Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

abanytime said:
Hey all, new poster but not new to the forum. I’m considering the NAD C165BEE/C298/Linton route for a bedroom sized system. Looking at the Denafrips Aries 12th as the DAC. Main use will be Roon for my personal library of digital files and online stuff. That’s in addition to vinyl.

Anyone have any thoughts on this approach? Other DACs to think about?

Thanks in advance for any input.
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I own both NADs and the Lintons. While not the most expensive combination I’ve ever owned, it’s by far my favorite. It’s a stunning combination. It serves the music incredibly well.

Things to note:

The C165BEE is on close out after 12 years in production. Get one quickly.

All of the pieces outperform their relatively modest prices. The C298 is the least expensive Class A rated amplifier in Stereophile’s recommended components list. Absolute Sound used it in a $700k (!!!) system and it wasn’t embarrassed.

I bought both of my NADs from Safe and Sound HQ in Massachusetts as open box units. They look and function as new and I saved around 20%.

The included remote control is one of those big NAD system remotes. I didn’t like it. The 316BEE credit card remote controls power, volume and mute. It’s $32 shipped from NAD in Canada.

The headphone amp is ok but you can’t mute the volume from the remote. Odd.

I’ve not used the built in phono stage as I’ve got an outboard unit. The capacitance looks a bit high on the MM side though, so if your vinyl playback is bright, that’s likely it. Shouldn’t be an issue with MI cartridges- Grado, Soundmith or Nagaoka. The MC side specs out ok for a built in.

Give the Lintons plenty of time to break in. Figure 150-200 hours.

I can’t fault the sound quality at all. You could spend far more and do far worse.
 
HiFi Guy said:
I own both NADs and the Lintons. While not the most expensive combination I’ve ever owned, it’s by far my favorite. It’s a stunning combination. It serves the music incredibly well.

Things to note:

The C165BEE is on close out after 12 years in production. Get one quickly.

All of the pieces outperform their relatively modest prices. The C298 is the least expensive Class A rated amplifier in Stereophile’s recommended components list. Absolute Sound used it in a $700k (!!!) system and it wasn’t embarrassed.

I bought both of my NADs from Safe and Sound HQ in Massachusetts as open box units. They look and function as new and I saved around 20%.

The included remote control is one of those big NAD system remotes. I didn’t like it. The 316BEE credit card remote controls power, volume and mute. It’s $32 shipped from NAD in Canada.

The headphone amp is ok but you can’t mute the volume from the remote. Odd.

I’ve not used the built in phono stage as I’ve got an outboard unit. The capacitance looks a bit high on the MM side though, so if your vinyl playback is bright, that’s likely it. Shouldn’t be an issue with MI cartridges- Grado, Soundmith or Nagaoka. The MC side specs out ok for a built in.

Give the Lintons plenty of time to break in. Figure 150-200 hours.

I can’t fault the sound quality at all. You could spend far more and do far worse.
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Thanks for this! Really appreciate the info. I was thinking I might try the onboard phono stage as a “bridge” until I decide which outboard one I want.

Thanks again for weighing in - helps quite a bit.

Now I need the Denafrips owners to stop by…and anyone else who cares to comment.
 
abanytime said:
Thanks for this! Really appreciate the info. I was thinking I might try the onboard phono stage as a “bridge” until I decide which outboard one I want.

Thanks again for weighing in - helps quite a bit.

Now I need the Denafrips owners to stop by…and anyone else who cares to comment.
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Someone here has/had a Denafrips and liked it.
I can remember who though.

Lots of Linton owners- there’s a thread here:

Wharfedale Linton 85th Anniversary Review

For those unaware, England’s Wharfedale is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) manufacturers engaged exclusively in music reproduction, having established themselves in 1932. Western Electric in the US predated them by three years, but they were actually a division of American Telephone and...
www.needlesandgrooves.com www.needlesandgrooves.com

Lots of NAD owners too and everyone seems happy. I think I’m the only one with separates though.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Someone here has/had a Denafrips and liked it.
I can remember who though.

Lots of NAD owners too and everyone seems happy. I think I’m the only one with separates though.
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Have you heard the C658? Curious if you have any impressions on that. I’m thinking of that with the C298 since the 658 has an included DAC.
 
abanytime said:
Have you heard the C658? Curious if you have any impressions on that. I’m thinking of that with the C298 since the 658 has an included DAC.
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No I haven’t, but that pair is how Absolute Sound ran their review. That would add Dirac Room Correction with the appropriate optional module. Dirac digitizes everything to operate. @Mather has Dirac in his system and he is a big fan.

I tend to avoid units with built in DACs, but that’s a personal preference.

www.theabsolutesound.com

NAD C658 Streaming DAC & C298 Amp Review - The Absolute Sound

Robert Harley offers a full assessment of the highly capable C658 with Dirac Live room correction, as well as NAD's latest C298 amp.
www.theabsolutesound.com www.theabsolutesound.com
 
HiFi Guy said:
No I haven’t, but that pair is how Absolute Sound ran their review. That would add Dirac Room Correction with the appropriate optional module. Dirac digitizes everything to operate. @Mather has Dirac in his system and he is a big fan.

