Musical FidelityV90-DAC Digital To Analog Converter - Black (DAC)

I've been using a Mac Mini as our sound server for a few years but finally got tired of the "not quite great" sound from it (feeding my amp over TOSLink). No matter what, the sound from the (admittedly fine) Yamaha CDC-845 with its incredibly low noise and excellent DACs knocked its socks off. After reading stats and reviews, I picked this as my first outboard DAC. Initially I ran it with a cheap USB (silver braid, printer) cable (but short, audiophile cables for the analog out). It sounded pretty darned good (a pinch better than the Mac over TOSLink) but there was some subtle roughness to the high-end like you get with an older CD player. After reading that, while the isochronous transfers used have error checking (checksums), they have no error correction ability, I upgraded to a quality USB 2.0 high-speed cable tested for incredibly low error rate (Oyaide NEO d+), and the sound was much, much better. Still not quite as rich and live as the Yamaha's. My goal was to make the Mac little more than a selection control and data server, so finally I put on BitPerfect (app available in Apple's app store) and had it use Integer mode and smart selection of bitrates. That did it. Now this thing shines. The sound is of course a little different than the Yamaha's as you'd expect from different DACs, but only in terms of character, not quality. Really, this little DAC shines with spectacular, round sound and superbly low noise - you just need make to make sure it gets to show its stuff.

This sounds a bit clearer with more separation than the Cambridge, DAC-Magic-100.Probably in part because this has two of the "Wolfson", DAC chips. One for each channel instead of just the one chip the Cambridge DAC-Magic, 100 uses. Which "should", have the ability to resolve twice the detail, "Theoretically".The noise floor was also a bit lower which I loved!I am using this between my laptop and a Nakamichi CA-7A, preamp , "The Amp is Pa-7", using a Shunyata Research, "Venom", USB cable to link them. With as well, "BetterCables.com", "Silver Serpent", RCA interconnects from DAC to Preamp, and Preamp to Amp. it's hard to beat this cable combination with this particular S.S. gear! I know that it would be possible to do so, but I believe the cost would be enormous! I do not think there is a DAC that can come even close to this except for the Cambridge, Audio "Azure" , anywhere near this price point!(This edged out the "Azure" by only a hair)!"I tried several USB cables including Wireworld-Purple, Pangea-XL, with separate power/signal and also the Audioquest-Carbon, before settling on the Shunyata "Venom", USB"", BIG differences all around!

My first Musical fidelity dac failed after three years. The sound from it was great. I was hooked. I tried another unit, but was not impressed by the less than desired performance. That unit is a stand by item in my store room. My new musical fidelity dac is working just like the one it replaced. Yes, the sonic quality was missed. I missed the effortless sonic quality.The way it creates really clear and smooth textured highs. It allows you to turn up the treble with a silky texture.This little guy may be the best buy for those struggling with tonal tradeoffs. The midrange is done right. Bass is realistic and well defined. I have not done much tweaking since this unit. Now I just enjoy the music and Tv shows.

not a bad DAC for 300 bucks, doesn't sound much better than my spitfire 100 dollars less in price, it uses an older Burr Brown chip. the imaging and some detail is better with the Musical Fidelity: V90-DAC

Music Fidelity V 90 DAC is excellent, Only 5 minutes to install. Originally I was looking to upgrade the sound of my CD player, I received that and a whole lot more, The V 90 is musical with great sound stages and inner detail , just a good sounding DAC for the money. originally thought to get this level sound quality I would have to spend 1,000 or more. Needless to say i'm very happy

I agree with stereophile “ A” rating. Audio science and Ken Rockwell measured the V90, and it’s like a $1k+ DAC, not a $299 DAC. The sound is very vividly detailed and had great focus and air. I have owned more costly DACS that are left in the dust by the V90. I am using both highly resolving loudspeakers and headphones. This product punches far above its weight.