with my mom temporarily and will be moving in a few years so I will apply more to room treatment after moving to a new place. After listening tonight I put too much stock in the Altmann Jisco and listening to the Lavry with the Jisco removed ( JeffS7444 suggested that it may be the problem ) has opened it up and improved/restored my soundstage. So, I will be tossing the Jisco as the Lavry sounds great by itself. I will probably get a test mic and see what problems I have with room acoustics and do what I can for now.

 

[Tiberius]

Houston, we have a problem.

Thanks for pointing this out. I really thought that the Jisco was an improvement but after listening extensively tonight with it on and off the Lavry sounds better by itself and really has a great soundstage. I liked the Lavry a lot when I bought it and maybe I psyched myself into thinking it sounded better with the Jisco. It's great rediscovering a piece of equipment you thought was maybe getting long in the tooth but upon rediscovering it you get a great surprise.
Also, I read a review tonight about the Jisco and it stated that it shrunk the soundstage. How did you know that the Jisco would be an issue? Have you had experience with it?

Anyway, bottom line is that I will save a lot of money as I have decided to keep the Lavry.

 

[JSmith]

Lavry DA11 2009

Are you using USB? According to this thread the Lavry is poor via USB;

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...vry-da11-with-sound-devices-mixpre10ii.13015/



JSmith

 

[Tiberius]

Are you using USB? According to this thread the Lavry is poor via USB;

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...vry-da11-with-sound-devices-mixpre10ii.13015/
JSmith

Yes, I new that. I do not have any downloaded music from a personal computer. I am old school and have only CDs so I use a coax cable ( XLO Signature) with an XLR connector. As I said above I found the problem tonight with a member's suggestion. It was the Altmann Jisco shrinking the soundstage. I am now running the Lavry without the Jisco on the coax input and it sounds great.