Monitor upgrade or D/A converter

[lj Potyk]

I would like to upgrade my sound.
I have a pair of Genelec 1030A's.
Through a Tascam SX-1.
Am I better off upgrading to a DAC-1 or Mini DAC
or get better monitors like the Adams? Which ones
that are reasonable?

Thanks

[Frost]

This is definitely an opinion. I used the 1030 speakers for a long time and liked my mixes tho found they didnt always translate. I now use the S3a and find it translates fantastically. I might suggest a little of both. If you feel you need to upgrade your DAC, ive never heard the tascam, then try something like an msb DAC from the audiophile world. You can find them used for like $200. Add a passive volume control ($20 if you can build it) and get some adams.

Frost

[Bob Olhsson]

Before using the DAC-1, I would have said it was a no-brainer to get some better speakers first. My recent experiences of trying to use NS-10s without the DAC-1 have led be to suspect it might be every bit as important as speakers.

I have no idea if other recent DACs make this kind of a difference in translation but I do know that previous ones that sounded better in some ways than the Benchmark (and worse in others) most definitely didn't. To put my opinion in perspective, I've been working with top-of-the-line, much more expensive outboard DACs for more than ten years.