Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M - MQA HiFi DAC and Headphone Amplifier with Bluetooth - PC/MAC Support with USB Connection - Handle Digital Files up to 24/768 or DSD512 - Lunar Grey

I have a decent stereo system, but it’s basically an analog system, with the exception of the CD player. My stereo system did have a NAIM Data Streamer, but I hardly used it and traded it in for a REGA Planar 10 turntable. So I listen to vinyls most of the time.I’m an Apple Music subscriber, so at times I would hook my iPhone to my stereo amplifier via a Lightning to stereo RCA connector. The audio quality wasn’t the greatest, but back then Apple Music was only streaming at CD quality resolution, 16-bit/44.1 kHz. Apple Music added two additional data resolution options in 2022. Lossless for a maximum resolution of 24-bit/48 kHz and Hi-Res Lossless for a maximum resolution of 24-bit/192 kHz. So it was a no brainer that I needed a DAC to fully utilize the higher resolutions with my Apple Mac and iPhone. Also, to listen music at Hi-Res Lossless, it’s required to connect to a DAC.So after doing some research, I purchased the Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200M and a Lightning OTG MIDI to USB Type-B cord.The sound quality was substantially much better listening to music through the DACMagic. Actually, the sound quality was incredible!Some of the lessons I learned;1. Connecting my CD player to a DAC via the optical digital jack connector, the DAC data resolution input was only 16 bit, 44.1 kHz PCM. Limitations of CD Players. No fault of the DACMagic.2. To see the incoming data rate on the Cambridge Audio DACMagic 200M from my Apple MAC computer, you need to utilize the Audio Midi Setup App. When the computer is connected to the DAC the DACMagic 200M will be displayed on the computer, to be selected. Then from the MIDI Setup select the data resolution format you want to use. Such as 24-bit/192 kHz. This is not necessary when using an iPhone, and the incoming data rate is displayed on the DAC for what ever data resolution you are outputting from the iPhone.3. The DAC size is smaller than what I envisioned, but it’s built very well.4. The Blue Tooth connection works good, but you will not get the sound quality of high resolution that you would if using the MIDI connector.I recently downloaded TIDAL to compare the audio quality with Apple Music. When streaming at high resolution, the audio quality sounded about the same with both. When streaming TIDAL Master Quality Authenticated Albums (MQA), the quality sounded better. The DacMagic does a good job with MQA streaming.June 11, 2023I just recently upgraded my IPhone 7 Plus to an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apparently, the lightning to USB 2.0 interface doesn't connect to the DacMagic 200M with the newer iPhone. I reached out for technical support and Cambridge Audio states they don’t guarantee compatibility with mobile devices and most likely this issue is related to the audio driver for the audio playback.September 23, 2023I just purchased the IPhone 15 Pro which one of its upgrades was replacing the lightning connector with an USB-C connector. That fixed my compatibility interface issue that I had with the IPhone 14. The DacMagic 200M works great!!!

Not sure if this a great value compared to other competing products at $550. But it works great! I bought it to hardware decode MQA format files, which according to the hype is the purest sound available. After getting it, I downloaded Tidal to check it out. On a Mac, the setup was relatively painless. You have to tell Tidal to send the music data to the CA DAC Magic for processing (the CA DAC Magic 200M is in the choices). There is additional set up to tell Tidal that you want the CA DAC Magic to hardware process the MQA. From what I can tell, all this setup circumvents the Mac MIDI set up (which is what I had to use to have a FIIO DAC work properly). I initially messed with MIDI setup and it honked the interaction of Tidal with the CA DAC Magic.. it worked just wasn't hardware processing the MQA files (based upon the CA DAC Magic LED lights). Anyways, I rebooted a couple times and restarted Tidal each time and it worked itself out to lock out the Mac MIDI. Had it a few days and it is working flawlessly now. Sometimes have to wait a several seconds for Tidal/CA DAC Magic to start streaming if the computer goes to sleep and/or CA DAC Magic goes to sleep. Anyways my system sounded great already, I would love to say it is hugely noticeable to have the CA DAC Magic in the system with the best processing and best file formats available. All I can say is it is working as advertised, it is hardware processing the MQA files (based upon the indicator lights on the DAC Magic) and my music still sounds great!!!Have now owned the DAC Magic for a week. Have tried listening with and without MQA turned on. It is quite a noticeable improvement to the sound quality with MQA. The best way I can describe it is a visual image. You can have a good image and then you process it to get more contrast and details in the image pop. That's what the sound is like, the instruments/vocals etc become more distinct more defined. Anyway, very happy with the DAC magic and the sound quality I'm listening to!

probably one of the best purchases I ever made. I was skeptical about DACs and Headphone amps, I tested many. And this one I got mainly for 2 reasons, I needed the XLR output to use with some hi-def studio monitor speakers on my PC. And second reason was my analog headphones never sounded good, even mid to high tier headphones, and I heard this would make miracles with them.On speakers via USB: I first plugged this into old and fairly cheap pair of bookshelf speakers using a default 44 Hz output, then I set my PC to output 384 Hz, which is the maximum from my machine and this DAC support it, and I immediately had an OMG moment, suddenly this pair of old speakers where playing clear details I never heard from them, and on higher volumes it was not distorting anymore.New high-end speakers via USB: I audibly cursed for a while on plugging it in, mad about why in the world I did not got this years ago? Why?! It's such a monstrous sound quality difference. it has no buzz or electric noises at all, even on very high volume without playing a song. Records with acoustic guitars, ambient voice and drum kits recorded with mic, gained a new life on my listening experience.With analog over the ear Headphones: Same OMG moment, suddenly my headphone was crystal clear, no distortions on high volume and each instrument channel was noticeable and defined on music I heard 1000x before.Don't get me wrong, I have tried similar DACs and headphone amps before, but nothing came close to this in quality and in bringing a new life to old equipment.Cons: Sometimes when you're listening to songs via USB connection to a PC, if you change songs the audio disappears. Turning it on and off seems the only solution at the moment. It's worth mention is not always and I'm using Windows 11, which drivers for audio devices have been reposted to behave weirdly.So, 9.5/10 stars, one of my best electronic equipment purchases ever.