I tend to avoid units with built in DACs, but that’s a personal preference.

www.theabsolutesound.com

NAD C658 Streaming DAC & C298 Amp Review - The Absolute Sound

Robert Harley offers a full assessment of the highly capable C658 with Dirac Live room correction, as well as NAD's latest C298 amp.
www.theabsolutesound.com www.theabsolutesound.com
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@marshall has heard my system running Dirac, if anyone is curious he'd probably have a more subjective opinion on the sound than I do, in terms of sounding at all digital etc...
 
abanytime said:
Now I need the Denafrips owners to stop by…and anyone else who cares to comment.
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I have the Ares II and love it. Have probably had it for 1.5-2 years now. There’s apparently a new firmware update but I will get around to that one day soon. The only potential downsides: no remote to switch inputs and to switch any filters or anything it’s a series of button presses instead of an easy menu. Not a huge deal for me because I set and forget the filter and only have my Auralic Aries Mini running roon into it. I’m a big fan of the Denafrips Ares.
 
I have a potential opportunity for something and I'm hoping y'all can tell me if I'm crazy or not. I'm far from an audiophile but this seems like a deal too good to pass up.

A buddy of mine who is really into high-end equipment has a friend who is unloading his apartment of kits and parts, and I jokingly asked if he had anything I might want. I currently have a Fluance RT85 with a NAD C316BEE integrated amp and have been perfectly satisfied with that setup, so no urgent need to upgrade.

He came back to me today and said that his friend had a red Rega Planar 3 he'd be willing to sell for $600. The platter has been upgraded to acrylic, and it sounds like I have my choice of the RB250, RB300 or a Linn Basik tonearm (he had put a much nicer one on there but he's keeping that). Possibly a Dynavector MM cartridge, too.

There are a lot of words and numbers in the above paragraph that I don't know or understand, but this kind of sounds like a steal, right? All indications are that it's a superior TT to the Fluance but I also don't want to get swept up in FOMO and spend money on something I don't need.

Thoughts?
 
I’d also inquire a bit more about the cartridge. Dynavector is a moving coil specialist. I can't say they never made a MM cart, but if so, it has been long out of production. My guess - it is actually a high-output MC, probably of the 10X line. The red body would match the plinth!
 
CroutonBoy said:
I have a potential opportunity for something and I'm hoping y'all can tell me if I'm crazy or not. I'm far from an audiophile but this seems like a deal too good to pass up.

A buddy of mine who is really into high-end equipment has a friend who is unloading his apartment of kits and parts, and I jokingly asked if he had anything I might want. I currently have a Fluance RT85 with a NAD C316BEE integrated amp and have been perfectly satisfied with that setup, so no urgent need to upgrade.

He came back to me today and said that his friend had a red Rega Planar 3 he'd be willing to sell for $600. The platter has been upgraded to acrylic, and it sounds like I have my choice of the RB250, RB300 or a Linn Basik tonearm (he had put a much nicer one on there but he's keeping that). Possibly a Dynavector MM cartridge, too.

There are a lot of words and numbers in the above paragraph that I don't know or understand, but this kind of sounds like a steal, right? All indications are that it's a superior TT to the Fluance but I also don't want to get swept up in FOMO and spend money on something I don't need.

Thoughts?
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It’s a deal.

Having owned both the RB250 and the RB300, I’d get the RB250. The 300 uses a spring to set tracking force. The 250 you just set the counterweight.

I would say to add the alloy end stub to the 250. The end stub is the piece the counterweight fits around and the factory end stub is plastic.
 
HiFi Guy said:
It’s a deal.

Having owned both the RB250 and the RB300, I’d get the RB250. The 300 uses a spring to set tracking force. The 250 you just set the counterweight.

I would say to add the alloy end stub to the 250. The end stub is the piece the counterweight fits around and the factory end stub is plastic.
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Good to know! The online reviews seemed to favor the RB300 but appreciate the first hand experience and the simplicity of the counterweight.

Also, confirmed the Dynavector isn't correct (indeed, they do not make MM cartridges) so awaiting confirmation on the cart. Will update once I get an answer.

As always appreciate you guys!
 
Goooood morning all. I have come into a Audiolab 6000CDT for a great price and now I am kind of wondering how to incorporate it into my system (and to see if there's a reasonable enough excuse to upgrade. cough cough). I am currently using a Cambridge CXA81 with a built in DAC (ESS Sabre ES9016 DAC ) etc. Was wondering if it would be worth it to purchase a "standalone" DAC and then...maybe upgrade the amplifier or throw some other things into the system.
 
AnthonyI said:
Yes on this end, I've had my CDT for a little while now and it's been fantastic. Mine's running through a Marantz HD-DAC1, great unit, but I'm sure others will chime in with some great choices...........of course you budget will come into play ;)
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Budget-wise if I'm going to upgrade (dac alone or dac + amplifier), I think I'd like to keep it in the 1.5k-2k range. Leaning towards the lower end though.

I'm certainly happy spending way less than that though 🤣
 
MikeH said:
@abanytime by the way, i think the Ares 12th does at least address the "issue" of making it easier to control the filters/phase filters. you can likely find the Ares II for cheaper now used after the 12th came out, but might be worth the extra money to get the 12th.

i'm tempted to move up and get the Pontus at some point...
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Thanks MikeH. Great info. At this point, I’m expecting to only run Roon from a homebrew NUC into the DAC. So the filter issue would be similar for me.
 
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