I’ve entered the next stage of serious Hi-Fi by purchasing my first outboard Digital Analog Converter (DAC): the Entech 203.2 Number Cruncher. It is indeed a great enhancement to the AudioTron I added six months ago.
Encouraged by the promises on the AudioTron mailing list of greater sound from using the optical digital output of the AudioTron, I started to look for an affordable DAC. My receiver has no digital inputs, and I didn’t want to upgrade it now, as it would undoubtedly lead into wanting a 5.1 (or 6.1) system and new speakers and …
My first search was for an Audio Alchemy DDE on eBay, but these aren’t so easy to come by anymore, it seems. Some more research into the topic produced reviews of the Entech 203.2 Number Cruncher. The high appraise it had received was confirmed by nobody listing them on eBay. I got mine from SoundCity.com, in just a few clicks and a couple of days of waiting.
The immediate result with the AudioTron was that I could return the volume knob from its north-east position to a normal western one (usually more south-west than north-west). With more listening time, words like clear and crisp came to mind. Just to be sure I dialed up Donna Summer with its great Quincy Jones sounds from the 80’s. I can happily report that crisp and clear does not rule out full and deep bass.
This almost doubles my investment in the AudioTron, but I think it is well worth it.